Svitolina Overpowers Wozniacki In Highly-Anticipated Battle Of Mothers In Auckland
Mothers Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki met at the 2024 ASB Classic in Auckland, and it could have been a winning start to the new WTA season only for one.
It's not often that mothers get to meet in a match on the WTA Tour, as there are not so many currently, but recently, the trend has changed, and more and more mothers are returning to the sport after their pregnancy.
The two are prime examples, but it's important not to forget the likes of Victoria Azarenka, who was one of the first mothers in recent history to return to tennis. Now, another player made a comeback as mother, when Naomi Osaka won her first match back.
Soon, the mother's club on the women's Tour will likely be joined by Petra Kvitova, who announced her pregnancy on January 1st, 2024. But another mother returned to the sport just recently, as Caroline Wozniacki made a surprising return.
Already in 2023, the Danish player had some impressive results, but to start the 2024 season, the draw was not nice to her, as she drew the second-seeded Svitolina in the first round in Auckland.
It was a highly-anticipated match, and it certainly delivered, as both players had multiple chances in the first set. First, the Ukrainian led by one break, and then, Wozniacki had a one-break advantage.
Both lost it, but the former world no. 1 had three break points to serve for the set. Yet, she couldn't convert those, and after that, Svitolina used her only chance in a marathon tenth game of the first set, winning it 6-4.
The second set was much more straightforward, as the second seed started with a break early on, but once again, Wozniacki was able to recover from that, and at 3-4 she was back in it with balls in her hand.
However, she was once again not able to be competitive in the final stages of the set, as Svitolina won the match 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round of the 2024 ASB Classic in Auckland, where she'll likely face the 2021 US Open champion, Emma Raducanu.
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