Top seed Caroline Wozniacki breezed past qualifier Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the KDB Korea Open in Seoul. Her previous victory at the tournament was also confident, 6-1 6-2 against Arantxa Rus, which is a nice recovery for the Dane after her first-round loss at the US Open. Next for Wozniacki is seventh seed Klara Zakopalova, who beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1 7-6(6).
Maria Kirilenko, the 2008 Seoul champion and second seed this year, retired yesterday at 1-all in the first set against Korean wildcard Lee So-Ra due to a left back injury. Fourth seed Nadia Petrova also fell victim to a back injury, withdrawing today before her second-round encounter with the newlywed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. The Spaniard is defending her Seoul title this week, but last time she entered the tournament ranked 36th, while now she’s No.93 – at the end of 2011 she had a knee surgery and this season she joined the circuit in May due to right thigh injuries. (via WTA Tour, photo: sr_cranks)
She has a big chance to win her first title of the year here,so many difficult competitors are already out of the tournament.