Tennis: Misfiring Wozniacki keeping the faith

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark hits a return against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria on day five of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament in Perth yesterday

World number one Caroline Wozniacki did little to silence her critics yesterday as she struggled to win her singles match in Denmark’s 2-1 loss to Bulgaria at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth.
The Dane, who is clinging to the top ranking in women’s tennis by 115 points and has been much maligned for failing to win a Grand Slam, made a host of unforced errors in her marathon clash against Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.
Wozniacki’s grinding 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win in 144 minutes against her 46th-ranked opponent gave Denmark the lead in the Group A tie, but Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov squared the ledger defeating Frederik Nielsen, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
The Bulgarians then came from a set down to win the deciding mixed doubles in a match tiebreak, 3-6, 6-4, 10-1, and keep their Hopman Cup hopes alive.
Denmark can still reach the final if they beat the Czech Republic in their final tie on Friday, when Wozniacki will face her first big test of 2012 against world number two Petra Kvitova.
It was hoped Wozniacki would produce a more compelling singles performance than in her opening outing in Perth, where she had battled from 5-1 down in the first set to beat 55th-ranked American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in straight sets.
After the marathon match, the Dane played down her error-riddled performance, saying Pironkova was a tricky opponent.
“The most important thing is to win,” she said, adding that she was confident of improving dramatically ahead of the Australian Open.
Wozniacki was rewarded for her undoubted ability to scramble under pressure.