World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Australia four hours before her match but shrugged off her less than perfect preparations to make a winning start at the Hopman Cup on Monday.
The Dane flew to Perth from a holiday in Thailand with her boyfriend, World No. 3 golfer Rory McIlroy, to score a comeback 7-6, 6-2 win over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Wozniacki went straight from the airport to a practice court at the Burswood Dome and lost five of the first six games but Mattek-Sands let her off the hook as Denmark beat United States 2-1 in Group A of the mixed team event.
Mardy Fish defeated Frederik Nielsen 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the opening match but Wozniacki paired up with her compatriot to win the mixed doubles encounter 7-5 6-3.
"It's the first time I've had that sort of preparation," Wozniacki said. "I was a little bit nervous about how my body would feel.
"I actually felt pretty good during practice but I had a bit of time to wait before I played and started to feel a bit tired because your body is slowing down.
"But once I got out there I tried not to think about it, just keep playing. I didn't even know I was 5-1 down, I just wanted to keep going," added Wozniacki.
Earlier, World No. 2 Petra Kvitova demolished Tsvetana Pironkova as the top-seeded Czech Republic defeated Bulgaria 2-1 in the same group.
Wimbledon champion Kvitova won 6-4, 6-2 before team-mate Tomas Berdych floored Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 and the Bulgarians won the mixed doubles 2-6, 6-3, 7-6.
Kvitova faces Wozniacki at the Hopman Cup on Friday in a clash that could set the tone for the Australian summer.
