It may not have been the start that Caroline Wozniacki would have liked to her first round at Wimbledon, but it was the end that mattered as the No.5 seed claimed 12 of the last 13 games to claim a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Saisai Zheng.
Demonstrating the composure that took her to world No.1 early in her career, Wozniacki was down a double break of serve before staging her impressive comeback.
“I started off a little bit nervous, I got broken. Then it was hard to break back. You couldn't really see well from one side,” the 24-year-old explained.
“But I managed to just keep my head cool and started to play a little bit better and more consistently. That's really it. The second set I had total control and played the way I wanted to play.”
Recording 14 winners and helped by 30 unforced errors from the No.66 ranked Zheng, it was an assured physical performance for Wozniacki, who was forced to withdraw from last week’s Eastbourne semi-final with a back injury.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” said the Dane, who faces Denisa Allertova in the second round. “I’m happy that I’ve got a day off tomorrow.”
Happy with my win today and loved being out on center court! Thank you all for the support out there! @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/LGEK6a5THv
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) June 30, 2015Jelena Jankovic would also be delighted with a day to recover, the No.28 seed having taken two hours and 40 minutes to overcome Elena Vesnina 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 as she opened her 12th Wimbledon campaign. She faces another Russian, Evgeniya Rodina, in the second round.
It was a more straightforward progression for No.13 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 runner-up claiming an efficient 6-3, 6-2 win over Lucie Hradecka to set up a second round meeting with Ajla Tomjlanovic. Having lost to the Croatian-born Australian in the third round of the 2014 French Open, Radwanska is looking forward to a rematch on grass. “We didn't play since that match,” she said. “I think it's going to be a good challenge.”
Aside from upsets to No.3 seed Simona Halep and 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard, it was largely smooth sailing for the other women’s seeds at Wimbledon. No.8 seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova outclassed Sachia Vickery 6-2, 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with Magdalena Rybarikova, No.15 seed Timea Bacsinszky overcame Julia Goerges 6-2, 7-5 while Garbine Muguruza, the No.20 seed, defeated Varvara Lepchenko 6-4, 6-1.
There were also straight sets wins for No.25 seed Alize Cornet, who overcame Ana Konjuh and No.26 seed Svetlna Kuznetsova as she outclassed Laura Siegemund.
Elena Svitolina, took three sets to defeat Misaki Doi and set up a second-round encounter with Australian Casey Dellacqua while Madison Keys, Wimbledon’s No.21 seed, was locked in a three-set battle with Stefanie Voegele when play was suspended.
