The 2018 champion showed grit and fortitude as she knocked off a dangerous, seeded teenager.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson / Corleve
There’s no denying that Melbourne is a special place for Caroline Wozniacki, and that fact held true again on Day 3 as the 2018 champion prolonged her final professional tournament by notching a gritty 7-5 7-5 victory over hard-charging teenager Dayana Yastremska to set a third-round clash with Ons Jabeur.
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Wozniacki overcame double-break deficits in both sets to improve to 35-11 lifetime at the Happy Slam, and afterwards the Dane was serenaded as the Margaret Court Arena let the song “Sweet Caroline” loose from the loudspeakers as the former World No.1 awaited her post-match interview on court.
“It's a special song for me, especially here because when I won the tournament, they played the "Sweet Caroline" song,” Wozniacki told reporters after the match. “It's a great memory. It means a lot after great wins like this that it gets played. It's a special song for me and the team and my family.”
Wozniacki needed to weather a storm against one of the rising forces of the women’s game and she did so in vintage fashion, stretching out points whenever she could and doing everything in her power to entice the talented Ukrainian to miss the mark.
“I was just thinking to myself, it surely can't continue,” Wozniacki said. “If it's going to continue, then there is not much I can do out there. But, you know, then she started making errors. … I also knew if I could stay with her the first two, three points after the serve and after the return, then it was getting more into my favor. So that's really what I was going to try and do out there.”
Wozniacki finished with 15 winners and 15 unforced errors while Yastremska finished with 36 winners but tossed in 47 unforced. It was Wozniackis' 597th career victory.
“It feels great,” Wozniacki said. “The crowd is really supporting me out there and standing behind me and it's amazing. It's a tournament where I have always had crowd support, so it just feels even more special because it's even more now. I feel just lucky to be out there and, you know, still playing on a high level.”
