Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig easily Friday to set up a semifinal showdown with Caroline Wozniacki at the Pan Pacific Open.
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She again looked in trouble after losing her serve for the second time in the opening set on Sunday but proved nearly unstoppable after receiving treatment on her upper thigh and wrapped up her 24th career title in 106 minutes.
Wozniacki, who carried her nation’s flag at this summer’s Rio Olympics, is looking to maintain her streak of having won a title in every year since 2008.
“I was thinking too much about the whole situation”, said Osaka. The Indo-German duo lost 6-4, 3-6, 10-12 to the British-Finnish combination in a match that lasted an hour and 19 minutes. “I should have focused more and try to play my game instead of just reacting to everything”. Of course it’s satisfying and I’m really happy with what I’ve done so far, but I’m the type of person who wants to do better at everything.
Osaka – playing in her first WTA final – had led 3-1 in the first set but couldn’t sustain the momentum.
The first four games of the third set saw both players hold serve until Osaka recorded the first break, then she added a second in the seventh game before finishing up the match with a smash that Svitolina returned into the net.
Wozniacki, who struck back from 3-1 down in the second and third sets, ended Radwanska’s resistance on her fourth match point, forcing the Pole into a loose forehand, which she dumped tamely into the net after nearly three hours on court.
“With Caroline, we’ve played so many matches everywhere on every surface, it’s always a great challenge against her”, Radwanska said.
Her on-court lull came after Wozniacki called for a medical timeout, something a momentum and power player like Osaka was not prepared for. “I just had to stay aggressive and stay calm”.
“I think she has great potential, she has a great game”. She has a great serve, a great forehand.
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Wozniacki had seen her world ranking plunge to 74th after suffering wrist and ankle trouble, her father even telling a Danish tabloid the 26-year-old could retire from tennis.
