The 2004 champion and number ten in the world, Svetlana Kuznetsova had a tough task in her second round match as she had to face the two-time US Open finalist and former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki. They had met previously this year at Wimbledon in the first round where the Russian won in straight sets. Wozniacki came unseeded into this tournament as she currently stands as the number 74 in the world. It hasn’t been an easy year for the Dane who until this tournament hadn’t passed the first round of a Grand Slam.
The start of this match seemed to go just as it did in Wimbledon as Kuznetsova quickly had a 4-0 lead over the Dane but then Wozniacki pulled out a fantastic recovery winning six games in a row to take the first set. In the second set, the Dane didn’t yield and with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova booked her spot in the third round.
Svetlana Kuznetsova gets a 4-0 lead, but Wozniacki wins six games in a row to take the first set
Kuznetsova began the match playing aggressively, attacking every shot that Wozniacki sent to her. This kind of game paid off when she broke in the opening game of the match to get the early lead. The Russian started her service game with a double-fault but then recovered to have game point, but the Dane forced a deuce after hitting a return backhand winner. Kuznetsova faced three break points but saved them all to consolidate the break and lead 2-0. A fantastic game of tennis from the Russian gave her a second break which she would later confirm with her serve to increase the gap to 4-0.
Things weren’t looking good for Wozniacki whose biggest problem was the relentless pressure Kuznetsova put on her serve. On his third time serving, the Dane faced another break point but saved it after an unforced error from the Russian. Wozniacki would finally get on the board after holding, but still was down 1-4. After being broken twice that hold was a boost of confidence for the Dane who got another break point after hitting a backhand winner. This time, Wozniacki didn’t need more chances as she finally converted the break to shorten the gap.
The pressure was on Wozniacki who needed to hold to not lose the momentum, but the Dane didn’t show any nervousness as she finally held comfortably to be just one break away from the comeback. Still a break up, Kuznetsova had been taken by surprise by Wozniacki’s sudden improvement but despite having the lead now the pressure was starting to affect the Russian who was making more unforced errors and giving her opponent a chance to be back in the set. A long forehand confirmed the break and the comeback for the Dane who won four games in a row to level things up at 4-4.
The comeback was threatened when Wozniacki quickly faced three break points but just as fast as Kuznetsova got them she lost them after some unforced errors. After forcing a deuce, Wozniacki still struggled to close the game but eventually held to lead for the first time in the set 5-4. After that lengthy hold, Wozniacki was inspired and opened the return game with a backhand winner. A forehand that barely hit the line gave Wozniacki a set point. Another unforced error would complete Wozniacki’s comeback as she won six games in a row to take the first set 6-4.
Wozniacki keeps the momentum to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova
The aggressiveness from the Dane carried on in the second set after she unleashed four straight winners to hold. Now the one who was making mistakes was the Russian who found herself in trouble when she faced two break points. Three winners helped her to hold her serve and tie to 1-1. Nothing was going to stop Wozniacki who was playing probably her best tennis of the year, the Dane didn’t find any problem to hold to be up 2-1. After a complicated first game of serve, Kuznetsova was not comfortable especially with the kind of shots Wozniacki was throwing at her. Despite being aggressive, the Russian couldn’t pass the staggering defense of the Dane who struck first to take the break and lead 3-1.
However, the lead didn’t last long as Wozniacki lost her serve in the following game putting Kuznetsova back in the set. The Russian needed to hold to level the set, but instead, she hit a streak of unforced errors to give back the lead to Wozniacki who now was up 4-2. The Dane consolidated the break with a solid hold to love to be one game away from winning the match.
Kuznetsova didn’t give a chance to the Dane to take the match on her serve and instead decided to put all the pressure on her opponent who now needed to close out the match with her serve. Kuznetsova gave everything and even Wozniacki's defense couldn’t stop the Russian from taking the break and attempt to comeback into the match. After winning the first two points on her serve the Russian went on to make three unforced errors to give the Dane a match point. Followed by a great rally, Wozniacki hit a forehand down the line to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4.
Next for Caroline Wozniacki
In the third round, Caroline Wozniacki will face Monica Niculescu. This will mark their seventh meeting, the Dane has won all their previous encounter. The last time they faced each other was in 2013 in Luxembourg. The Romanian has never taken a set from Wozniacki.