Wozniak wins in straight sets in quiet opening day for Family Circle Cup missing several stars

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Wozniak opens with win in Family Circle Cup

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Aleksandra Wozniak and Alona Bondarenko both won in straight sets Monday at the Family Circle Cup, which is missing its typical star power because of injuries to several high-profile players.

The top eight seeds had the opening day off in the green clay-court tournament, where three of the world’s top 30 players had pulled out. Top-ranked Serena Williams is recovering from a knee injury, defending champion Sabine Lisicki has a bum ankle, and three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova is still recovering from an elbow injury.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki, who drove 4 hours to Charleston immediately after winning the MPS Group Championships in Florida on Sunday, said this year’s field is still tough.

“It’s been a great week,” she said. “I’m a little tired, but after last week, it was worth it (to make the trip to South Carolina).”

Last year, Wozniacki made the finals in Charleston as the No. 5 seed and was ranked 12th in the world. Now she’s up to No. 2 in the world rankings and the top seed in a tournament for just the third time in her career.

“I’m not feeling any pressure. It’s important you concentrate on what you’re doing,” she said Monday. “You just have to hit the yellow ball.”

On the other side of the draw, No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic is getting ready for her first clay-court event since last year’s French Open. She skipped Charleston last year.

“I’ve done a lot of sliding to get ready to play on clay. I feel ready. I feel motivated and I’m healthy,” said Jankovic, who won the Family Circle Cup in 2007, and along with 2006 winner Nadia Petrova are the only two former champions in the field.

The tournament began slowly Monday with just two seeded players taking the court.

The 12th-seeded Wozniak fended off six set points in the second-set tiebreaker during her 6-3, 7-6 (9) win over Osterloh, an unseeded American.

Wozniak took the first set 6-3 and was leading 4-1 with two breaks in the second set, before Osterloh broke in two of the Canadian’s next three service games. She fought off five match points on her serve, then two more match points in the next game to win back her second break.

The two headed into the tiebreaker, where Osterloh took a 6-3 lead, but she couldn’t close out the set. Wozniak came back with three straight points and the two traded winners until Wozniak won the last three points of the match on long rallies.

Ninth-seeded Bondarenko of the Ukraine had an easier time advancing to the next round, beating unseeded American Julie Ditty 6-4, 6-2.

Bondarenko had her serve broken only once. It came in the first set after she broke Ditty, and Bondarenko responded by winning the break back without losing a point in the next game.

Bondarenko lost only three points in the final three games of the match, sealing the win with a 98 mph ace.