Caroline Wozniacki beat young Russian player Daria Kasatkina 6-2 7-5 to book her spot in the second round against Viktorija Golubic at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Wozniacki is in very good form at the moment and beat Agnieszka Radwanska en route to reaching the final in Doha, when she finished runner-up to Karolina Pliskova in Doha.
Wozniacki dropped her serve twice in the first game of the opening set and in the third game of the second set.
Wozniacki hit 17 winners to 20 unforced errors. Kasatkina, who beat Angelique Kerber twice this year in Sydney last January and Doha last week, made 43 unforced errors. Wozniacki converted on five of her seven break points.
The Danish player, who won the Dubai tournament in 2011, dropped her serve in the opening game but broke back in the next game. Wozniacki got a double break in the sixth and eighth games to seal the first set by 6-2.
Wozniacki went up a set and a break in the second game of the second set. Kasatkina broke straight back in the third game for 1-2. The second set went on serve until the 12th game where Wozniacki sealed the win with another break, as Kasatkina made a double fault on the match point.
“Seeing the draw, it could have had an easier first round. I knew it was going to be a tough match. She mixes up the pace a lot and she has great hands and serves well. For me it was important to play my own game and speed things up. I was pleased with my win. It’s much different conditions here. The ball is flying. The court is faster than in Doha. I didn’t really know how I was going to play to start off with. I was pleased with my game. Some serves were flying a little bit. I have to adjust that for tomorrow. I was watching Daria play last week during my rain delay in Doha and she was still playing a bit. She is so young. I remember when I was 19, I thought I was all grown up, but she definitely has a great career ahead of her ”, said Wozniacki.
Wozniacki said that the conditions suit her game very well.
“The reason why Dubai is one of the most successfult tournaments of my career is that the balli s flying a little bit and the court is faster. I feel I can generate a lot of pace. I get to a lot of balls too, which I think it is frustrating for the other players that I can go from defence to offence and really hurt them with when they play a short ball. I know I can run a lot of balls down. Regardless, I know the opponent doesn’t just get the match from me. She will have to fight. That definitely helps me, knowing I have good wheels”, said Wozniacki.
Wozniacki will face Swiss Viktorija Golubic, who came back from one set down to beat Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2.
Kristina Mladenovic, who won the 2017 St. Petersburg title, beat this year’s Shenzhen Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-3 setting up a second-round match against Karolina Pliskova, who won the Qatar Total Open tournament in Doha last week.
Mladenovic broke serve three times to clinch the first set 6-3. The French player got an early break in the second set to win the second set by 6-3.
“It was a very difficult match against Siniakova. She has a similar ranking to me and I never won against her so the score may have looked easy but we played for an hour and a half. I am very happy about my performance and I am very glad to be back in Dubai. I have great memories especially winning the doubles here last year and it’s a home tournament for me. I moved here a couple of years ago and I am loving it. I think Karolina is a good friend of mine and we always had tough battles in the past, especially in the final of the Fed Cup last year where we played four hours. Everybody knows about Karolina. she is on fire, winning her second title in Doha last week. It’s going to be a difficult match but I am going to prepare the best I can. She just won in Doha, so she will feel great. The conditions are also great for her. I will need to play a bit better than today”, said Mladenovic.
Olympic champion Monica Puig edged past Yaroslava Schvedova 6-3 4-6 6-4 setting up a second round match against Caroline Garcia. The player from Puerto Rico needed one break to win the first set 6-4. She failed to convert a couple of break points before dropping her serve in the fourth game of the second set.
Puig broke back in the ninth game for 4-5 but Schvedova got another break in the 10th game to force the match to the third set.
Puig received treatment during the third set but managed to get the decisive break in the seventh game of the third set to take a 4-3 lead before serving out for the match in the 10th game. Schvedova, who has not won a singles match in 2017, made 44 unforced errors and 11 double faults.
“Especially in the first round it is good to have a match that pushes you a little bit, so then you start getting into the rhythm. Schvedova is a very tricky opponent and I have played her several times. You really have to be on your toes in every point in the match. I am just happy that I got through today. I felt some lower back soreness I came from Doha two days ago, so the balls are a bit different than in Doha. It’s just something that I have to go and get treatment with, but it’s really no big deal”, said Puig.
Alison Riske beat Coco Vandeweghe 6-4 6-4 in an all-US first round match. Riske went up a break in the seventh game of the first set. Vandeweghe broke straight back to draw level to 4-4. Riske got another break in the ninth game and held her service game to win the first set. Riske went up a set and a break in the first game of the second set. Both players went on serve before four consecutive breaks in the last five games. Riske broke to 30 for 5-4 and served out for the match at love.
“She was having a little difficulty with her first serves but she was starting to get back in rhythm in the second set there”, said Riske.
Ana Konjuh cruised past Zhang Shuai 6-0 6-1 to reach the second round setting up a second round match against Sam Stosur. Peng Shuai dropped just two games to cruise past Lesia Tsurenko 6-1 6-1.
Catherine “Cici” Bellis came back from 1-5 down in the second set by reeling off sixt games in a row to edge Yulia Putintseva 6-1 7-5. Bellis will take on German Lara Siegemund, who battled past Silvia Soler Espinosa 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
Kateryna Bondarenko came back from one set down to edge Aryna Sabalenka 4-6 6-4 6-3. Misaki Doi needed three sets to beat Madison Brengle 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-3. Christina McHale rallied from one set down to edge Kiki Bertens 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4.
