Caroline Wozniacki thanks Rory McIlroy for support

Caroline Wozniacki has thanked her boyfriend Rory McIlroy for staying up through the early hours to watch her first-round win at the Australian Open earlier today.

The Dane fought back from a set down to triumph against Sabine Lisicki and also trailed 3-0 in the decider before rallying for a second time to claim an important victory.

Woznicacki has revealed that despite a day in Abu Dhabi filled with media commitments thanks to a new bumper deal with Nike, the Northern Irishman set the alarm to catch her match.

She told reporters: "I felt bad for him because I think he went to bed at about midnight their time, and woke up at about three their time, to watch me.

"Back to sleep for another couple of hours, that's a trooper. It's great to have that support and I know that he's watching on the TV or on the computer, always.

"It's nice to know you have that support. He has a big tournament coming up, his first tournament of the year, and hopefully he can have a good start to the year as well."

The 22-year-old will play Croatian competitor Donna Vekic in the second round at Melbourne Park later this week.