On Tuesday, former World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki upset 7th seed Elina Svitolina to win her first grass-court match since 2019 Wimbledon, and advance to the Last 16 at the Bad Homburg Open, the WTA 250 grass court event in Germany.
Yesterday we played in the sun, then in the dark, and then court got a little bit slippery and I unfortunately fell. But after a good night’s sleep, and some treatment, I felt pretty decent today. It was just about getting my body moving and getting aggressive. Caroline Wozniacki
In the continuation of their 1st-round match, which was suspended on Monday due to darkness, the Dane outlasted Svitolina from Ukraine, 6-3 6-7(4) 7-5, after a total of 2 hours 40 minutes on court over the 2 days.
Wozniacki, pulled off her second win in 7 meetings with Svitolina by rallying from a break down in the final set, winning 74.3% of her first serves, 52 of 70, and saving 7 out of the 12 break points she faced in the process.
The Ukrainian was leading 3-6 7-6(4), 2-1 when the match was called on Monday evening, just after Wozniacki required an off-court medical timeout following a bad slip onto her left hip in the 3rd game of the final set.
“Yesterday we played in the sun, then in the dark, and then court got a little bit slippery and I unfortunately fell,” Wozniacki said on court on Tuesday. “But after a good night’s sleep, and some treatment, I felt pretty decent today. It was just about getting my body moving and getting aggressive.”
Wozniacki had to come from a break down when play resumed, and she stormed back to win 4 consecutive games to lead 5-3.
She was broken while serving for the match, though, but bounced back again to break Svitolina for the 7th and final time to close out her first win since Charleston, finishing with 29 winners and 34 unforced errors, while the Ukrainian struck 33 winners offsetting her 40 miscues.
Wozniacki will face Veronika Kudermetova in the 2nd-round on Wednesday, after the Russian opened her campaign with a 3-6 7-5 6-1 win over Diane Parry from France, fighting back from a set and 2-4 down to defeat the qualifier.
American Peyton Stearns also reached the 2nd round with a 6-2 7-5 win over Sunday’s Birmingham champion, Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan,
Donna Vekic upset Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 6th seed, to make the Last 8 at the WTA 250 event in Germany
© Inaki Esnaola/Getty Images
Three players made it into the Last 8 on Tuesday, Croatia’s Donna Vekic upending No 6 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova from Russia, 6-4 3-6 6-3, while Viktoriya Tomova, a Bulgarian qualifier saw off the young talented Czech, Linda Noskova, 6-4 6-2.
Wild-card Paula Badosa from Spain had to come from a set down to defeat lucky loser and home favourite Jule Niemeier, 4-6 6-2 6-1, to also advance to the first grass-court quarter-final of her career as a result.
Czech Katerina Siniakova, though, led No 2 seed Liudmila Samsonova from Russia 6-3, 2-2 when their match was suspended overnight.
