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By Erik Gudris/August 27, 2013

 

Former No.1's such as Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic along with former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced on Day Two at the US Open.
(Photo Credit: AP)

 

While the focus in the women's draw remains on top seeds Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, a number of former Grand Slam champions and No.1's are right behind them ready to claim their first ever US Open title.

No. 6 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the finals of New York back in 2009, secured her place in the second round with comfortable 6-2, 7-5 win over Ying-Ying Duan of China.

Wozniacki, a former No.1, is showing better form of late and some feel she has the potential to make a deep run in New York. She talked about her up and down season and why she always believes better results are ahead.

"I think if you ask any athlete, there will always be ups and downs. You know, the downs just make the ups even better.  You know, you appreciate it more. You love it," said Wozniacki. "You know, the thing is nothing is ever too late and nothing is impossible.  I love proving people wrong, and I love what I do. I live the life I have always dreamed of, and I have a passion and I have something to wake up for every morning.  I enjoy it. It's great."

For No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova, finding herself in a three set battle is becoming the norm for the Czech star. Since the start of the season, more than 50% of her matches end up in a final set. Today was no exception as once Kvitova looked in control over Japan's Misaki Doi after taking the opening set 6-2.

Doi fought back to take the second set and force yet another third set for Kvitova to get through this year. But Kvitova used her big groundstrokes to runaway with the decider and claim a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win.

In her post-match press conference, Kvitova was asked how she likes playing in New York and the often noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"Well, for me it's quite difficult to say. I like the Wimbledon, which is very calm, and here it's like more crowd and had big show.I like big matches on the big stadium, too, but, I mean, the people, it's too much crowdy for myself, I think."

Things were a lot more straightforward for No. 13 seed Ana Ivanovic who reached the quarterfinals in New York last year. Ivanovic had no trouble dismissing Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-0 in her opening round match.

Afterward, Ivanovic talked about her new team that includes a Serbian hitting partner and trainer that she hopes will be the right fit for her after Wimbledon.

"I was playing really well and I had a few tough losses," said Ivanovic about her prep before New York. "It's obviously hard, more so emotionally than anything else. I'm very confident with the game and the way I was playing before that. I know I did a very good preparation. You know, I have a new team with me. Obviously it takes time to get comfortable, to get things, you know, to work and to work smoothly."
 
Around the Grounds: Mixed Day For American Hopes

With 19 U.S. women in the main singles draw, the most since 2006, many American fans are hoping to see several local favorites advance into the second week.

Tuesday saw mixed results for two of those players. Christina McHale, who recently battled a bout with mono, had one of her better results of the year as took out Germany's Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-3.

But it was the end of the road for Varvara Lepchenko who faced off against Romania's Alexandra Dulgheru. After splitting the first two sets, Lepchenko found herself with 0-40 on Dulgheru's serve at 4-all. But Dulgheru went on to hold serve and eventually both players needed a final set tiebreak to decide the nearly three hour match.

Dulgheru played better down the stretch and though Lepchenko saved three match points, she netted a return on the fourth match point. That gave Dulgheru the 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5) win to advance into the second round.

Follow Erik Gudris on Twitter @ATNtennis
(Photo Credit: AP)

 

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