Wozniacki Saves Match Points to Advance in Melbourne
Second-seed Dane Caroline Wozniacki survived a scare from the 119th ranked player in the world in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, managing to climb out of a deep hole to push through and advance.
“I’m very proud of the way I came back,” said Wozniacki. “It was definitely very difficult. Definitely wasn’t my best match, especially in the beginning. It was very different conditions. I just tried to mentally stay focused, tried to play my game.”
Wozniacki would drop the first set and fell behind 1-5 in the third set before completing the stunning comeback and win 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Jana Fett of Croatia.
“All of a sudden, seeing myself down and almost out of the tournament, I started playing better and started really playing the tennis that I wanted to play,” Wozniacki added.
Fett had two match points on her own serve at 5-1 in the final set but was unable to close the door on Wozniacki.
Wozniacki moves into a matchup with 30th seed Kiki Bertens of Netherlands, who knocked out American Nicole Gibbs 7-6(3), 6-0.
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine fought back from a set down to knock off Katerina Siniakova 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 and book her spot in the third round.
“I’m relieved that I won today. I played good tennis in the first match, so you never know. Maybe tomorrow I’m going to feel better and I’ll feel better for my third round,” said Svitolina. “Of course I’m looking forward for that match, and it’s not every day to be in the third round. You don’t always have these opportunities.”
The fourth-seeded Svitolina will take on her compatriot Marta Kostyuk, who scored a 6-3, 7-5 win over Olivia Rogowska of Australia.
