Wozniacki overcomes Tatishvili to advance in Melbourne

Thursday, 19 January 2012 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Caroline Wozniacki dug herself out of a second set hole to grind down jet-heeled Georgian Anna Tatishvili 6-1 7-6 on Wednesday and advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

After cruising through the first set at a sunbathed Hisense Arena, the world number one suddenly found herself 4-1 down against an 83rd-ranked opponent playing inspired tennis in her Melbourne Park debut.

But Tatishvili wobbled when serving for the set at 5-3 and blasted a forehand long to blow a set point a game later to allow the blonde Dane to scramble into a tiebreak.

After conceding a mini-break, the 21-year-old Tatishvili did well to claw back to 5-4 in the tiebreak but sent a pair of forehand shots into the tramlines to concede the match in 109 minutes.

Wozniacki next faces the winner of the second-round match between France’s Pauline Parmentier and Monica Niculescu of Romania as she bids for her maiden grand slam.