No. 8 seeded Caroline Wozniacki fended off a late-match surge from WTA Rising Star Bojana Jovanovski to reach the second round of the China Open.

Photo by Kevin Lee/Getty Images

BEIJING, China - 2010 China Open champion Caroline Wozniacki looked on course for a smooth victory on Sunday night, but WTA Rising Star Bojana Jovanovski had other plans, pegging the No.8 seed back on serve after trailing 5-0 in the second set. Wozniacki ultimately steadied herself to win, 6-2, 6-4.
The Dane was in control from the outset, racing to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before closing it out, and winning the first five games of the second as well. For her part, Jovanovski was coming off a solid week at the Tashkent Open, where she upset fellow WTA Rising Star and top seed Annika Beck en route to the semifinals just two days prior.
One game from defeat, however, the Serb finally began to connect with her searing groundstrokes, saving two match points and breaking twice in a row to find herself two points from leveling the set at 5-5.
Scrambling from the back of the court, Wozniacki outrallied Jovanovski in that critical 10th game, culminating in a thrilling final point that saw the former No.1 save several would-be winners to clinch the win.
Awaiting Wozniacki in the next round is hometown favorite and local wildcard, Wang Qiang; Wang beat Wozniacki in their only prior encounter two years ago in Kuala Lumpur, where the ailing Dane fell in three sets.
Published October 04, 2015 12:14