Canadian Stephanie Dubois celebrates defeating Russian Elena Vesnina during their women's singles match at the Australian Openon Jan. 17, 2012.
Canadians Aleksandra Wozniak and Stéphanie Dubois both survived Round 1 of the Australian Open this week for the first time in their careers, and the bumps in the road to Melbourne Park made them appreciate their wins that much more.
Wozniak, ranked No. 102 in the world, cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Shuai Zhang of China on Tuesday, after overcoming a nasty bout of bronchitis that had halted her training. Dubois, ranked No. 97, upset No. 50 Elena Vesnina of Russia 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. It was her first win after a foot injury cut short her 2011 season last September.
Despite the score, Wozniak said, she was feeling the loss of fitness she suffered after being on the sidelines for two weeks with bronchitis. She believes she contracted it on the flight to the first tournament of the year in Auckland, New Zealand. She had a very high fever for seven consecutive days when she arrived, and despite antibiotics, she couldn't seem to find relief.
"The bronchitis set me back for two weeks, put me right back on my heels, and now I'm finding myself pushing to get my cardio back, especially in this heat in Australia," Wozniak said on a teleconference Tuesday. "I was lucky the match was quick, and it was good, so I feel I'm back at about 70 per cent."
Wozniak, who was once ranked as high as No. 21 in 2009, missed the Australian Open last year because of a nagging forearm injury. This is her sixth Australian Open. She has either fallen in qualifiers or the first round in each of her previous appearances.
She hasn't reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since the 2010 French Open. Her best career result at a Slam was a run to the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2009. The 24-year-old from Blainville, Que. will meet the tournament's 27th seed, Maria Kirilenko of Russia, in the second round on Thursday.
Dubois, the 25-year-old from Laval, Que., will try to reach the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career when she takes on the 30th seed, Angelique Kerber of Germany, on Thursday. Dubois just returned to tennis in January after a stress fracture in her foot ended her season after she lost out in Quebec City last September.
Dubois was in a walking boot for 12 weeks, but she didn't wait long to resume her fitness. By October, she was back training, focused on finding new exercises that would keep her body fit without putting any pressure on the foot.
"Everything happens for a reason, and it helped me to be stronger in other areas, especially mentally," Dubois said on the same teleconference.
"I've very happy to win this first match because I hadn't played much in five months. I'm very happy about the fact that I was able to finish off that one even though I haven't played many matches."
Both women added that they are highly motivated to compete in the coming 2012 Olympics. To qualify, they need to be ranked among the top 50 players in the world. Only two Canadian women could qualify. Rebecca Marino is Canada's highest-ranked woman at No. 65.
Marino of Vancouver had a disappointing early exit from the tournament. Despite a 4-1 start to the first set, the 21-year-old fell 6-4, 6-2 to Greta Arn of Hungary.
In the men's draw, Canadian Milos Raonic posted an easy victory in Round 1. The 23rd seed from Thornhill, Ont., crushed Italian Filippo Volandri 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.