Wozniacki whizzes into week two

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki’s wonderful spell on grass continued as she swept aside Anabel Medina Garrigues in scorching conditions to ensure she will be part of the second-week shake-up in the ladies' singles. The Danish 9th seed, who came into the tournament fresh from winning the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Eastbourne, produced a sizzling display to claim a 6-2, 6-2 victory and earn a fourth round Wimbledon spot for the first time in her career. At the start of the match she gave herself and the camp a scare by looking decidedly rusty and lost her opening service game. However, it turned out to be a minor hiccup as she found her feet to break straight back. Much is said of the 18-year-old’s forehand – which is similar to Steffi Graf’s when she strikes the ball - but it was her backhand that did the talking, with Wozniacki whipping up winners all over the court. The Spaniard, who sported neon pink knee tape on both knees, darted about the turf to little avail. Soon the set belonged to the teenager who broke into the top 10 on May 18, becoming the first Danish woman to reach those heights. As the temperature began to soar, Medina Garrigues appared to melt and in the blink of an eye Wozniacki was in possession of a 3-0 lead. Out came the umbrellas and ice packs at the change of ends, in a bid to keep the players cool, but it did little to help the world number 20. The 2006 Wimbledon junior champion was on fire. Her powerful baseline strokes proved to be the undoing of Medina Garrigues, who managed to defend two match points on serve, but was not so fortunate on the third, netting a volley to hand Wozniacki the match. Court 4 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) 6 6 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (20) 2 2

Wozniacki's winning run continues

Wozniacki forehand Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki underlined her credentials as an exciting new talent on the women's tour as she defeated the Russian, Maria Kirilenko, 6-0, 6-4 in one hour 14 minutes on Centre Court. Although only 18, Wozniacki came into the 2009 Championships as 9th seed after winning the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Eastbourne. Having reached the third round she has equalled her debut performance in 2008. Wozniacki had defeated the 22-year-old Kirilenko for the loss of just two games in their only previous encounter, at Indian Wells in March last year, and it seemed for a long time in this match that she would even improve on that one-sided occasion. She swept the opening set in only 26 minutes and when she extended the run of straight games to nine in this battle of two pony-tailed blondes sporting white visors, Wozniacki seemed headed for a 'double bagel' win. Her forehand, struck with an exaggerated follow-through in the manner of the great Steffi Graf, inflicted serious damage on Kirilenko, and the Dane even enjoyed the occasional spot of good fortune to deepen the Muscovite's woes. The first indications that this match might not turn out to be the ultimate cakewalk came in the second game of the second set. Although she eventually dropped serve in a long deuce contest, Kirilenko dramatically upped her work rate, accompanied by a sharply escalating level of shrieking, and suddenly Wozniacki's stroll was transformed into a decent contest for the spectators awaiting the arrival of Andy Murray in the next match. From nine games down, Kirilenko won four of the next five games to draw level at 4-4. She especially enjoyed holding serve from 0-40 down in the eighth game. But then, as quickly as the counter-attack had been mounted, it petered out against Wozniacki's relentess hitting. Having held to love to go 5-4 ahead, the Dane then broke Kirilenko to 15 and proceeded to blow kisses to the crowd, a la Sharapova. Centre Court - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) 6 6 Maria Kirilenko RUS 0 4

Wozniacki bridges age gap

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark may be regarded as the future of women’s tennis but she had to survive an almighty scare in the first round against a player who first appeared at Wimbledon before she was even born. Kimiko Date Krumm, aged 38, played her first match at SW19 way back in 1989, a year before 18-year-old Wozniacki entered the world. And Date Krumm, who reached the semi-finals here in 1996, stunned Wozniacki by taking the first set and breaking twice in the second to lead 3-1. But Eastbourne winner Wozniacki, in the form of her young life, finally showed why she is so well regarded. She went on to claw back the second set then raced away with the third to eventually prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. Despite taking a 2-0 lead in the first set, Wozniacki struggled early on against Date Krumm’s game. The Japanese lady, who has only recently returned to the Tour after a near 12-year absence, showed fine grass-court aptitude, winning crucial points at the net. “I knew kind of what to expect from her, and I knew that she's been doing good on grass before,” Wozniacki admitted after the match. “The game was just different from what I am used to. She was playing really flat, and I really had to get under the ball a lot." "She took advantage of that when I was playing short and came to the net and was playing well.” It was Wozniacki's unforced errors that proved crucial in a topsy-turvy first set. At 5-6 Date Krumm broke the Dane at the third time of asking with a wonder shot down the line. Date Krumm continued to roll back the years at the start of the second set and Wozniacki looked in real danger of going out at the first stage. Wozniacki was struggling with her serve with Date Krumm twice breaking to lead 3-1. But the Dane found an extra gear, and with her powerful ground strokes, eventually established control of the match. She won the next five games to take the set and never looked back. With Date Krumm tiring and calling for the trainer, Wozniacki easily took the decisive set 6-1. "It's amazing that she's still coming back and still playing at this level," said Wozniacki. "I think that's great, and she's in such good shape. I'm really impressed." And despite her slow start, 2006 junior winner Wozniacki is confident about her chances at the rest of The Championships. "I like grass," she said. "I think it suits my game, and I usually like it fast. I like the shorter rallies. I like being the one who decides to open up the court first. And I think that my game suits the grass. I think that I've showed that, also, by winning Eastbourne and playing some good matches there." Russian Maria Kirilenko, who got the better of Petra Kvitova, is next up for Wozniacki in the second round. "Today I could have been out," added Wozniacki. "I'm just looking at one match at a time. Kirilenko's a good player, so I need to be 100% focused." Court 2 - Ladies' Singles - 1st Round Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) 5 6 6 Kimiko Date Krumm JPN 7 3 1