Golfer Rory McIlroy’s game picked up after he cut ties with fiancée Caroline Wozniacki in May. Now the Great Dane is showing she may be better off, too.
Wozniacki admitted over the weekend in a published report she hasn’t stayed in touch with McIlroy, and hasn’t even spoken to him since the split.
Asked Wednesday if there may have been at least a good-luck U.S. Open message, Wozniacki got a lump in her throat and said, “I don’t really think it’s relevant here. I think we should just move on.’’
Wozniacki, an Open finalist in 2009, soared into the third round with a routine 6-3, 6-4 pummeling of Alaksandra Sasnovich on the Grandstand court, and is in much better form nowadays after winning her first tournament of 2014 in Istanbul in July. She made the round of 16 at Wimbledon after failing to get out of the third round in the first two Grand Slam events.
Wozniacki has become fast friends with Serena Williams since the breakup, with the two vacationing together. Her positive momentum could also be because of her rigorous training for the upcoming New York City Marathon, which she is competing in for charity.
“I think it only helps,’’ Wozniacki said. “I’m excited about it. Training has been working well. It hasn’t hurt my tennis. It’s helped get in great shape mentally as well, having to push yourself every day to go out. It’s only a positive on the tennis court. You know you can run all day if you want to.
She has cut down on her mileage for the Open, however.
“I want to have all the energy I might need,’’ she added, after barely breaking a sweat in the Flushing heat.
The only drama Wednesday came when Wozniacki’s racket got entangled in her long blond hair during a swing.
“It used to happen when I didn’t braid my hair,’’ she said. “That’s why I started braiding it. I still tried to hit the ball and I almost took my head off.’’
McIlroy reportedly told Wozniacki of his decision in a phone call.
In Sunday’s report, Wozniacki said, “It’s important in relationships to talk. If there’s a problem, you talk about it. That’s normal. Obviously, I didn’t have that chance. At the end of the day, I couldn’t have done anything different. I couldn’t have done anything more. I gave everything I had. And if that’s not enough, that’s fine. I’ll find someone who will.”
It was a short stay at Flushing Meadows for fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who was knocked out in straight sets by No. 39 Peng Shuai 6-3, 6-4.
Radwanska was the first top-10 player vanquished from the tournament.
Michael Jordan didn’t attend the Open to watch Maria Sharapova, but the two are already acquiainted.
“I met Michael Jordan a few years ago randomly, unexpectedly, at an airport,’’ Sharapova said. “Usually I don’t get very star struck, but … he’s such a powerful person and athlete. I think he has that aura about him. It’s very special. He’s like, ‘Hey, you’re that tennis player.’ I’m like, Oh, my goodness, Michael Jordan knows who I am. So, yeah, that was unique.’’
The fifth-seeded Sharapova survived a second-round scare after dropping the first set but rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru in 2 hours, 38 minutes. The match lasted so long it delayed the night session briefly. The 95th-ranked Dulgheru won four of the last five games of the first set.
Sharapova has picked up the power on her groundstrokes and her shrieking. She was so intense in the final two sets, her necklace often flipped around and hung in the back. Sharapova finished with nine double faults.
In addition to Steve Johnson (cramping), two other men retired from their matchesin the Open heat. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus (knee) retired in the third set of his match, trailing two sets to none, and Ivan Dodig of Croatia retired in the fourth set because of cramping when up two sets to one.
Seeking their unprecedented 100th career doubles title, brothers Bob and Mike Bryan beat Max Mirnyi and Mikhail Youzhny in the first round 6-2, 6-3. The Bryans are 15-11 in Grand Slam finals, but haven’t won one this year after three in 2013. If they fail to win, it will be the first time since 2004, they haven’t won at least one major.
In the late match of the night session, Australian Open champion and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (1) to reach the third round.
— Additional reporting by David Satriano