Headlines had Caroline Wozniacki about to lose her whole arm following the wrist niggle she inherited from a loss in Sydney. Seems that the top players always pick up an injury in a disappointing defeat. Never offer it as an excuse - just leave it dangling in the breeze for a branch of the media to take on board.
The injury card is normally played later in the tournament when up against a tough opponent, one who may have the game to win. So in no way did Wozniacki appear troubled or handicapped by a sore hand when faced with Anastasia Rodionova in round one. Let's be real, the 2 reasons Rodionova was to play her first and last singles match in the Aus Open this year on night one were: 1) she's Australian 2) Wozniacki is the number one ranked women in tennis and probably demanded to be seen in prime time. Rodionova simply the support act on this occasion.
A scrappy start assisted Rodionova to keep pace with the Danish delight. In the fifth game the Aussie even had the chance to break serve. The big points were won by the great Dane, and 3-2 became 4-2 when Anastasia basically presented a service break to Wozniacki. Caroline served particularly well, and her penetrating ground strokes kept immense pressure on the unhappy camper from Australia. From early in the first set, Caroline won 9 straight games, and Rodionova had no answer - not a useful one anyway.
The loudest applause for the local came when she denied Wozniacki a 6-0 bagel in set 2. That mere statistic only delayed slightly the finish of a dominant first round performance from the world number one. Caro will most likely need to win the Open or at worst make the final to have any hope of keeping her number one crown. 6-2 6-1 is a positive step in that direction.
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