“Mom, I have a wish. I wish you win,” 2-year-old Olivia Wozniacki Lee told her mom before she left for her first-round duel at IGA Stadium on Tuesday morning.
A few hours later, on her return to the game after 40 months of absence, Caroline Wozniacki easily defeated Kimberly Birrell in two sets of 6-2, 6-2.
It was Birrell who best summed up the Dane’s game after the clash: “She played the kind of tennis she’s known for,” the 25-year-old Australian hinted.
That says a lot.
It was all there: fighting spirit, patience, precision. If a spectator in the stands did not know that Wozniacki had not played for three years, he would certainly not have guessed it by watching her run from one end of the field to the other.
Almost an hour had passed since her victory when Wozniacki met the media, but she was still sporting the same beaming smile. “It’s like riding a bike,” dropped the former world number one.
Wozniacki was “a little nervous” coming onto the court to the sound of Sweet Caroline before the game, she admitted. She meant well, of course. Although she knows she can make it back to the top—”I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe it,” she said on Sunday—the task is daunting.
If she plays like she did on Tuesday, all hopes are high.
“When you play the big points or when you see an opening, you get super wrapped up and you don’t hit the ball the way you would have liked. You have to start from scratch and there were several moments like that where I was like, I didn’t expect [that shot] to come from my racquet at that moment. »
On the other side of the court, Birrell was also nervous. For other reasons, however. After all, she was up against a player she once watched on TV. And then, as the 115th racket in the world, it’s not every day that she faces a former Australian Open champion on the center court of a Masters 1000.
“I knew it would be a big challenge,” she said. It was a big moment for her, and for me too. I played my best, but I think I gained some very valuable lessons. »
Broken from the first game, Wozniacki took a few minutes to find her bearings. But once it was done, she didn’t look back.
Lively and determined, she smashed her opponent three times in the first set. Birrell wasn’t playing badly, but she too often committed unforced errors at crucial points.
Wozniacki didn’t slow down in the second set. From the back of the court or at the net, she was patient and in absolute control of her game. Nothing would stop her from leaving this court with the victory.
“I was happy with how my body and my form held up today, especially because all of a sudden it got hot, the sun came out… I thought to myself: I shouldn’t not be asking for an ice pack at this point,” the Dane said with a laugh.
The 33-year-old athlete quickly rediscovered the pleasure of winning: we saw her clench her left fist after a few good sequences, under the cries of a crowd impressed by her fighting spirit. A bright smile appeared on her lips the moment she won her final point. She also allowed herself to raise both arms in the air.
Caroline Wozniacki is in Montreal with her two children, Olivia and James, aged 2 and 9 months respectively. And they were all his answers during his post-match press briefing.
The good news is that Olivia and James will get another match. By virtue of her victory, Wozniacki will face Marketa Vondrousova, winner of a duel against Mayar Sherif, on Tuesday afternoon.
” You know what ? I have nothing to lose, Wozniaki said with the same smile. I’m going to go out on the court and have fun no matter what. »
