Unwell Wozniacki sees off Stosur in Dubai
Former world number one, affected by headache, sore throat and hoarseness, moves into the third round.
Caroline Wozniacki served for the match three times before finally beating Samantha Stosur 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The third-seeded Dane led 5-2 in the third set but struggled to close it out.
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Wozniacki has been ill with a headache, sore throat and hoarseness since arriving in Dubai, and on the first point of the match a recurring left knee problem surfaced.
After losing the first set, the former top-ranked player took a medical time out to have her knee treated.
“They do say third time lucky, right?” Wozniacki said. “I was hoping for that.”
Fourth-seeded Ana Ivanovic, out with a broken toe since a first-round exit at the Australian Open, beat Sabine Lisicki 6-0, 6-3, while fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Caroline Garcia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
Also advancing was 13th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, who withdrew from Sunday’s final in Antwerp against Andrea Petkovic with a neck injury. Suarez Navarro beat Camila Giorgi 6-3, 6-4.
Three seeded players lost: Petkovic fell to Zarina Diyas 7-5, 6-3; Jelena Jankovic lost to Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-4. Peng Shuai was beaten by Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.