Caroline Wozniacki made a complete turnaround on a new day at the French Open. The rain delay from Friday seemed to be the key to her victory as she handled the third set against Catherine Bellis and took her place in the fourth round winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-3’ on Court Two at Roland Garros. It was the second time and first in years for the Dane to get deep into the tournament with a newfound feeling of strength and aggression.
The Dane met against the American earlier this year winning in straight sets on her way to the finals at Dubai. While it was a swift win over the young American, the situation she found herself in helped maintain the confidence after a stunning performance two days in the second round. With Bellis already on a good start in her tournament debut and a solid win over Kiki Bertens, the 18-year-old gives herself a chance to make the day a tough one for Wozniacki.
Bellis started with an offense that forced Wozniacki to make unforced errors early. By the time the American took a 2-0 lead, the Dane already had seven against her. Change soon arrived for the experienced superstar rallying to hold serve in the third and never look back. The former number one went on to turn the tide and make the situation rough for Bellis. She began to rack up the errors with her second serve not making things better.
She attempted to give it one last try on serve in the eighth, forcing deuce with Wozniacki who was on the prowl for an early set lead. Bellis took the game to three breaks until the 11th seed stood at the right place to land the set winner ending 34 minutes. The second serve remained the problem for the 18-year-old who tried to regroup too late in the set but had another chance to make something happen.
She used technical ball placement to beat Wozniacki for the break and added another in the third to get dug in. Bellis was on a mission during service in the fourth where her strategy of pressuring Wozniacki to one side worked as she ended the rally with a net front presence, smashing the ball to the opposite end. The American held things together through two breaks before opened the gap further in her favor.
The nerves of Wozniacki were being rattled and did everything she could to turn the pace around. In a game that went to deuce, three break and a rally lasting 32 shots, the former number got achieved the game point to sit a game down instead of two. Before she started the sixth game, Wozniacki made arguments that the court was dark and that she couldn’t see the ball. The delay began to upset fans who wanted to see the match continue. She continued to voice her opinions to the court supervisor who said there was nothing she could do until the appropriate changeover.
It led the Dane to struggle and sit 40-0 against Bellis trying to keep her game together. She forced deuce in the game but failed to capture the break handing the American another step towards evening the score. As rain fell on court in the seventh, Wozniacki looked completely frustrated with the situation and gave up handing Bellis an easy triple break win. It was the last move from Wozniacki on the day as play was suspended and immediately postponed due to rain and the late hour of the day.
When play resumed, the Dane knew of her loss in the set and decided to start from scratch to start the third. Bellis closed out the second set in 47 minutes and had her first serve on fire with 75 percent of shots won in its duration. With the chance to start with plenty of rest, the players both had the best chance to make something happen in the decider.
For Wozniacki, it became her best shot as she opened scoring with a service hold defending the game point at all costs. They started the second with a 27-shot rally with Bellis holding her end. The American went back to her pattern from Friday and rallied to 40-0 and held two game points for the hold of serve. The pace went in favor of the American who raised the bar for Wozniacki to respond on serve or face troubles going further. She managed to overtake Bellis in the set and stay ahead with a key break that gave her a 5-3 lead serving for the match. With swift work on the ball, the former number one locked down the important victory to make it back to the round of 16.
The third set helped Wozniacki increase her first serve percentage from the second as well as add winners where she ended the day with 26. With her out of trouble for the moment, the 26-year-old will prepare for a bout against eighth seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova Sunday.
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