Auckland—Caroline Wozniacki began her warm-up for her Australian Open title defence with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 win over Laura Siegemund in the first round of the WTA Auckland Classic Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Dane, runner-up in Auckland last year on her way to winning in Melbourne, gave herself a pass mark against German qualifier Siegemund and said the signs were good.
“I was a bit rusty out there. Playing my first match it definitely wasn’t my prettiest match but I just tried to hang in there, and tried to serve well and hit a lot of balls back and tomorrow’s going to be better,” she said.
“I’m just so happy I’m back here and warming up in the same way and hopefully that will lead me to also having good luck in Australia this year.
After a testing first few games, the world number three broke Siegemund in the fourth game and comfortably controlled the match from there.
Wozniacki will play Canadian qualifier Bianca Andreescu in the second round.
In October, Wozniacki revealed she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease which causes swelling of the joints and fatigue.
