Caroline Wozniacki Battles On, Top 2 Make It Through

Written by: Staff on 6th May 2012

Caroline Wozniacki Battles On, Top 2 Make It Through

epa03208001 Russian tennis player Ksenia Pervak returns the ball to Danish Caroline Wozniacki during their match at the Mutua Madrid Open, the fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year, 06 May 2012 in Madrid, Spain. EPA/JUAN CARLOS HIDALGO |

Playing for the first time on blue clay, the Top 2 players in the world made winning starts to their Mutua Madrid Open campaigns on Sunday, although one of them had a much less complicated time than the other.

World No.1 Victoria Azarenka was the first to slide into the second round, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova for the first time in their three meetings on clay, 76(5) 64, toughing out a 58-minute first set then rallying from a break down in the second set to beat the former World No.2 and French Open champion.

“I was really looking forward to the start of this tournament,” Azarenka said. “Anywhere I go my goal is to win the tournament, and it’s the same goal here. I did pretty well here last year and hopefully this year I’ll do a little bit better.”

Azarenka was the runner-up here last year, losing to Petra Kvitova in the final.

Maria Sharapova, the current World No.2, had a total of 61 minutes on the clock in her match against Irina-Camelia Begu, winning the first seven games and eventually easing past last year’s WTA Newcomer of the Year, 60 63.

“The blue clay is obviously different, visually,” Sharapova said. “When you play on red clay for so many years you get used to it, but as tennis players we’re always adjusting to different things and different conditions, so it is what it is. There are some parts of the courts that maybe have a little more clay than other parts, but it’s just the first year, so I’m sure they’re still working kinks out.”

The other two Top 10 players in action were winners as well, though like the Top 2, one had it far simpler. World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska rolled past Spanish wildcard and recent Bogotá champion Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, 6-3 6-1, but World No.6 Caroline Wozniacki had to stave off four points for a 4-1 third set deficit and battle over three hours to beat Ksenia Pervak, 76(7) 36 64.

“I went down and rolled my ankle in the first set,” Wozniacki said. “I could feel the pain. I felt restricted out there, but I just fought as hard as I could, which is all I could do today. I don’t really know how I was able to win the match.

“I’m not playing tomorrow, so a day of rest will be nice, then we’ll see.”

Wozniacki had mixed feelings about the blue clay: “It’s definitely more slippery, but then I also completely stopped at one point – you could say it wouldn’t happen on red clay, but then you never really know, it could be the same. It’s definitely different, but blue is one of my favorite colors, so I do like the look.”

The Dane, who reached No.1 largely thanks to her tenacity and variety on the court, was also asked about the progression of power in women’s tennis

“The players are changing and the generations are changing, which is natural,” she said. “Tennis is always improving. Forty years ago it was wooden racquets and now we have different racquets, strings, balls and courts. It’s just like cars, you have the newer models that are better than the older ones – sometimes they’re just a little bit better, sometimes it’s suddenly a big step forward.

“I don’t know what tennis will be like in five or 10 years – maybe you’ll just have to push a button and the racquet will play itself.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki, French Open 2012, Irina-Camelia Begu, Ksenia Pervak, Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, Maria Sharapova, Mutua Madrid Open 2012, Petra Kvitova, Sports, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka