Taylor Townsend put the fight on court at the new Grandstand court at the U.S. Open but fell out in the first round. A three set fight ended with a huge victory for Caroline Wozniacki
Who overcame plenty of struggle to win her opening round match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Billy Jean King Tennis national Center Monday morning
A third time could be the charm for the young American who came into the U.S. Open for her second appearance in the tournament. Last year she accepted two defeats by the Dane who beat her early on in the season. This time could be different as the former number one has struggled to be a top contender. Injuries riddled her high rank and left her coming into the final Grand Slam as 74th ranked. One chance on the world stage could be just what she needed to end the current season on a high note.
She gained a 3-1 lead on Townsend breaking the American in the third before opening the gap in the fourth. The fifth was a fight from Townsend who climbed back in the game to force deuce. All her efforts paid off to sit a game down and the serve back in her hands. Townsend brought the heat to a suddenly vulnerable Wozniacki who began to commit forehand errors. The lead went to the American who took over at 4-3 with the Dane showing her frustrations at the end of the game.
She won an important break that gave her life in the set with more needing to be done to get Townsend out of her current comfort zone. Wozniacki won a second straight making it key to win a break from the American in the tenth or risk being a set down. Challenges took point in the game but the majority of luck went to Townsend with the crowd behind her, getting two set points but took a bad hit off the racket.
A second chance went wrong as she aimed too high killing her opportunity that opened the door for the Dane. An ace gave her a third chance and got it done with another big shot that ended the set in 41 minutes.
With the leverage weighing heavily for the American, coming out big in the second set was the mission for Wozniacki to complete. She took it very seriously taking a 3-0 lead on Townsend that was a clear statement of her need for success. Townsend put an end to her opponent’s winning streak getting on the scoreboard. Wozniacki continued to hold the lead despite the American making her way back through six.
Wozniacki eyed a set win but couldn’t get it done in the eighth as Townsend pushed her offense to the best it could be to stay in it. She fell to the former number one on a shot return landing just beyond the baseline that gave Wozniacki a confidence boost and a possible shot at winning the match in a deciding third set.
It would not come easy for the Dane as she and Townsend found themselves in a draw through the first four games. The American was the one leading the way in the set with Wozniacki knowing how important it was to stay close until the time came to overtake. The Dane thought she had Townsend’s number in the seventh when she took a chance on challenging a call against Townsend’s shot. Hawkeye showed that the American got the game winner on the line by sheer millimeters to regain the lead at 4-3. Wozniacki got back to level through eighth and then fought tooth and nail to win on deuce for the break.
A chance to win the match came for Wozniacki after two hours of action where she served for the match in the tenth. She let Townsend a chance to come back to deuce but a break was all that she could get in before Wozniacki closed it down to win her match after two hours and 12 minutes.
With the first round jitters behind her, Wozniacki couldn’t rest long as she’d take on the winner between Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova on Wednesday.
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