New York, Aug 31 (IANS) World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki raced into the second round of the US Open Tuesday, dismantling 125th-ranked Spaniard Nuria Llagostera 6-3, 6-1, Xinhua reported.
No. 4 Victoria Azarenka wasted little time in establishing herself as one of the contenders for the US Open title, quickly dispatching Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-1, 6-3.
Wozniacki, who has won six titles this year, had little time to savour the win before she was again parrying questions over whether she needs a Grand Slam crown to legitimize her place atop the rankings.
French Open champion Li Na, No. 6 seed, led the seeded player ousted from the tournament, who lost to Romanian teenager Simona Halep 6-2, 7-5.
‘I won six tournaments this year,’ noted Wozniacki, who added a fourth straight New Haven title to her resume on Saturday. ‘I’m happy, healthy, and I can go out there and compete. That’s what’s most important.
‘It has actually been nice the last three, four weeks because I haven’t gotten any questions about number one.’
Wozniacki said she’s working now with a coach who prefers to remain in the background, but is happy receiving long-distance advice.
Perhaps overwhelmed by making her debut on Arthur Ashe stadium, Larsson, No. 61 seed, managed to win only seven points in the first five games of the match, struggling to land her first serves in the court while Azarenka didn’t face a break point on her own serve.
Azarenka will play Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the second round. The two played in the second round of the U.S. Open last year in an infamous match where Azarenka collapsed on the Grandstand court.
Other top women seeds advanced included No. 7 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who beat Galina Voskovoeva of Kazakhstan in three sets of 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and No. 10 Andrea Petkovic of Germany, who dispatched Ekaterina Bychkova of Russia, 6-2, 6-2.
Jelena Jankovic, seeded 11th, easily overcame American Alison Riske, 6-2, 6-0, to earn a ticket to the second round.
Entering this year’s US Open, the 26-year-old Serb has to put a tough summer behind her.
The women’s No. 1 player only four years ago, Jankovic’s best performance this year at a Grand Slam was at Roland Garros, where she advanced to the fourth round and eventually lost to Francesca Schiavone.
She was upset in the first round of Wimbledon in July and then was again upset in the first round of two Olympus US Open Series tournaments in Toronto and New Haven.
Battling back from wrist and ankle injuries, Jankovic has not won a singles title since Indian Wells in March of last year.
‘Finally now, I’m starting to move like the old Jelena, the way I used to move before,’ Jankovic said with some relief after the match.
‘I’m starting to get back my confidence again and I believe I can do well again. When I enjoy myself on the court, that’s when I play my best tennis.’
15th seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia topped Sara Errani of Italy, 7-5, 6-1.
21st seed Daiela Hantuchova of Slovakia and 32nd seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain were eliminated from the first round.
