Wozniacki blows away Kessler in dominant Charleston Open first-round victory

Caroline Wozniacki stormed to a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory against McCartney Kessler in the first round of the Charleston Open.

Kessler, who won a WTA 125 title at the Puerto Vallarta Open in February, progressed to the main draw of the clay event in Charleston as a lucky loser.

She was completely blown away by her first-round opponent, crashing out of the WTA 500 tournament in just 61 minutes.

Wozniacki raced through the first set with little response, breaking Kessler on three occasions.

It appeared as if Kessler might claw her way back into the encounter in the second set, breaking Wozniacki early as she took a 1-0 lead.

But the former world No. 1 rolled back the years as she claimed six games in quick succession to wrap up the victory.

Wozniacki was making her return to the Charleston Open after a five-year absence. She ended her three-year retirement from tennis, during which time she had two children, in August 2023.

The 33-year-old won the Charleston Open in 2011 and reached the final in 2009 and 2019. In fact, she has never lost before the quarter-finals in Charleston.

Up next will be Anhelina Kalinina, who received a bye into the second round as the 15th seed.

It will be the second time Wozniacki faces Kalinina in as many weeks, with the latter coming back from one set down to triumph in the second round of the Miami Open last month.

Meanwhile, Magda Linette recorded a straightforward 6-3 6-4 victory against Petra Martic to set up a tie against Dayana Yastremska.

Viktoriya Tomova will play third seed Maria Sakkari after earning a 6-4 3-6 6-2 win against Mayar Sherif, while Daria Saville will meet seventh seed Elina Svitolina following a 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory against Tamara Korpatsch.

Elsewhere, Alize Cornet was beaten 6-3 6-0 by Amanda Anisimova, while Sachia Vickery secured an equally as dominant win, comfortably easing past Jaqueline Cristian 6-1 6-4.