Wozniacki survives thrilling match against Suarez-Navarro

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Caroline Wozniacki survived a thrilling match at the Pan Pacific Open Wednesday. The US Open finalist had a battle on her hands leading to a long three set against Carla Suarez-Navarro to win 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 at Ariake Coliseum on the grounds of Ariake Tennis Forest.

It was the sixth time the two European stars met and the first in over a year. Wozniacki maintained a hold against the Spaniard, who last defeated the former number one in 2013 in Stuttgart. While both did well at the US Open, the leverage was deep in Wozniacki’s court as she looked to maintain a strong stance to gain points in the standings.

The two began to feel each other out in the first set but never got away from each other. The opening set remained a dead heat all the way to the 12^th game where things were forced to a tiebreaker. With some recent experience in the scenario, Wozniacki managed to pull away from her opponent to take a lead in the match after an hour had elapsed.

Getting the first set under her belt meant a huge response from Suarez-Navarro had to show up on court. It did so under another set in which both players did not want to give up control. It wasn’t until the ninth that the Spaniard gained some ground on the troubles of Wozniacki’s second serve. The 28-year-old wrote the last two games in her name to win the second 6-4 and force a deciding third set.

The match was already two hours deep and fatigue was clearly showing on the figures of the tennis stars. With some energy left and both players struggling with their second serve’s it was a toss-up on who would gain stability and dictate the remainder of the set.

After leveling once again through eight games, it was Wozniacki who came out of the stalemate to take the 5-4 lead and clinch her way to the quarterfinals in the tenth. She completed the third set with a first serve that was well below her opponents but enough to be the stronger one standing after 2 hours and 53 minutes.

With her second match over and done with, Wozniacki would get another day to recover before taking on the winner between Yulia Putinseva and Magda Linette on Friday.

Photo by: Toshifumi Kitamura/Getty Images