Second seed Wozniacki fights back from the brink

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Second seed Caroline Wozniacki saved two match points as she battled back from 5-1 down in the deciding set to beat Melbourne Park debutante Jana Fett 3-6 6-2 7-5 in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Former world number one Wozniacki was simply outplayed by the 21-year-old Croatian for large parts of the match but won six straight games to avert the upset and claim her place in the third round.

“That was crazy, I don’t know how I got back into the match,” said a relieved Wozniacki.

“She’s a tricky opponent, she had nothing to lose, and I think she realised she was at 5-1 and she let off the speed a little bit. I thought, ‘this is my last chance and I’ll have to go on the attack’. Then things were going my way and I thought ’ this is my chance’.”

Fett, ranked 119th in the world, played some brilliant shots throughout the contest and rattled off eight straight points to win the opening set in 33 minutes. Fired by the first of two rows with umpire Richard Haigh over delayed challenges, Wozniacki worked her way back into the contest to take the second stanza when Fett hit a return long.

The Croatian refused to fade away, though, and Wozniacki threw her racket to the ground in disgust after being broken for 3-1 with Fett driving home her advantage to stand on the brink of the third round at 5-1 40-15 up.

Fett twice served for the match but nerves got the better of her and Wozniacki took full advantage to set up a third-round meeting with Belgian Kiki Bertens or American Nicole Gibbs.

The Dane looked every inch the world number two as she briskly served out for victory, which came when a crestfallen Fett dumped a backhand into the net after a shade over two and a half hours in the sun on Rod Laver Arena.

“Experience was crucial today,” said Wozniacki, who is on her 11th visit to Melbourne Park as she continues her quest for a maiden grand slam title. “I’ve been out here so many times and I knew how she would feel being out here against me and having the chance to win.”

Svitolina struggling with injury after second round win

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Fourth seed Elina Svitolina revealed she had been dealing with injury issues at the Australian Open after successfully negotiating a tricky second round match against Katerina Siniakova on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian conceded only her second set in seven matches this year but ultimately found a way past her Czech opponent 4-6 6-2 6-1 as the temperatures soared on Rod Laver Arena.

“It was very tough for me today,” the 23-year-old said. “I didn’t feel good and hopefully I can recover and be ready for next match. I had some issues before the start of the (tournament), it was like big question that I‘m going to step on court for my first round.”

The next match will be against 15-year-old compatriot Marta Kostyuk, the 521-ranked qualifier who doubled down on her maiden grand slam victory on Monday with a 6-3 7-5 win over local Olivia Rogowska on Wednesday.

“First time I heard about her when she won here,” said Svitolina. “It’s pretty cool that I‘m playing someone from my country. It’s gonna be very exciting for me and hopefully I can be ready for that match.” Svitolina had been firming as one of the favourites in a wide open race for the Melbourne Park crown after winning the Brisbane International warm-up event.

Her first set performance against Siniakova clearly sounded a warning to Svitolina about letting any kind of complacency creep into her head as she earned six break points but failed to convert a single one of them.

World number 59 Siniakova, who also took Svitolina to three sets at the U.S. Open last year, really went for her shots, hitting 11 winners, and it was she who managed to get the upper hand in an arm-wrestle of a 50-minute set.

Svitolina finally got her first break at the eighth attempt to go 2-0 up in the second set.

Siniakova never gave up but was not the same threat after a seven-minute medical timeout in the second set and Svitolina claimed the victory with an unreturnable serve after two hours and 14 minutes.

“The second and third set was 6-2 6-1, but I felt like it was 7-6 in the third or 8-6 in the third,” Svitolina said. “It was very tough for me today. Not feeling great and was not focused on the right things.”