Caroline Wozniacki rallies to beat Victoria Azarenka at WTA Championships in Doha

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Wozniacki rallies to beat Azarenka in Doha

DOHA, Qatar — Caroline Wozniacki saved a match point in the final set and defeated Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 Wednesday in the group stage of the WTA Tour’s Sony Ericsson Championships.

Azarenka was up a break four times in the third set but failed to put the match away, letting the 19-year-old Dane break back each time.

Wozniacki, who had just two winners in the first set, saved a match point with Azarenka leading 5-4 in the third before finally holding serve for the first time in the decider.

Wozniacki broke again for 6-5 after the Belarusian was docked a point for smashing her racket. Azarenka had already been warned in that game after hitting the ball out of the court following another unforced error.

Wozniacki sealed the win with a service winner after 2 hours, 58 minutes.

It was the 19-year-old Dane’s first match in the tournament, while Azarenka had defeated Jelena Jankovic in her opener Tuesday. Jankovic played top-seeded Dinara Safina later Wednesday, before No. 2 Serena Williams faced her sister Venus.

The tournament features the top eight players in the world with a round-robin stage before the semifinals. Each group stage win is worth $100,000, with the eventual winner taking home up to $1.55 million.

Serena Williams can overtake Safina atop the year-end rankings if she outperforms the Russian in the season-ending championship.

Wozniacki seemed bothered by the sore hamstring that forced her to retire from her first-round match at the Luxembourg Open last week. She iced it during changeovers and stretching repeatedly between points.

Wozniacki reached the finals of the U.S. Open before losing to Kim Cljisters.