Caroline Wozniacki got out of a jam but stayed focused to win at the Pan Pacific Open Thursday night. The third seed took care of the final set defeating Shelby Rogers 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. It was the 50th match win for the former number one this season and a spot in the quarterfinals for the defending champion.
Both met earlier in the season at Strasbourg where the American recorded her first win against the Dane in what began as a lengthy first set before her opponent bowed out. While the series between them was now even, the world number six was still on a downspin from losing in New York early on. Rogers brushed off her third round exit and pulled off a big win Tuesday against Japan’s Riza Ozaki. With one of the home favorites out of contention, the 24 year old had her eyes set on putting together a game that had the potential for an upset.
She began with a break of the third seed followed by a strong stance on her opening service. The opportunity for the double break came in the third but Wozniacki’s game found the light to perform better. She saved her serve forcing deuce and went a few breaks before holding off the American. With getting on the board accomplished, the Dane took off on a lengthy winning streak spanning three games. Just when it looked as if her momentum would prove to beat Rogers, the American responded with force to counteract her opponent.
The 24 year old leveled back with two of her own gaining a 5-3 lead on Wozniacki with a chance to end the set with plenty of chances. Despite playing on deuce, the American got the job done pressuring Wozniacki on the forehand where she finished the last rally with a wide shot bringing an end to the set with Rogers in control after 48 minutes scoring 13 winners.
With the need for heavy improvements, Wozniacki turned her game around and opened the second set with a big three game winning streak over Rogers. It was brought to an end in the fourth but the Dane managed to get back on track keeping a sizable margin between herself and Rogers. Wozniacki wasted no time getting across the finish line as she took the next two games closing out the American of a straight sets forecast forcing a third set into play. Wozniacki minimized the unforced errors significantly but more had to be done in order to be the stronger force going forward.
She instead watched Rogers open the gap in the third taking three games against the number three seed. The Dane got on the board in the fourth and consolidated it with a strong break. The gap was closed with a third straight win on the American giving her a pace suitable to dictate. She moved closer to the goal with a fourth win gaining a double break on Rogers forcing Marc Lucero to come out and calm his athlete to get back in the set.
It didn’t help as she failed to counteract the game of Wozniacki’s thereby leading her to a 5-3 stance giving her every intention to finish the match. Her smart plays on court redirecting on the returns helped her ahead briefly. Rogers struck back with a well placed winner to hold on and pressure the third seed to finish it on her own serve. Her big forehand came together at the right time recording winners on Rogers to reach two match points quickly in the tenth. On a shot from the second serve, Wozniacki put the finishing touches in the rally when it came to an end on a return into the net from the American ending two hours and a minute. She wouldn’t have much time to prepare as her next match took place Thursday against the winner between Katerina Siniakova and Dominika Cibulkova
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