Caroline Wozniacki mounts stunning fightback to avoid huge shock against Jana Fett

Wozniacki is viewed as a real contender for the title in Melbourne Park with Serena Williams absent but only narrowly avoided a huge shock on Rod Laver Arena.

She had to save two match points at 5-1 down in the third set before digging deep and going on a run of six consecutive games to take the win.

It was a tense affair which witnessed some irate exchanges between Wozniacki and the chair umpire over the challenge process.

Wozniacki plays Kiki Bertens or Nicole Gibbs in the third round.

After completing her 3-6 6-2 7-5 victory, Wozniacki revealed she used Fett’s inexperience – the 21-year-old is ranked 119 and had never won a grand slam match prior to this tournament – to give herself the belief to come through.

The Dane said: “At 5-1, 40-15, I felt like I was one foot out of the tournament. She served a great serve down the T. It was just slightly out. I was kind of lucky.

“Then I felt her tighten up just slightly. I thought to myself, ‘Make her win it, don’t give it to her’. When I managed to get it to 5-2, I said, ‘Okay, I’m still alive. She still has four more balls to win’.

“She’s about to beat the number two player in the world. Obviously she’s about 100 in the world. That’s a big moment for her. I know how it feels whenever you’re close to reaching something really big. I’m very proud of the way I came back.”

Wozniacki hails from a very sporty family – her mother Anna played volleyball for Poland while her father Piotr was a professional footballer. But it was growing up competing against her brother Patrik, who is also a footballer, that drove Wozniacki’s will to win.

She said: “If you lose a game to anyone in my family, you’re going to hear about it for at least a week. That definitely helped me.

“Growing up, I never wanted to lose, and the worst was to lose to my brother. Giving him the opportunity to be ahead was not pleasurable. So I think from that point, you just learn and fight. You don’t give up, even if it’s a board game, tennis, soccer, whatever.”