TENNIS US OPEN – Caroline Wozniacki had a hard time passing her first round match against Magdalena Rybarikova, who was forced to retire due to injury in the deciding set when the score was 6-1 3-6 2-0 for the Dane. Giulio Gasparin
The former world number one and finalist in New York knew that her opening match would have not been easy, as her Slovak opponent came to this match strong of a final in the premier event of New Haven, but that run eventually cost her the match.
Wozniacki, who beat Rybarikova easily just a few weeks ago in Cincinnati, started the match looking as if she meant business, playing a steady and controlled aggression to which the Slovak had little to reply.
On 3-0, Rybarikova asked for the trainer to tape her upper right thigh and, throughout the set, she looked quite hampered in the movement, which led to a complete domination from the Dane.
The break between sets seemed to give a boost of energy to the Slovak, who tried to take tame away from the tenth seed by coming to the net more and more often, a tactic that paid off.
Wozniacki got broken in the second game and despite having five break points early in the set, she did not manage to close the gap between her and her opponent, which eventually resolved in a very surprising set win for Rybarikova.
The 2009 finalist had to wait for another medical time out from her opponent before the start of the third set, but she looked very motivated after the break, as she hold her serve with the first two aces of her match.
In the following game, the former world number one broke in a tight game and it felt as if she could find the quality of the first set, but at that point the Slovak called it a match, realising that she was in no condition to finish the match.
The Dane will face in the second round Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
