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Under-prepared Wozniacki wins at Hopman Cup

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Under-prepared Wozniacki wins at Hopman Cup

World number one Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Australia four hours before her match but shrugged off her less-than-perfect preparations to make a winning start at the Hopman Cup.

The Dane flew to Perth from a holiday in Thailand with her boyfriend, world number three golfer Rory McIlroy, to score a comeback 7-6 6-2 win over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Wozniacki went straight from the airport to a practice court at the Burswood Dome and lost five of the first six games but Mattek-Sands let her off the hook as Denmark beat United States 2-1 in Group A of the mixed team event.

Mardy Fish defeated Frederik Nielsen 4-6 7-6 6-4 in the opening match but Wozniacki paired up with her compatriot to win the mixed doubles encounter 7-5 6-3.

"It's the first time I've had that sort of preparation," Wozniacki said. "I was a little bit nervous about how my body would feel.

"I actually felt pretty good during practice but I had a bit of time to wait before I played and started to feel a bit tired because your body is slowing down.

"But once I got out there I tried not to think about it, just keep playing. I didn't even know I was 5-1 down, I just wanted to keep going."

"It's been a long day but a great day."

Earlier, world number two Petra Kvitova demolished Tsvetana Pironkova as the top-seeded Czech Republic defeated Bulgaria 2-1 in the same group.

Wimbledon champion Kvitova won 6-4 6-2 before team-mate Tomas Berdych floored Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-7 6-3 and the Bulgarians won the mixed doubles 2-6 6-3 7-6.

Kvitova faces Wozniacki at the Hopman Cup on Friday in a clash that could set the tone for the Australian summer.

The Czech said the intense interest in her attempt to dethrone Wozniacki at the top of the rankings was getting on her nerves.

"Sometimes it's crazy that everywhere you go you get the same questions being asked," Kvitova said. "I know that for you reporters it's important to know about it but for me I just want to play and try to have fun on court.

After a breakthrough year in which she also won the WTA Championships, surged from 34th to second in the world and led the Czech Republic to victory in the Fed Cup, Kvitova trails Denmark's Wozniacki by a mere 115 points in the rankings.

She could leapfrog Wozniacki by the end of the month if she fares better at the Sydney International and Australian Open.

Should Kvitova achieve that goal, she would become the Czech Republic's first world number one since the reign of her idol Martina Navratilova ended in 1987.

"Women's tennis is so open now that anybody can win Grand Slams," she added in a reference to the first Slam of the year later this month.

Kvitova believes it is simply a matter of time before Wozniacki triumphs at one of the top four tournaments.

"Caroline is a great player who will win Slams," said the Czech. "Last year in the four Grand Slams we had four different winners so it's not only about me, even though I have won a Grand Slam and I know the feeling - it's unbelievable. "It would be nice to feel that again in Australia. But it was only one year ago that I was number 34 in the world and I am still getting used to this."

Berdych had his work cut out against a 20-year-old Bulgarian nicknamed 'Prime Time' for his supreme shotmaking skills, flawless technique and near-certain rise to the serious end of the rankings.

Dimitrov held his nerve in the marathon second-set tiebreaker but his third set was a symphony of unforced errors, as Berdych eventually prevailed in 125 minutes.

Berdych's loss with Kvitova in the mixed doubles took his Hopman record in that form to 0-7. "It was not my best effort," he said. "But we won the tie and that's all that matters. The mixed doesn't count when we have already won both the singles."

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Under-prepared Wozniacki wins at Hopman Cup

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