Caroline Wozniacki ensured that she did not suffer the same fate as Kei Nishikori, as she successfully navigated her opening match against main draw debutant Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-0, on Arthur Ashe.
The young American wildcard, made a nervous start, double-faulting on her opening service point, and further errors gave the fourth seed Wozniacki the opening break chance. Some brave hitting took Loeb to deuce, and a wonderful short angle cross-court backhand dealt with another break point. She then settled to hold serve.
Wozniacki held to deuce, and Loeb quickly found herself under pressure again. Loeb’s big-hitting style was drawing a number of large number of winners and errors, but far more of the latter, and a forehand miss handed Wozniacki love-thirty. The Dane then found the corner with a forehand to bring up three break points. Loeb saved the first with a foray to the net, but Wozniacki was not to be denied and she broke to fifteen.
The former World no. 1 held then broke again, sealing the first set 6-2.
Wozniacki held to open the second set, and then engineered another break chance, highlighted by some outstanding defensive play, including a stunning lob, breaking to fifteen when Loeb dumped a forehand in the net.
The set continued in similar fashion as Loeb, frustrated by the consistency and defensive capabilities of the fourth seed, failed to hold at all in the final set. Loeb made a determined effort to hold the final game of the match, having multiple game points in deuce, but a slew of errors saw Wozniacki close out a comprehensive victory.
Wozniacki will be particularly happy with her serve, she won eighty-eight percent of her first serve points and did not face a single break point.
Wozniacki will face either another home hope in Christina McHale, or Petra Cetkosvka of the Czech Republic in the second round. Her first scheduled seeded opponent is Italian twenty-sixth seed Flavia Pennetta.
Eleventh seed Angelique Kerber joined Wozniacki in the second round, after her routine 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexandra Dulgheru. Fourteenth seed Timea Bacsinszky became the latest to fall, losing to Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-0
