Tennis: Agnieszka Radwanska survives at ASB Classic

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in action during her opening game against Beatriz Haddad Maia yesterday. Photo / Greg Bowker

Agnieszka Radwanska will bring her magic back to centre court today - much to the relief of ASB Classic organisers.

Around 7pm yesterday, there would have been some worried tournament officials around the arena, as Radwanska was down a break early in the third set, and looking slightly out of sorts against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.

With four seeds already gone, the departure of the 2014 champion would have been a big blow for the event, but she recovered to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in just under two hours.

"It was a tough match for the first match," said Radwanska. "She was playing really solid and was confident on the court. We say the first match is always the hardest, you don't know the conditions.

"You have to start from the beginning and there is a little bit of less pressure after the first round. It was a very tight match, some ups and downs on the way."

Radwanska, who faces American Taylor Townsend in the second round today, is a rare breed. Sometimes it looks like she is playing tennis from the 1970s, when racquets were wooden and the game was all touch and technique, rather than pure power.

The Pole creates some wonderful angles, and on her last visit in 2013, she played almost impeccable tennis, not dropping a set on the way to the title.

But the former world No 2 is coming off an awful 2017 season, arguably her worst in more than a decade. Radwanska failed to notch a single win over a top 10 player, the first time since 2005 she was so ineffective against the top echelon.

Perhaps even worse, the former Wimbledon finalist also lost 16 times against players ranked lower than her. There were mitigating circumstances - the 28-year-old battled a series of injuries during the year and was also struck down with illness on two occasions - but Radwanska also struggled to find her groove.

Her confidence and timing was off, and in a sport with such fine margins, it was enough to send her tumbling down the rankings, ending the year ranked No 28, outside the top 10 for the first time this decade.

But class, as they say, is permanent, so surely a renaissance is on the cards?

"Every match helps," said Radwanska. "It's step by step and we are taking it match by match and see how it goes. It's always great to be back in a place where you have such great memories.

"Hopefully I can have five matches here. But it's not easy. Every match is tough and that is something that has changed. Tennis moves forward so much, the players are so consistent, and top 50 and top 100 players are very solid and there are no more easy matches and you have to work for each point."

Radwanska started well yesterday, breaking her Brazilian opponent twice to bank the first set 6-2. But Haddad Maia - who rose more than 120 places in the rankings in the past 12 months - found her range in the second set. Her booming serve began to trouble Radwanska, and she generated some ferocious power from the baseline. But from 2-1 down in the third set, the Pole reeled off five consecutive games, clinching passage to the next round on her second match point.●Top seed Caroline Wozniacki last night became the only seed to progress comfortably through to the second round, putting on a masterclass to thrash Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-0.

Of the eight seeds, four were eliminated, while Radwanska, Barbora Strycova and Julia Goerges all required three sets to advance.

There were no such problems for Wozniacki, who had breezed past Brengle, who last year defeated Serena Williams on her way to the quarter-finals.

Wozniacki required just 57 minutes to progress, with the Danish star displaying excellent court movement and precise positioning to finish off points.

In the second set, she added power to the precision, hitting some exquisite winners to book a clash with Croatian Petra Martic this afternoon.