Wozniacki eases through in New Haven

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Wozniacki eases through in New Haven

World champion Caroline Wozniacki seems to have put her Cincinnati poor performance behind as the top seed Danish eased through the second term of the New Haven event after beating Polona Hercog 6-3, 6-0 in her debut.

Wozniacki, who was favored by a BYE in the first term, converted four out of five break points against the Slovenian who didn’t create any break chance, sealing the victory in one hour and ten minutes. The Danish won 76 percent of service points and 61 on return, compared to her opponent who finished the game with a 24 return percentage and a 49 one on service points.

Caroline, who is chasing her sixth title of the year, will next meet Christina McHale who has continued to impress in New Haven after defeating Carla Suzrez 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. The American needed just one hour and ten minutes to get rid of the Spaniard who conceded five services. McHale, who had previously ousted Svetlana Kuznetsova, thrashed her opponent with an impressive 70 service percentage and 57 return one.

On the other side, Suarez’s showing included a 43 service percentage and a 30 return one, finishing the game with 32 winners to McHale’s 56. “I played pretty solid. Carla has a really good backhand, so I was trying to get her moving on that side, not just stand in one spot hitting it,” said McHale after the meeting.

The American will meet Wozniacki for the second time both this year and in career, the head to head series being led by the world number 66 youngster who stunned the world leaders 6-4, 7-5 in Cincinnati, earlier this month. “Last week I served well, moved well, and got to a lot. I’m just going to play my game and not worry about what she might be changing,” added McHale of her next meeting with the Danish.

Third seed Francesca Schiavone has also made an easy progress into the third round of the New Haven US Open series event when she ousted Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 17 minutes. The Italian, who has not won a title so far this season, broke Niculescu five times and only conceded one of her services in the opener.

She won at the same time 62 percent of service points, 55 on return and just 43 percent of first serve points, compared to her opponent who had a solid first serve percentage of 76, but who also won 45 percent of service points and 38 on return. Schiavone will next face either Elena Vesnina or Anabel Medina.

The same day qualifier Petra Cetkovska edged fifth favorite Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in nearly two hours and a half. The Czech broke her opponent five times, conceding at the same time three services, compared to her opponent who failed to convert five other chances.

Cetkovska won 60 percent of service points, 44 on return and managed to grab the victory despite committing 11 double faults. On the other side, Radwanska won 56 percentage of service points and 40 on return. The Czech will next meet either Klara Zakopalova or Marion Bartoli who have both made straight sets progresses.

Zakopalova beat Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 23 minutes, after breaking the Italian five times. The Czech won the opener thanks to a late break which made Pennetta fight hard for her comeback. But the second term saw the same Czech rally past her opponent and grab a four game lead which she eventually converted into an easy win.

Zakopalova won 62 percent of service points and 50 on return, while the Italian’s showing included a 50 service percentage and a 38 return one. Pennetta managed to break the Czech twice, but never got the chance to stay ahead of her or threaten with a consistent turnaround.

Anabel Medina has also made a straight set progress, but the Spaniard needed two hours to oust a stubborn Ksenia Pervak who was very close to push the game into a decider. The Spaniard picked the 6-2, 7-6 victory after an easy start but a way too uneasy second term.

Medina broke her opponent five times but faced 12 break points from the opposite side. Fortunately, she managed to save nine of them and leave Pervak well behind especially in the opener. The second set was pushed into the tie break by the Russian who was very close to setting the pace within it. But the world number 52 eventually conceded a three mini break lead and lost the set at the death.

The head to head series between the two have now gone 2-0 to the world number 32 Medina who had previously defeated Pervak at this term’s Miami event. Medina’s next opponent is Elena Vesnina who stunned seventh seed Jelena Jankovic in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

The two exchanged ten breaks as they broke each other five times. Vesnina broke the Serb three times in the opener and conceded a couple of services early in the meeting. But the second set saw her lose a couple of services and grab zero breaks, something which allowed Jankovic to go four games ahead and push the game into a decider.

Finally, the third set was won by the same Venina who restored the pace and went two games ahead thanks to a couple of more breaks. She thus made the progress after a very tight game which saw her win 54 percent of service points and 44 on return. Jankovic, who hit 96 winners, left the court with a better overall performance which included a 56 service percentage and a 46 return one.

Bottom of the draw, second seed and winner of this year’s French Open Li Na, who has been favored by a BYE in the first term, is to meet Maria Kirilenko in her debut at the New Haven. The Russian beat Sara Errani 7-5, 7-5 in two hours and 20 minutes.

World number 26 has finally grabbed her first win over the Italian who had won all the three previous meetings. Kirilenko broke the 38^th-ranked five times and conceded three of her services, finishing the game with a 59 service percentage and a 48 return one. On the other side, Errani’s showing included a 52 service percentage as well as a 41 return one.

Two late breaks cost the Italian both sets. She thus lost the game despite winning a couple services from Kirilenko who saved seven break points. The Russian will meet Li Na for the fifth time, the head to head series being led 3-1 by the Chinese who has last defeated the 24 year old at the last term’s US Open Grand Slam. Kirilenko’s only win comes from the 2005 Hyderabad tournament.

Eighth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, winner of this year’s Monterrey event, needed two hours and 20 minutes to book a second term berth as the Russian defeated compatriot Vera Dushevina in three sets after surviving an early scare, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Pavlyuchenkova broke her opponent six times, but also conceded five services to Dushevina whose strong start helped her to go one set ahead after nearly 45 minutes. World number 18 Anastasia, who was meeting Dushevina for the second time this year, won 57 percent of service points, 49 on return and 64 of first serve points, compared to the 77^th-ranked who finished the game with a 51 service percentage, seven double faults and a 43 return percentage.

The Russian will next meet Roberta Vinci, winner of this term’s Birmingham event. The Italian defeated Lucie Hradecka 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 44 minutes. Vinci lost the first set after conceding an early break, but managed to set the pace in the last two. Vinci, who has now improve her head to head series with the world number 47 to three wins and zero defeats, broke her opponent twice in the second set and three more times in the decider.

She also finished the game with a 60 service percentage, 46 return one and a 64 first serve percentage, compared to Hradecka who won 54 percent of service points, 40 on return and 53 of first serve ones. She will meet Pavlyuchenkova for the sixth time. The Russian leads the direct meetings 4-1 with the last win dating from this year’s Stuttgart tournament. As for the 28 year old, Vinci’s only win was picked back in 2009 at Wimbledon.

New Haven Prize Money and points:

Winner – $103,000 and 470 points WTA

Runner up – $55,000 and 320 points WTA

Semi finalist – $29,500 and 200 points WTA

Quarter finalist – $15,675 and 120 points WTA

Second round – $8,500 and 60 points ATP

First round – $4,650 and 1 point WTA

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