Petra Cetkovska stuns Caroline Wozniacki at U.S. Open

NEW YORK — Under the lights inside Arthur Ashe Stadium at her favorite tournament of the year, two-time U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki was shocked in the second round as Thursday night turned into Friday morning, done in by world No. 149 Petra Cetkovska.

It was the second win in as many Grand Slam meetings for Cetkovska against the No. 4 seed, runner-up at this tournament last year as well as in 2009. Here’s how it went down.

Scoreline: Petra Cetkovska def. No. 4 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-1)

Cetkovska, ranked as high as No. 25 in 2012, missed nearly seven months on tour with a left hip injury. She returned to play in March and was entered into the U.S. Open with a protected ranking due to her prolonged absence.

What it means: After a Day 1 deluge saw the top half of the draw lose three of the top 10 seeds — including No. 7 Ana Ivanovic — Wozniacki becomes the highest seed to be beaten at the U.S. Open in the women’s draw. No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova withdrew before the event began.

Wozniacki becomes the first casualty in a rather sturdy bottom half of the draw. She was set to meet No. 5 seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals if their seeds held, with Simona Halep, the world No. 2, and Victoria Azarenka among the players who could have been semifinals foes.

After 2014 saw a resurgence for Wozniacki, punctuated by a finals appearance here, she ends the Grand Slam season this year only 6-4, losing in the second round for a third time.

How it happened: Wozniacki led early out of the gate, a 4-2 start for the Dane before Cetkovska, who beat her in the same round at Wimbledon in 2013 in their last meeting, ran off a string of seven games to take a 4-1 lead in the second set. But Wozniacki rallied, winning six of seven games to win the second set and force a decider.

Wozniacki couldn’t distance herself from the 30-year-old, who continued an aggressive stance and saved a match point at 4-5 down in the third, and then three more at 5-6 serving to send the match into a third-set tiebreak. It was there that Cetkovska raced to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Wozniacki, 25, netted a backhand on the Czech player’s first match point.

Key stat: For Cetkovska, it was her aggression. All four of the match points she saved were done so with winners, part of her whopping 61 hit-count for the match. Wozniacki hit 23 in the two-hour, 52-minute affair. Cetkovska was particularly successful with her drop-shot use throughout the match against the quick Wozniacki, as well as at the net, winning 24 of 30 attempts (80%).

What she said: "I said, 'It's now or never,' so I went for it," Cetkovska said on court of her winners on match points down. "(Those shots were) just in the court, so it was amazing."

Cetkovska next meets No. 26 seed Flavia Pennetta.

"It’s amazing for me just to participate here," Cetkovska said of her ability to compete after being injured. "This happened tonight in front of all of you, it’s amazing for me. We want to play in front of you guys every day. ... I wanted to fight until the end."

Follow Nick McCarvel on Twitter @NickMcCarvel.

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