Mutua Madrid Open: Wozniacki retirement hands Cornet free pass into second round

Caroline Wozniacki exited the Mutua Madrid Open in disappointing fashion on Sunday. The Dane encountered problems with her back during her opening match against Alize Cornet which caused her to retire much to the disappointment of the fans present at the Arantxa Sanchez Court. Earlier, Cornet had raced off to a 3-0 lead, looking in fine touch.

This concludes another chapter in the rivalry between these two that goes back 12 years. The Dane has had the measure of her French opponent, having won their last six matches. However, Wozniacki has had her fair share of problems this season as she continues to suffer the effects of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Two

She last played in Charleston where she lost in the final and hasn't been seen in action since.

Coming to the match in question, Cornet took early control of the set, holding to love to start proceedings. The Dane struggled with her movement near the baseline, which Cornet took advantage of to control the proceedings. Cornet quickly broke the Wozniacki serve and then held to love again to take a 3-0 lead in the set.

Wozniacki was in clear discomfort though and she called for the physio almost immediately.

Caroline Wozniacki is forced to retire from the match.@alizecornet advances 3-0 ret. to the second round at the #MMOPEN. pic.twitter.com/TJcr0ArtdX

— WTA (@WTA) May 5, 2019

After the medical timeout, Wozniacki came out to serve but continued to struggle, eventually calling it quits after just 18 minutes.

While Cornet sympathised with her opponent for the manner in which the match had played out, she will be glad to have the extra time off to prepare for her second round match.

The Frenchwoman will face either Saisai Zheng or Yafan Wang on Monday and will fancy her chances against either opponent.