The US Open and Caroline Wozniacki’s return to tennis were successful Friday thanks to her 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 triumph over American Jennifer Brady, who is also making a comeback after a long hiatus.
After 312 years of retirement, the 33-year-old Danish player lifted her hands as she won the match and advanced to the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows. She did this in just her third tournament back.
In her postgame interview, she remarked, “To actually be here at Arthur Ashe Stadium with all of you supporting me is a dream come true. What a privilege this is.
Her next opponent is No. 6 seed Coco Gauff, who overcame a shaky start to defeat No. 32 seed Elise Mertens in the evening session by scores of 3-6, 6-3, and 6-0.
“Today’s energy was really beneficial to me. Gauff, a Florida teenager who is 19 years old, said, “I felt you guys. “I gave every game my best effort.”
The crowd cheered loudly as the 2022 French Open runner-up turned things around and triumphed for the 14th victory in her last 15 matches, all on hard courts.
Gauff, who was seeded sixth and advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s tournament at Flushing Meadows, thanks to a run that included her two best career victories.
Wozniacki, who has never met Gauff in her professional career, said she won’t begin to consider that match until she returns home and celebrates with her 2-year-old daughter Olivia and 10-month-old son James.
In order to start a family, the former World No. 1 and Australian Open winner left sports in early 2020. Later, she worked as a TV analyst. She is currently ranked 623rd and needed a wild card to enter the US Open main draw, but she believes she still has what it takes to go far.
Top-seeded Against close friend Kaja Juvan, Iga Swiatek didn’t hold back and defeated the Slovenian qualifier 6-0, 6-1 in just 49 minutes.
The highest-seeded woman was eliminated in a later round when No. 4 seed and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina was defeated by No. 30 Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4. For the first time at the U.S. Open, Cirstea advanced to the round of 16, where she will play No. 15 Belinda Bencic on Sunday.
The finalist at the 2021 Australian Open, Brady, 28, has missed the last two seasons of the tour due to ailments that include a fracture in her right knee and a tear in her left foot.
Wozniacki appeared to be in serious trouble after falling behind 2-0 in the second set after losing a break, but she persevered to win the set handily and surge to a 5-0 lead in the third.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Swiatek, the defending champion from Poland, has only lost nine games so far in the competition, which is the fewest since Serena Williams (8) in 2013.
This year on the WTA tour, Swiatek has dealt her opponents 20 6-0 sets, which ranks her third among players since 2000, behind only Williams (25 in 2013) and herself (22 in 2022).
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Swiatek has won 56 matches this season, which is the most among players on the WTA and ATP tours. The winner of the match between 20th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko and American Bernarda Pera will be her next opponent.
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, the No. 10 seed and this year’s French Open champion, defeated American Taylor Townsend 7-6 (0), 6-3 to go to the fourth round.
By forcing Townsend’s serve-and-volley attempt off the net and onto the baseline, Muchova equaled her greatest performance at Flushing Meadows. Townsend, who was ranked 132nd, only won 23 of 70 baseline points and committed 39 unforced mistakes.
After making it all the way to the final of this month’s tune-up tournament in Cincinnati and losing to American Coco Gauff in straight sets, Muchova entered the US Open with a career-high ranking and momentum.
She will next compete against Xinyu Wang of China, who defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova by scores of 4-6, 6-3, and 6-2.
