Caroline Wozniacki beats Agnieszka Radwanska to make her mark in Istanbul

An unpredictable match the whole way through as it was Radwanska who had the upper hand at the start but Wozniacki managed to edge her way through.  Agnieszka Radwanska got her first break of serve to go 2-1 up in the opening set as Wozniacki started to make a couple of errors on her backhand side.  A worrying start for her as this is usually her most reliable shot.  Both players can hit from the back of the court all day long, but it’s the person who is willing to take a chance and approach the net is the one who is going to take the match.  At the beginning of this matchup it is Radwanska who is taking the upper hand although it took her a while to solidify the break to go 3-1 up.  Wozniacki then added a burst of pace to her shots to win her next service game to love; this helped her to break back at the first time of asking to get back to 4-4.  At this point Wozniacki finally seemed to be able to string a few points together as Radwanska became muddled and strayed away from her game plan and became very passive.  But she managed to save 4 set points and her service game to get it back to 5-5 and continue this topsy-turvy set.  Radwanska finally came through to win the set 7-5. 

Set 2 started the same as the first, momentum swung either way with good and bad shots being played by both players.  Both broke each other early on in the second set with neither player looking convincing.  Wozniacki then upped her game to take the set 6-2 to level the macth after Radwanska took an injury time out. 

Although there were more breaks of serve in the final set, Wozniacki looked as though she was going to pull through and win the match although there was a glimmer of hope for her opponent when Wozniacki faltered 4-2 and 40-0 up.  But she eventually pulled herself and her dress through the match and gained the all important win.  Wozniacki won 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. 

It was the first match of the Championships for Kvitova, Zvonareva, Wozniacki and Radwanska so they were all bound to be nervous but with this out the way let’s hope they step up their game as at this moment in time Kvitova looks the most likely to be able to progress through the round-robin stages in the red group.