Wozniacki, at a career-high world No. 3 ranking, impressively rallied to 5-5 then shot through the tiebreaker.
Also advancing were second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 4 Victoria Azarenka, No. 6 Jelena Jankovic, and No. 8 Li Na.
“Once I started to hit more freely and hit with better depth and a little more aggressively, I got the advantage,” Wozniacki said of the second set. “I just kept fighting. Even though I was down 5-1, I kept playing for every point, and that paid off in the end.”
Next up will be Shahar Peer, who continued her notable run a year after being denied entry into the tournament because Israel had no diplomatic relations with the Emirates. A day after ousting seeded Yanina Wickmayer, Peer eliminated 2009 Dubai finalist Virginie Razzano of France 6-2, 6-2.
Kuznetsova moved into the third round when Anabel Madinah Garrigues of Spain withdrew with a lower back injury, and Azarenka was leading US Open quarterfinalist Kateryna Bondarenko 4-1 when the latter retired with a sprained left knee.
Jankovic, who lives in Dubai, took more than two hours to account for Aravane Rezai of France 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, and Li was pushed all the way by Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain to win 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-4.
Also through were Flavia Pennetta of Italy, Marion Bartoli of France, Vera Zvonareva of Russia, Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who beat 14th-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 6-4, Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.
Llodra reaches 2nd round at Open
In Marseille, France, former finalist Michael Llodra rallied to beat fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Open 13 on Tuesday.
Llodra, who lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last year in an all-French final, served 17 aces and broke qualifier Roger-Vasselin three times.
Llodra will play Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the second round of the indoor hardcourt tournament.
Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine also advanced, beating Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, and will take on top-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden in the next round.
Stakhovsky saved five of the seven break points he faced and served 15 aces.
Lucky loser Illya Marchenko of Ukraine beat Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Later Tuesday, fifth-seeded Gilles Simon, who won the tournament three years ago, was to play Olivier Rochus of Belgium in his season debut after being sidelined with a knee injury since last November.
Sharapova cruises to victory in Memphis
In Memphis, Tennessee, top-seeded Maria Sharapova downed American Shenay Perry 6-0, 6-2 in the Cellular South Cup on Monday, winning her first match since she was upset in the first round of the Australian Open.
Sharapova used her strength to move Perry around the court and keep her off balance, advancing in less than an hour.
“I thought I was very aggressive,” Sharapova said. “To play every point with a strong mentality in every match, it’s impossible to keep going up, up, up and hit a winner on every single ball. So, when I did feel like I maybe missed a few, I still was going for it. I wasn’t tentative.” Sharapova was able to work on various parts of her game, but stopped short of saying it was an easy win.
“It’s just about going out there and doing the right things,” she said. “Competing no matter who’s across the net.”
In the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships—the men’s side of the Memphis tournament—No. 3 seed Radek Stepanek advanced with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory over South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, while sixth-seeded John Isner beat 17-year-old qualifier, and fellow American, Ryan Harrison 6-1, 7-5.
American Taylor Dent, who won the tournament in 2003, lost to Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
On the women’s side, No. 3 seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia beat Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 6-0, 6-4.
