Caroline Wozniacki registers a success against Ksenia Pervak in the opener – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, had to recover from a slump to take the better of the Kazakh tennis ace, Ksenia Pervak, in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday. The sixth seed Dane laboured for more
than three hours to settle the final score line at 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-4 in her favour to reach the second round of the coveted WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, Spain.
It was the second time that Wozniacki faced the world number 38 in a singles encounter. She defeated Pervak in the 2009 PTT Pattaya Open in Thailand and replicated the similar sort of performance to improve 2-0 against her in the
head-to-head series. The world number six faced some serious resistance from Pervak throughout the contest but kept her focus in the game to turn the tables on the unseeded Kazakh in the end.
The overall match statistics clearly depict an intense competition between the two talented competitors. The 20-year-old Kazakh evenly matched Wozniacki’s aggression throughout the contest but failed to deliver the decisive blow
in the final set of the match to finish on the losing side. Wozniacki converted eight out of 19 break points, whilst Pervak registered the similar number of serve breaks out of her 22 opportunities in the match.
"I went down and rolled my ankle in the first set," Wozniacki said after winning her 19th singles brawl of the running season. "I could feel the pain. I felt restricted out there, but I just fought as hard as I could,
which is all I could do today. I don't really know how I was able to win the match. I'm not playing tomorrow, so a day of rest will be nice, then we'll see.”
Action started off from the fourth game of the match, with Wozniacki drawing the first blood to lead 3-1. A series of break points was followed and both players traded four serve breaks apiece to drag the opening set into a tie-breaker
round at 6-6. The decider also went to the wire and scores reached 7-7. The sixth seed Dane capitalized on a vital mini-break to close out the first set at 7-6(7) but a sudden shift of momentum deprived her off the second set of the match at 3-6.
Pervak’s winning impetus was halted in the third set of the match when Wozniacki nailed three break points in reply to her two serve breaks and wrapped up victory at 6-4. She will face Mona Barthel of Germany in the second round
of the Madrid Open.
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