Riske tried to change some of her tactics by giving Wozniacki less angles to work with towards the end of the first set but it was a case of two little, too late for the wildcard as the four-time champion of this event won the opening set, 6-0.
Advertisement
“We’ve had some tough matches in the past”, Wozniacki said. The trouble stood in different areas when it came to their situation. In her last ten matches, the American has only won four dating back to the second round of Wimbledon.
But due to nagging back and leg injuries, she hasn’t been able to fully practice and prepare. But Wozniacki managed to battle back, winning the 10th game of the third set on a shot that just managed to fall behind Vinci and stay inbounds, despite Wozniacki almost diving to the ground just to get to it.
Pliskova broke Savchuk early in the second set, winning the first two games, and didn’t look back after that.
She eliminated Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-0.
The wins for the Dane were accumulating faster than time could go by. Wednesday’s match took 2 hours, 52 minutes to complete. “She completely ruined my rhythm”. “She made it tricky out there with her slides and her flat forehand and mixing up the serve and stuff”, Wozniacki said. The Dane was firing on all cylinders as she held to 15, to open up a sizeable 4-1 lead.
Using her coach’s advice, Riske was trying to gain the upper hand in as many rallies as possible but she started to over press and against a great defender like Wozniacki, that’s what will happen nine times out of ten in a match. With the margin cut in half, Riske was getting somewhere with the newfound resilience. She won 87 percent of her first-serve points for the match.
The victory was more than just a success as she defeated her opponent in less than an hour. “Someone who is charming and fun to hang out with who doesn’t mind me watching “Total Divas” and “Teen Mom” on TV”, she said. I was really happy, because the last match in the (qualifier) was not a great match for me, and I felt like I am not really ready to play matches like I am out of shape. She has become a superstar in her sport with 23 WTA titles, a former world No. 1 standing, had fruitful Rolex and Adidas endorsements, acclaimed friendship with Serena Williams, her rival on-court and highly publicized relationships with top athletes such as ex- fiancé Irish golfer Rory McIlroy and rumored boyfriend Houston Texans defensive player J.J. Watt.
“It definitely is home-court advantage”, she confessed.
Advertisement
“I love that about this tournament; I have so much support here”. She will face Roberta Vinci last on Stadium Court on Wednesday afternoon.
