Wozniacki, Ivanovic win 1st-round matches in Qatar

(AP) Wozniacki, Ivanovic win 1st-round matches in Qatar
By MICHAEL CASEY
AP Sports Writer
DOHA, Qatar
Former top-ranked players Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic eased into the second round of the Qatar Open with straight-set victories Monday.

The 10th-ranked Wozniacki beat qualifier Mervana Jugic-Salkic 6-1, 6-2. The Dane had a poor start, losing her serve in the first game. But she broke right back and cruised from there, wrapping up the win in just over an hour.

The 13th-ranked Ivanovic beat Tamira Paszek 6-1, 6-2. Ivanovic broke the 26th-ranked Austrian twice in the first set, then saved three break points to go up 4-2 in the second. She broke Paszek again to make it 5-2 and sealed the victory when the Austrian hit a return long.

Wozniacki, a fourth-round loser in the Australian Open, said she felt comfortable against an opponent she had never faced.

“I just tried to focus on my own game and felt like I served well, returned well. I was happy,” she said.

Wozniacki’s father, Piotr, was courtside during the match, counseling her at one point. He returned to the role of coach after the U.S. Open and the 22-year-old Dane said she felt she “needed the calmness” of her inner circle. She fired coach Ricardo Sanchez a year ago after two months on the job.

“It felt like I needed just people around me that have always been there. That’s the most important thing for me, that I don’t start feeling unsure,” she said. “I have done so many great results, and I have been where I wanted to be. The main thing is that I have always had the people around me that I trust and a good team around me and people who know me very well. That was the choice I had to make again.”

Ivanovic broke the 26th-ranked Paszek twice in the first set, then saved three break points to go up 4-2 in the second. She broke Paszek again to make it 5-2 and sealed the victory when the Austrian hit a return long. Still nursing a sore right shoulder that kept her out of Serbia’s Fed Cup loss to Slovakia, Ivanovic overpowered Paszek with her serve and benefited from the Austrian’s five double faults.

“I actually expected a very tough match. We had some battles in the past, but I really started well and I was aggressive,” Ivanovic said. “I felt like I was doing like lot of damage with my forehand, so I tried to keep that game plan.”