Impressive Wozniacki eases past Brengle

World number three Caroline Wozniacki had little trouble in getting 2018 off to a winning start, easing past Madison Brengle in Auckland.

Published : Jan 02, 2018 18:25 IST

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki needed less than an hour to dispatch her American opponent.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki needed less than an hour to dispatch her American opponent.
lightbox-info

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki needed less than an hour to dispatch her American opponent.

World number three Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the last 16 at the Auckland Open, beating Madison Brengle for the loss of just three games.

American Brengle stunned Serena Williams in the corresponding tournament 12 months ago, handing the 23-time grand slam winner her only defeat of a truncated 2017, but never looked like replicating that upset as Wozniacki powered through to a meeting with Croatia's Petra Martic.

Brengle kept it tight early on but folded when top seed Wozniacki broke for a 4-2 first-set advantage. The Dane rattled off eight of the next nine games to clinch a 6-3 6-0 victory in just 58 minutes.

Read: Konta battles past Tomljanovic in Brisbane

"I thought I played pretty well, especially considering it's the first match of the year," Wozniacki said. "It took me a couple of games to just get the rhythm and then I started playing better and better.

"I'm just trying to get my legs moving, trying to make the right decisions, wait for the right shots to play aggressive and go for it, and find the right balance of offence and defence."

There were also wins for third seed Barbora Strycova and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, albeit in more challenging circumstances.

Strycova was pushed all the way by 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani before coming through 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 while Radwanska also required three sets before prevailing 6-2 4-6 6-2 against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Three seeds did depart on Tuesday, however, with Lauren Davis, Yulia Putintseva and Mona Barthel all beaten.

Davis was thrashed 6-1 6-2 by fellow American Sachia Vickery, Putintseva went down 6-3 6-3 to Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure and Barthel succumbed 6-2 6-2 to Varvara Lepchenko.

Elsewhere in the draw there were victories for Viktoria Kuzmova, Taylor Townsend, Johanna Larsson and Veronica Cepede Royg.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment