Caroline Wozniacki dusted out at Paris opener by Kudermetova: Health first
It appears that at this point Caroline Wozniacki is 'winging it', in respect to her health and playing tennis, a passion she's had as a young girl before her teen years with her primary coach being father Piotr. She has entered her third French Open of her career and holding 30 WTA titles, she should know the caliber of playing her opponents and when to hold them and fold them. Wozniacki was given Veronika Kudermetova in her first round at this French Open and it was the first time they've met. First times are meaningful but not too much for Wozniacki, but it didn't start out that way.
The first set she found her points and stuck it to Kudermetova. She moved smoothly and cross courted her as well as using her slices and spins to her good, grabbing point after point, game after game. The Russian was getting lucky and got a net cord winner over her but it didn't prove productive for Kudermetova. Wozniacki knocked down a 6-0 win and proved she was ready for more. "I played aggressively. I played the way I wanted to play..." the Dane had said at press conference time. She did that and it was proof of her strength and strategies. But the second set was too challenging as the Russian's goal seemed to punish her for giving her that bagel in the opening set. She moved her around with drop shots, cross-court winners and just a textbook of tactics that resulted in her winning points and games. Wozniacki admits that "...I think she got very lucky at the start of the second set and kind of...took advantage of the opportunities she got. The second set was punishing as Kudermetova went up 4-1 with Wozniacki gathering a few games but couldn't seal the deal as the sets were now levelled at 6-0, 6-3.
The decider set told much of the tale of this match as the Dane struggled to grab the last set but it was all Kudermetova who blasted shots and hit into the open court on plenty of times to win the set and match 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. Wozniacki was dealing with a calf injury, obvious by the large bandage on her leg and says that "...I think I just lost a little steam in the end and I made some unforced errors that I normally don't do...it is what it is." Another Open bites the dust for Caroline Wozniacki and she has the U.S. Open as the last, but the grass season before players can click their tennis shoes together is nearly upon them. She's used to the grind and grit of the tour and explains that "...I'm definitely going to go back and just practice and work hard and get ready for the grass season." She acknowledges that she has been under the weather for time saying "...I had some good weeks where I felt great, and thenI'vee had some weeks where I've been sick and some weeks where I've been injured." The first half of the season wasn't the greatest for her and knows that there's always time to turn things around and perhaps do the best she can do with the passion she's had nearly all of her life.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/30RIum3
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