Caroline Wozniacki had a rough start in her opening round but fought back to win t straight up. The former number one..."/> Caroline Wozniacki had a rough start in her opening round but fought back to win t straight up. The former number one..."/>
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Wozniacki fights back to win over Zheng

By Rudy Martinez

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Caroline Wozniacki had a rough start in her opening round but fought back to win t straight up. The former number one climbed back in the first set to blank China’s Saisai Zheng in the second winning 7-5, 6-0 on Center Court at Wimbledon Tuesday.

The Dane came into Wimbledon for the ninth time trying to make it past the fourth round that she has been knocked out of four times. She makes her first step at the All England Club playing the 21 year old Chinese player who is ranked 66th in the world. She made a run at each of the three previous grass tournaments failing to go further than the second round.

With her drawing Wozniacki, the chances are not good as she is warmed up for action. The Dane lost out to Belinda Bencic in the AEGON International semifinals before she went on to win the title. Wozniacki is considered a top player and would be a factor to play well in her opening round.

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    • The match was moved to the center court as play in previous matches ended early enough to allow a much larger audience to watch both ladies get at each other.

    Zheng took the lead in the first set with a double break point against Wozniacki where she made an unforced error on the forehand. With the serve now in play for the Chinese tennis star, she took a second straight against the Dane as her two game point lead ended with Wozniacki firing a forehand outside the court.

    Wozniacki pulled out a love service to get on the board but watched as Zheng regained the two game lead on her with pressure on the backhand side of Wozniacki. With a 4-1 lead in the set, Wozniacki made the decision to change things up on the both sides of her struggling game. She began her comeback winning the next three straight to tie the set back at level terms relieving her fans a bit of stress as well as herself.

    She continued the fight where it eventually lead to play the set for seven games. Wozniacki led 6-5 over her Chinese opponent ready to play defense with Zheng on the serve in the 12th. It went into a deuce draw where Wozniacki would not allow Zheng to walk away with a set win easily. After regaining the advantage, Wozniacki took the set after 51 minutes in what was a strong showing in the face of adversity.

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    After a much needed break between sets, Wozniacki came back with tremendous force winning the first three games of the second. The Dane dominated so well against Zheng that her chances looked better to finish strong against her. Zheng called for a medical tech to come out as she had pains in her left wrist. While being checked out Wozniacki did her best to keep warm so as to not lose her momentum.

    The set resumed with Wozniacki battling against Zheng who found power to challenge her in the fourth game. She eventually broke ahead on deuce to continue her winning streak that sat at five games. Wozniacki moved to a 5-0 lead in the set as her opportunity for a match victory was alive and well.

    On a match point chance, Wozniacki challenged a call on the line that the ball landed in. Video showed that the ball was in but had to be replayed. “I really don’t know the rule exactly,” said Wozniacki to ESPN’s Lee McKenzie. “Sometimes you win the point, sometimes you replay the point so I’m not sure but I’m just happy to be out there on center court.”

    “I really don’t know the rule exactly.“Sometimes you win the point, sometimes you replay the point” – Caroline Wozniacki

    After a short run on deuce, Wozniacki got the job done and won on a drive to the far corner giving her the win she most wanted. “It was a little bit of a shaky start and little tough to see with the sun so I managed to fight for every point and I played well,” she said after the match.

    It ended in 1 hour and 29 minutes with Wozniacki finding a way to bring her “A” game and move on. “You just want to get a good start to Wimbledon its always a little tricky in the first match,” Wozniacki said. “I was happy that about how I managed to turn it around in the second set and step it up a notch.”

    “You just want to get a good start to Wimbledon its always a little tricky in the first match,” – Caroline Wozniacki

    The Dane will hope for a better showing in the second round where she’ll face the winner between Katerina Siniakova and Denisa Allertova Thursday.

    Next: Radwanska blows by Hradecka in opening round

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