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Caroline Wozniacki coasted to victory in the hot conditions at the US Open Tuesday. The world number two had a difficult moment in the second set against Samantha Stosur but got the result in a 6-3, 6-2 win on court at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
A 13th meeting matched them in their first match at a slam putting the Australian into a serious situation than ever before. She faced the Dane who made this her mission in life to succeed at best. While she took her first slam back in Melbourne.
The world number two stood as the highest seed in the tournament with every intention to achieve an early round victory. They haven’t faced off in two years which would make for an interesting battle but could go either way depending on who got the best start.
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Both held serve to begin the set but as the third game began, it was Wozniacki striking against the Australian’s service game to take the first break. She began to dictate her way to a 3-1 lead before Stosur made a statement to hold serve in the fourth unwilling to give a double break to the second seed. She won it on a long ball from the Dane keeping her in touch and followed it up with a break of Wozniacki to level at three all.
The world number two wasn’t ready to let Stosur have any real dictation in the set and broke her back in the seventh prior to her own service game. She made her pay for the delay of her own personal goal reaching a 5-3 hold with Stosur on the edge of going a set down.
Wozniacki gave nothing to her opponent in the ninth where she herself opened a margin of two set points to take the set in 38 minutes. She had six winners and only seven errors while having an average serve percentage that took a beat to Stosur’s second serve which was at 30 percent.
They started the second set much like the first but on Stosur’s serve in the fourth, Wozniacki went for the break which the Australian would not allow. The game went to deuce where it didn’t look like it would ever end. They reached seven breaks and spanned 11 minutes until the 34-year-old got the break she needed to keep the score level.
It took a lot out of her to succeed at keeping Wozniacki back in the game but after she watched the Dane take the fifth so swiftly, the task to stay strong became difficult. Stosur couldn’t match the speed and skill that the world number two produced leading to devastating results.
Wozniacki went all out on Stosur to the point of taking the next four games like they were candy. With a chance for a double break and the match, the 28-year-old put the finishing touch on her opening round match and forced her opponent to accept defeat in 1 hour and 23 minutes. “It was very difficult and hot out here today,” Wozniacki said to ESPN’s Brad Gilbert. “I tried to cool down in between games and use the shade a little bit.”
She’ll get ready for Thursday’s match when she takes on Lesia Tsurenko in the second round. “She’s a tricky opponent,” Wozniacki said about her next competitor. “She has a tricky backhand and mixes up the pace so I’ll think about it.”
