US Open Day 3 Takeaways: Novak in straights, and a dose of Wozniacki magic
By Marvin Azrak
Wozniacki gets a breakthrough at the US Open
Guess who made a triumphant return to the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium? None other than Caroline Wozniacki, a two-time US Open finalist. This time, though, she scored the best win of her comeback story, taking down the 11th seed Petra Kvitova with a jaw-dropping 7-5, 7-6(5) victory.
Fresh from retirement, Wozniacki strutted her stuff in her third tournament back. She turned into a baseline magician, frustrating Kvitova. The Czech tried to overpower Wozniacki, but she wasn’t having it, especially when it was crunch time in both sets.
Steady as a rock, Wozniacki didn’t let the pressure get to her. She smashed 22 winners, with only 12 unforced errors. On the other side, Kvitova was painting the stat sheet with her risk-taking game, firing an impressive 38 winners. However, those 40 unforced errors were like sprinkles on a cake, a bit much.
Kvitova had her moments in rallies, thinking she was the queen of the court. Yet Wozniacki was the grit master, grinding away and ensuring the ball wouldn’t quit. She had those groundstrokes on lockdown, creating a pressure cooker for Kvitova, who must’ve felt like a fish out of water in that second-set tiebreak.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get more nail-biting, Kvitova pulled out her superhero cape, fighting off not one but two match points when she served at 4-5 in the second set. Then, like a rollercoaster with an unexpected twist, she did it again at 4-6 in the tiebreak. From there, Wozniacki swooped in, served like a pro, and nailed that first match point. No slip-ups, no drama.