World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday cruised into the third round of the Charleston WTA, as she fought to banish memories of last year’s injury disappointment.
“I’m feeling good on clay, so it’s exciting. It’s always exciting to start here,” top-seed Wozniacki told journalists after dispatching US qualifier Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-1.
At last year’s tournament Wozniacki was forced to retire during her semi-final match against Russia’s Vera Zvonareva when she hurt her ankle sliding on the green clay court.
“You think about it sometimes, a little bit sometimes, especially when you go after drop shots,” she said. “But on the other hand, this is a tournament that I’ve always enjoyed playing and center court is so cozy.”
Wozniacki, winner of titles this year in Dubai and Indian Wells, encountered little resistance from the 128th-ranked Falconi, who had never before faced a No. 1 player.
The Dane took a 5-0 lead and won the last six games to win the match.
“She was playing good, but I felt like I could put that extra step into the ball,” Wozniacki, 20, said.
“I made the winners at the right chances,” she said.
Wozniacki is one of three top-10 players in the field.
World No. 5 Samantha Stosur, the defending champion and second seed, defeated Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-1, 6-2.
Stosur said her status as defending champion gave her a boost.
“I think it definitely, maybe, lifts your shoulders up a little bit and puts a smile on your face,” she said.
World No. 8 Jelena Jankovic, the third seed and winner here in 2007, also advanced, beating Austrian Tamira Paszek 6-2, 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France was also in action on Wednesday, taking on Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.
In other early matches, seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia defeated Romanian Edina Gallovits 6-1, 6-1.
ATP HOUSTON
AFP, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Ryan Sweeting fended off six break points in the final game on Wednesday and upset second-seeded Sam Querrey 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the second round of the ATP’s US Men’s Clay Court Championships.
Sweeting survived 18 of 24 break points he faced against his fellow American to book his place in the quarter-finals.
Querrey, meanwhile, lost three points on his usually booming serve in the second-set tiebreaker, including a double-fault for set point.
In a match that featured 11 total service breaks, the two traded breaks in one span of seven straight games — including the last five games of the second set through the first two games of the third.
“Overall I was happy with the way I played,” Sweeting said. “I started off really slow and he broke me in the first game and served really well.”
“I was standing way back on his serves and had no chance to break him. I knew I had to do something so in the second set I started stepping in on his second serve and returned pretty well,” he said. “Then, I couldn’t serve.”
Querrey admitted that he had yet to find his feet on clay.
“I just don’t feel comfortable on clay yet,” he said. “I need to just put a couple of weeks of practice in there and get ready for the next tournament.”
In the third round, Sweeting will face Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 winner over eighth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.
Fourth-seeded John Isner of the US advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos.
Isner next faces Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who fired 12 aces in a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Igor Kunitsyn of Russia.
Karlovic won this event in 2007, but came through qualifying this year as he works his way back from an Achilles injury.
Top-seeded Mardy Fish was to open his campaign with a second-round match yesterday.
Fish, who became the top-ranked US man for the first time in his career after nudging past Andy Roddick in the world rankings, will take on Spain’s Albert Ramos.
GRAND PRIX HASSAN II
AP, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov beat 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Cypriot, playing his first clay match this season, dropped serve five times.
Kuznetsov saved a break point in the eighth game of the decider before holding serve to lead 5-3.
In other second-round upsets, Pere Riba of Spain rallied to beat fourth-seeded Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 0-6, 6-1, 7-5, and Pablo Andujar of Spain downed No. 6 Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (6), 6-1.
In the quarter-finals, Riba faces Andujar, and Kuznetsov will play eighth-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania, after he beat Michael Berrer of Germany 6-4, 7-6 (4) to reach the last eight of a tournament for the first time this season.
Hanescu, a French Open quarterfinalist in 2005, broke Berrer once in each set.
The top-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain was to play Filippo Volandri of Italy in remaining second-round matches yesterday.
ANDALUCIA EXPERIENCE
AP, MARBELLA, SPAIN
Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka breezed past Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Andalucia Tennis Experience on Wednesday.
Azarenka, coming off a victory at the Sony Ericsson Open, broke four times and saved four breakpoint chances at the clay-court tournament.
In second-round matches, second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova rallied to beat Agnes Szavay 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2, and former No. 1 Dinara Safina ousted fifth-seeded Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6-4.
Sixth-seeded Klara Zakopalova defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino 7-6 (3), 1-6, 7-6 (0), and No. 8 Sara Errani downed Kristina Barrois 6-1, 6-2.
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