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Caroline Wozniacki admitted she simply "did not play well enough" in the Cincinnati loss to Varvara Gracheva. Wozniacki, a former world No 1, exited Cincinnati in the second round after 45th-ranked Gracheva handed her a 6-4 6-4 loss.
Although Wozniacki was playing just her third match since coming back, Gracheva was considered a favorable matchup for the Dane. But Wozniacki missed out on all of nine of her break point opportunities and she also felt that her timing wasn't where it needed to be.
"In general I didn't think I played very well. I think I didn't really find my rhythm. I had nine break points and won none of them. That's just not good enough when you're playing against players on this level. I thought last week, I thought I was pretty pleased about where I was.
I think this week I don't feel like my timing is exactly where I want it to be, so I'm just going to go back and work hard. I will stay here for a little while and work hard and just kind of get a bunch of tennis in and put some hours in.
I still have about 10 days to prepare for the US Open. There is quite a few things that I feel like I need to do better," Wozniacki said after the loss.
Wozniacki didn't feel the weight of expectations
Last week in her first tournament back, Wozniacki defeated Kimberly Birrell in the Montreal first round before losing to Marketa Vondrousova.
This week, Wozniacki was scheduled to play Elina Svitolina in the Cincinnati first round but received a walkover after the Ukrainian was forced to withdraw due to a foot issue. After the loss to Gracheva, 2018 Australian Open champion Wozniacki was asked if she felt extra pressure on the court.
"But, you know, I don't really feel the expectations from everyone else. I think I have always just been, you know, tough on myself. I'm looking for perfection, which is not possible in this sport, but, you know, just gonna work hard and try and play better and better," Wozniacki said.