Caroline Wozniacki didn’t have much luck with her Bad Homburg draw as the former world No. 1 is set to start her debut at the German WTA 500 grass tournament by taking on Elina Svitolina, who is one of the trickiest opponents for her.
After being ousted 4-6 1-6 by Elise Mertens in the Birmingham first round earlier this week, Wozniacki returned to the practice court and started preparing for her second grass tournament in Bad Homburg.
But again, Wozniacki was handed a tough start as meeting No. 7 seed Svitolina is something that the 33-year-old Dane probably wishes that happened in the latter stages of the tournament. Also, the thing that makes this matchup very tricky for Wozniacki is the fact that she has beaten Svitolina just once in their previous six meetings.
However, it should be noted that none of their first six meetings came on grass – all of them were played on hard courts.
Wozniacki lost to Svitolina in Auckland earlier this year
After ending her retirement last summer, Wozniacki clashed against Svitolina in the Auckland first round on January 2nd. In the match that was dubbed “the battle of moms,” Svitolina won with a 6-4 6-3 scoreline.
Afterward, Wozniacki blamed missed opportunities for her loss. In the first set, the 33-year-old Dane led 4-3 and was serving before suffering back-to-back breaks and also missing out on three break points in the ninth game.
After losing the first set and also falling down by an early break in the second set, Wozniacki managed to get the break back but she again lost her serve in the eighth game – and lost the match after failing to convert a break point in the following game, the game in which Svitolina was serving for the win.
“I can’t expect to win a set when I’m up so many games in a row and I’m not taking my chances. That’s the disappointing part and what I need to learn from. To see what was it that I did in those moments and step up next time,” Wozniacki said after her loss to Svitolina in Auckland.
It remains to be seen if Wozniacki can get her revenge over Svitolina on the grass courts of Eastbourne.