Caroline Wozniacki returned to clay and outplayed her opponent, McCartney Kessler, at the 2024 Charleston Open for a very good start.
The Danish player has exclusively played on hard courts since her comeback last year, but she finally returned to clay. It's not the red clay but rather green clay; however, it was good to see her on another surface. The result for her was mostly the same, as she trashed her opponent comfortably in two sets.
She faced a young American who was clearly overwhelmed by Wozniacki's style, as she hadn't seen it before. We've seen it play out a couple of times in recent months, and players who never played her get really frustrated really quickly.
The opening set of this match was a bagel which shows the level that the former world no. 1 was able to produce. It was only 28 minutes, and Wozniacki dropped only two points behind her serve. She dropped a few more on return but, for the most part, still dominated her opponent to break her three times.
The second set was the highlight for McCartney Kessler, who finally won a game, and it was one on Wozniacki's serve. She broke her early to take a 1-0 lead, but unfortunately that would be the last good thing she did. From there, Wozniacki reeled off six consecutive games to finish off the match.
The final score was 6-0 6-1 as she didn't allow a single service game to her opponent. That's impressive dominance from Wozniacki, who looked really comfortable in Charleston. It's green clay, so it plays somewhat similar to hard courts. The real test will be when she's back on red clay in the coming weeks.
It was a good start for the veteran who will hope to keep it going. She won't play a packed schedule so anytime we see her is a good day.
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