Tennis: Wozniacki's first round win shows her No 1 credentials

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark celebrates winning a point. Photo / Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki started her first major as the No 1-ranked woman in the world with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Argentina's Gisela Dulko yesterday at the Australian Open.

It was the 20-year-old Wozniacki's first win of the year, after a straight-sets loss to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova at the Sydney International last week and exhibition losses to No 2 Vera Zvonareva and Kim Clijsters at Singapore and Hong Kong. Wozniacki did not face a break point in the first set and converted her only chance.

Dulko, the top-ranked doubles player, tested Wozniacki in the second set and pulled level at 4-4 with a service break, but the Danish player broke back immediately and served it out on her second match point after a double-fault on her first.

Wozniacki won six tournaments in 2010, including four of her last six, and can retain the top spot by making the semifinals in Melbourne.

"My dream when I was a little girl was to reach No 1 in the world, and that happened last year. But it's a new year, a new start," she said in a courtside interview.

"I'm just looking forward to it."

In the earlier match on centre court, Maria Sharapova won for the first time at Melbourne Park since taking the 2008 Australian Open title. She beat the Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-1, 6-3.

Former world No 1 Sharapova, who missed the 2009 tournament because of a shoulder injury and was ousted in the first round last year by fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, struggled with her serve and was inconsistent in the second set.

After losing the opening service game at love, Sharapova won seven straight games to take a 6-1, 1-0 lead.

The 33-year-old Tamarine, clearly not in peak physical condition, rallied and had a game point on serve for a 4-1 lead, but 14th-seeded Sharapova broke back and regained momentum, winning the last five games.

Even when she was winning, though, Sharapova had trouble finding range with her serve. She had 10 double-faults and five aces.

Nerves had a role in that.

"I definitely felt that in the beginning. I knew I had an early exit last year and didn't want that to happen this year," said Sharapova.

She says she has the goal in Australia of "staying aggressive and little by little trying to get my game better, maybe to where it was a few years ago and maybe better than that."

French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, of Italy, had a couple of stutters before advancing with a 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4 victory over Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain.

The sixth-seeded Schiavone had a chance to serve for the match at 5-3 in the third but was broken. The Italian player recovered quickly, breaking Parra Santonja's service in the next game to take the match.

In other women's first-round matches, No 20 Kaia Kanepi of Estona fought back after the first set to beat Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

No 29 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia advanced 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-4 over Germany's Angelique Kerber.

In the men's contest, Robin Haase of the Netherlands, who beat Argentina's Carlos Berlocq 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (5), made it through to the second round.

No 18 Sam Querrey was the first of the men's seeded players eliminated, going down 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6 to Poland's Lukasz Kubot.

Julien Benneteau of France withdrew before his first-round match because of an infected finger on his right hand.

The 29-year-old Benneteau, a right-hander, was scheduled to play 26th-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina. Benneteau's spot in the draw was given to lucky loser Simon Greul, who lost in straight sets.

- AP