Angry Wozniacki battles past Bertens after tantrum
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki shakes hands with Netherlands' Kiki Bertens after Wozniacki won their match. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Second seed Caroline Wozniacki overcame a late temper tantrum to forge into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-4 6-3 win over Kiki Bertens on Friday.
Serving for the match at 5-3 under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, the former world number one harangued the chair umpire when a line call went against her and pounded her racquet into the blue hardcourt when Bertens saved a second match point.
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Netherlands' Kiki Bertens in action during her match against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Bertens, seeded 30th, cancelled out a third match point with a ripping return down the line but Wozniacki sealed the fourth with a huge serve that the Dutchwoman could only fire long.
In her previous match, Wozniacki had to save two match points on an epic comeback from 5-1 down in the third set against Croatian Jana Fett, so she was thrilled to avoid another drawn-out battle against Bertens.
"Right now I'm playing with house money," the Dane, a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2011, said in her post-match interview on court.
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in action during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
"Right now I've got nothing to lose ... I got a second chance and I'm going to try to take it and see how far I can go."
Wozniacki will meet Slovakian 19th seed Magdalena Rybarikova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark hits a shot against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. REUTERS/Edgar Su
(Editing by Toby Davis)
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in action during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Netherlands' Kiki Bertens reacts during her match against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki reacts during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in action during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in action during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki reacts and throws her racket during her match against Netherlands' Kiki Bertens. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 19, 2018. Netherlands' Kiki Bertens in action during her match against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
