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Wozniacki 'cursed' at Oz Open

Melbourne - Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki said on Thursday she felt cursed at the Australian Open after crashing out to close friend Victoria Azarenka.

The Danish eighth seed slumped out of the tournament in the second round, her poorest performance in eight campaigns and the signs are not good.

She is progressively getting worse. After reaching the semi-finals in 2011, she has since been knocked out in the quarter-finals, then the fourth round, third round and now the second.

"I think it's a curse I've gotten here," she said.

"I've made semis, then quarters, then fourth round, then third round, this year second round. It's kind of gone that way the last few years.

"Hopefully I'm going to break that next year and start going the other way.

"I love this tournament and I'm so sad to be out already."

Despite finishing both 2010 and 2011 as world number one, Wozniacki is yet to win a Grand Slam in 32 attempts but put a brave face on her latest failure, saying the season was still young.

"I wish I would have won," said the Dane, whose best Grand Slam efforts have been making the final of the US Open in 2009 and last year.

"You can always look back and say, I wish I'd done this, I wish I'd taken this breakpoint, taken advantage at 30-love.

"At the end of the day she played better than me today and hats off to that. I just need to go back and work hard.

"It's early, still the beginning of the year, so still have 10 months to make up for this. Hopefully it's still going to be a good year."

Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka, ranked 44 in the world after a series of injuries, will now play Czech 25th seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Collated results from day four of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday:

Men's singles

2nd round

Steve Johnson (USA) bt Santiago Giraldo (COL x30) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
John Isner (USA x19) bt Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) 6-4, 7-6, (7/4), 4-6, 6-4
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Matthias Bachinger (GER) 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 7-5
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
Kei Nishikori (JPN x5) bt Ivan Dodig (CRO) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (7/0)
Feliciano Lopez (ESP x12) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 4-0 retired
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 6-0, 6-1, 6-4
Stan Wawrinka (SUI x4) bt Marius Copil (ROU) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3
Gilles Muller (LUX) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x13) 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-5, 6-1
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4
Gilles Simon (FRA x18) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 6-4
David Ferrer (ESP x9) bt Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) bt Gael Monfils (FRA x17) 6-4, 1-6, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-3
Fernando Verdasco (ESP x31) bt Go Soeda (JPN) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/3)
Benjamin Becker (GER) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 2-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Milos Raonic (CAN x8) bt Donald Young (USA) 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3

Women's singles

2nd round

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x6) bt Johanna Larsson (SWE) 6-0, 6-1
Venus Williams (USA x18) bt Lauren Davis (USA) 6-2, 6-3
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) bt Anna Tatishvili (USA) 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2
Garbine Muguruza (ESP x24) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-1, 1-6, 6-0
Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 7-5, 6-0
Camila Giorgi (ITA) bt Tereza Smitkova (CZE) 6-1, 6-4
Elina Svitolina (UKR x26) bt Nicole Gibbs (USA) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (8/6)
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x11) bt Tsvetlana Pironkova (BUL) 6-2, 6-0
Varvara Lepchenko (USA x30) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-1, 7-6 (7/1)
Madison Keys (USA) bt Casey Dellacqua (AUS x29) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
Alize Cornet (FRA x19) bt Denisa Allertova (CZE) 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-2
Madison Brengle (USA) bt Irina Falconi (USA) 6-1, 6-3
Petra Kvitova (CZE x4) bt Mona Barthel (GER) 6-2, 6-4
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE x25) bt Chang Kai-chen (TPE) 6-1, 7-5
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x8) 6-4, 6-2
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) bt Samantha Stosur (AUS x20) 6-4, 6-4

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