Caroline Wozniacki put in so much effort to get out of the first round of the Apia International Monday. The former number one had much adversity on court but got the win in a three set fight 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 against Monica Puig at Ken Rosewall Arena at Sydney Olympic Tennis Park.
The reigning Olympic gold medalist thought she would get a second chance at Elina Svitolina to start a tournament but a viral illness had her replaced by the former number one who was ready to come out swinging. The world number 19 had things going good in Auckland until her quarterfinals loss to Julia Goerges brought her to Australia. The two have met twice splitting the series at Eastbourne where the Puerto Rican won a three setter. With a second chance at making things happen, both players would vie for not only a spot in the second round but bragging rights over the other.
Wozniacki came out with her offense blazing right off the bat. She easily broke Puig before gaining a two nothing lead on an impeccable service hold. The Puerto Rican suffered on the unforced errors that made it easier for the Dane. She added a second break to take a 3-0 lead that took eight minutes to get to for Wozniacki. Puig was able to come out with her huge serve getting the best of Wozniacki. Two aces finished off her second chance on serve to put her on the board in the fourth.
Her heavy hitting began to challenge the former number one in the fifth until she managed to come back from 40-0 and force deuce. She emerged back on top after a lone break to regain control and lead 4-1. Puig struggled during the sixth game to hold her best against the Dane by getting a grip of the advantage and win another.
Wozniacki took the fun away from her Puerto Rican rival holding things together on deuce that gained her back the three-game margin playing for the set lead in the seventh. In a need for assistance, Puig took a meeting with coach Juan Todero asking her to bring back the hard hits and work on the returns. She held on to serve bringing her best against the Dane to stay alive. It was up to her to be defensive while on the edge going into the ninth where it became Wozniacki’s second try at the set.
She blasted to two set points but watched Puig deliver a huge backhand return. All her chances to get it done were blasted away having to recover and gain the advantage on deuce. It took her four tries and five breaks between the two before the Dane could get the victory which concluded the set in 45 minutes. While Puig led on first serve percentage with 92 percent success, her second serve suffered greatly along with her five double faults that opened the door for her opponent.
Puig knew the same couldn’t be done again going into the second set. She made that clear with a strong statement on serve. Adding power to her newfound run, she consolidated the first break for her in the match giving the indication that she was starting to play well. She made it 3-0 with a huge love service on Wozniacki that not only had her on a solid turnaround but also had Wozniacki taking a timeout with her coach and father Piotr Wozniacki.
The talk didn’t help her out as Puig continued to play solid tennis across the net. It led to another notch in her belt coming close to not only leveling the match but possibly getting a huge upset to shut out Wozniacki. That did not occur in the fifth as Wozniacki battled back on the break to get a much-needed win. The unforced errors began to minimize for the Dane creating great answers for Puig that resulted in a second straight win.
Puig snatched back control in the seventh that resulted in a win and the eventual reality that Puig was not out of the competition by a long shot. She rallied to gain the win after what was thought to be a rout for Wozniacki now had her slightly worried playing for a final set after 1 hour and 15 minutes elapsed.
The third set was critical to show some dictation but the actions of the players made it difficult to edge away from one another. Wozniacki began the set with a break but struggled to knock down Puig. In the second, the Dane rallied back on serve to force deuce where after four breaks, she captured the win to take a 2-0 hold.
The Dane watched Puig pick up a victory in the third but her stance kept her in the running to dictate on service and continue being the front runner. The Puerto Rican was on a mission to gain ground on the former number one and bring the heat along with it. Unfortunately, the double faults were taking their toll once more racking up her tenth of the match. Desperation came into play for Puig who somehow saved service to force deuce. She got her heavy shot back into play getting the advantage for a second time but despite the power behind her shot, Wozniacki found ways of counteracting her opponent.
The two played the game to six breaks with many rallies occurring in the battle. A huge rally ended in favor of Puig who made good on keeping good control of her forehand shots making Wozniacki blink first sending the ball into the net that ended the longest game of the match. It continued to be a topsy turvy set as Wozniacki opened the gap once more to lead 4-2. Her efforts on serve paid off but knew that she would need more than effort to play on the serve of the 23-year-old.
She couldn’t as a pattern began to process that they could handle their service holds. The advantage laid well with Wozniacki who inched closer to the match win taking the eighth that left her playing for a second-round spot under the shots of Puig. The Puerto Rican made her shots look so easy smashing line drives out of the reach of the Dane. It was a quick 40-0 run for Puig who gave up a point before taking it by two game points.
The former number one had the chance to put the match away with the pace still running by way of holding service. Wozniacki had every opportunity open to her to get the job done. Puig dictated the tenth with a pair of rifled shots that accurately found the right spot to land in. Though she had the lead on the break, Wozniacki climbed back to regain control of service. The rally at 30 all resulted in a smash to the net from Puig giving match point to the tenth seed. Wozniacki went for the ace attempt before ending things for Puig with a redirect that gave her the win after 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Though she gained the end result she wanted, Wozniacki had another push that saw her work hard to start the year and get back into the high ranks of the WTA. The journey continued for the 26-year-old as she prepared to take on Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
No comments:
Post a Comment