As the 1st round of the final Premier Mandatory level event of the year was completed, there was a huge upset of the defending champion.
(Rank/Seed)
1/1 Williams was a little rusty in her first match since winning the US Open, letting a 4-1 lead slip before ultimately beating Vesnina 64 62. This is her first visit here since 2009!
43/- 2011 finalist Petkovic upset (2/2) Azarenka 64 26 64 to claim her second career top 2 victory, having beaten then number one Wozniacki in Miami 2011. The match was a slugfest but more often than not, the more athletic German came out on top in the extended rallies. Both players had to deal with plenty of drama as Petkovic suffered with dizziness leading a set and a break at 2-1. She would then lose 7 straight games as Azarenka looked destined to win up 2-0 in the third. However, it was Azarenka's woeful 15 double faults that undermined her entire performance as she kept going for broke; she hit 3 in one game to be broken for the only time in the 1st set and then again down break point in the 3rd set. On top of this, a noisy stadium, confusion over the number of challenges available and a seemingly loose racket, gradually assisted Petkovic in a surprisingly sudden defeat for Azarenka, who lost the last eight points of the match in a flash of frustration. Azarenka hit 38 winners to 44 unforced errors, whilst Petkovic hit a more modest 21:23. Azarenka later lamented what she deemed to be an 'awful match' and her decision not to take a break after the US Open. Excluding retirement losses, she has now lost 2 straight 1st round matches for the 1st time since 2007 and 3 straight matches for the first time since 2006!
4/3 2011 champion Radwanska still appears fatigued as she laboured past Voegele 46 64 64, having trailed an early break in the third set.
5/4 Li gave the home crowd something to cheer about in beating US Open quarter finalist Hantuchova 60 64, though she had initially led 4-0 in the second set!
6/5 Errani missed out on her first 4 set points before beating (19/-) Flipkens 76(3) 61 in a tough first round draw.
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