Charleston, South Carolina: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark rallied to beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 Wednesday in her opening match at the Family Circle Cup.
Wozniacki fell behind 3-4 in the first set on the green clay on Daniel Island before breaking back. The world's second-ranked player then held serve in a game that went to deuce three times before breaking her opponent at love in the next game to take the set.
"I just needed to find my game and find a way how to beat her, and once I did that, I won a lot of points and I won the games," said Wozniacki, who is coming off a win last week at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Wozniacki will play Thursday against 16th-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who ousted Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal 6-3, 6-1.
Three players withdrew from their second-round matches on Wednesday, including fifth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France who retired during the third set of her evening match with Peng Shuai of China.
Bartoli was pale and holding her stomach and head during a changeover about 2 hours, 20 minutes into the match.
Tour spokeswoman Mary Jane Orman said Bartoli experienced stomach pains and dizziness during the match. Peng was leading 2-6, 7-6 (2), 4-3 at the time.
Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Ayumi Morita of Japan also retired. Azarenka retired with a left hamstring strain while leading qualifier Christina McHale 6-2, 2-2; and Morita retired with a thigh strain while trailing Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-4, 2-0.
Azarenka said she was injured last week in Marbella.
"It's not that bad, but I hoped that it's probably got better, you know, and healed," she said. "It obviously didn't today."
American Melanie Oudin, seeded 13th, advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Sophie Ferguson of Australia.
"I've been going three sets a lot lately ... So I'm so happy to be done with my first two rounds and two sets in each one makes life a lot easier," said the 18-year-old Oudin. Last year, as a qualifier at the Family Circle, Oudin won two main draw matches and later in the year made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
In other matches sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia defeated American Vania King 6-2, 6-1, while 10th-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia advanced 7-5, 6-2 over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden, and Angelique Kerber of Germany beat Monique Adamczak of Australia 6-3, 6-2.
In other second-round matches, Vera Dushevina of Russia defeated Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan 6-2, 6-2, Evgeniya Rodina of Russia outlasted Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, and Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
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