Former World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki beat Donna Vekic in her 2nd round suit while Dominika Cibulkova downed Hsieh Su-Wei in the Australian Open. Wozniacki will subsequent play Johanna Konta.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki become in ominous contact Thursday as she blasted into the Australian Open 0.33 spherical to set up a blockbuster assembly with Britain’s Johanna Konta.
The seventeenth seed, angling for her first Grand Slam name, smashed Donna Vekic 6-1, 6-three on Rod Laver arena, barely setting a foot incorrect.
Diminutive Dominika Cibulkova saved her Australian Open campaign heading in the right direction as the sixth seed moved deeper into an event that has satisfied reminiscences. The 27-12 months-old Slovak, journeying underneath the radar notwithstanding winning the WTA Finals in October, noticed off Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei on Margaret court docket arena 6-four, 7-6 (10/8), triumphing on her 5th healthy point.
It sets up a third spherical clash towards Russian 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova, who stepped forward after her opponent Sara Errani retired even as dropping 6-2, three-2 with what appeared to be a leg injury.
The football-mad Wozniacki, a large Liverpool supporter, has put injury struggles apart and loved a resurgence during the last 12 months, together with her from mind-blowing to this point in Melbourne.
Her reward for beating Croatia’s Vekic, whose boyfriend Stan Wawrinka became watching from the sidelines, is a showdown with Konta, who has additionally been in fine fettle.
“It’s the sort of brilliant court docket. continually top notch playing the largest courts in tennis,” she said, of once more being on the centre court at Melbourne Park. She got here out of the gates flying towards 20-12 months-vintage Vekic, ranked ninety-nine in the global, and raced to a 5-zero lead in a one-sided contest earlier than the Croat were given on the scoreboard.
It becomes tighter in the second set but Wozniacki, who prides herself on being one of the fittest players on the excursion, chased down every ball and never gave up to run out an easy winner.
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“I know how she played and knew what to anticipate,” she said of Vekic. “I instruction with her from time to time and that I just attempted to live focused.”
Wozniacki’s performance to date in Melbourne has been a welcome alleviation for a participant who was on a depressing downward slide at the primary Grand Slam of the 12 months.
She made the semis in 2011 however regressed one degree every year for the reason that, existing within the quarter-finals in 2012, then the fourth round, all the manner to a first spherical departure 365 days ago.