 Wozniacki turned professional soon after her 15th birthday
|
Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock first round defeat in the Eastbourne International as Aravane Rezai of France triumphed 6-4 1-6 6-3.
World number three Wozniacki struggled with the blustery conditions and the attacking, powerful game of Rezai.
Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, also slid to a surprise 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 defeat against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
But Kim Clijsters, in her first grass court match for nearly four years, thrashed Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 6-1.
Clijsters, 27, last played in a grass tournament at the 2006 Wimbledon semi-finals where she was beaten by compatriot Justine Henin.
The former world number one, who had two years away from the sport, is determined to reach the final at Wimbledon for the first time, having appeared in the three other Grand Slam finals and won the US Open in 2005 and 2009.
She outplayed her 20-year-old compatriot Wickmayer, completing victory with ease in 54 minutes.
Meanwhile, Wozniacki could have secured a 4-2 lead in the first set against Rezai, but squandered two break points.
 |
606: DEBATE
|
Rezai broke to move 5-4 ahead when the Dane netted a forehand and served out to take the set.
The French player then squandered three break point chances early in the second set as Wozniacki broke twice and levelled the match.
There was only one break in the decider, but it was Rezai who took it as she forced Wozniacki into a backhand error.
"She played well, she tried to take the ball early and hit every shot," Wozniacki said.
"Definitely I would like to have got some more matches here but I just need to keep my head up and play some practise matches and prepare for Wimbledon that way," added the 19-year-old, who reached the fourth round at SW19 last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment