After upsetting the No. 22 player in the world, Austria’s Sybille Bammer, Wednesday, the 20-year-old Blainville native followed up with a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over another top-50 player, Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, in the second round yesterday.

"It’s another big win, because she is 50th in the world, but mostly because it’s the second round at Roland Garros that I’ve won. So it’s a big one," said Wozniak, far more subdued than she was following her win over Bammer, after which she had to turn the page and refocus for her next match in fewer than 24 hours.

Wozniak became the first Canadian since Maureen Drake (Wimbledon 2002) to reach the third round of a Grand Slam, the first Canadian to do it at the French Open since Patricia Hy in 1993.

She awaits an opponent for her third-round match.

It will be No. 11 seed Vera Zvonareva or Frenchwoman Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, who didn’t play yesterday because of a 90-minute rain delay that scuttled a few late matches. Wozniak will probably play tomorrow.

"It’s party time (at home)," she said. "They’re really happy, and I understand. I don’t know if a Quebec (woman) has ever been in the third round of a Grand Slam. It’s a dream, really."

Early on, it appeared her surprising first-round win would be it. Amanmuradova, a 6-foot-3, rather ungainly 23-year-old whose ranking is at a career high after wins over two top-30 players in the past few months, simply couldn’t miss in the first set.

She has a big serve, a big forehand, a backhand she can slice and hit two-handed. And in the first set, despite her size, she got to every tough ball and managed to hit a winner on the line.

Wozniak started slowly, the rain delay having soaked the court and, in short order, the tennis balls as well. But there wasn’t much she could do if Amanmuradova was going to keep that up.

The first set was over in 22 minutes. But Wozniak’s expression didn’t change all that much.

A year or two ago, she might have judged the challenge too daunting, and simply faded away. This time, she hung tough, under the eagle eye of Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, who was on hand and watching intently.

"In the second set, I slid better,

returned the ball better, more solid," Wozniak said. "We had a lot of rallies where I had to really want each ball to win the point. I had to work for it."

Amanmuradova’s level slipped quite a bit, perhaps out of fatigue. The racquet also slipped out of her hands a few times - and not necessarily by accident.

Wozniak, meanwhile, became aggressive, adjusted to Amanmuradova’s power, stayed low and solid against that power, and cut a lot of the unforced errors.

Only when she was up a break in the third set did she relax a little bit, which led to a few anxious moments.

But she quickly regained her focus.

"What I liked was my determination, I fought for every point," she said. "I never once thought I would lose the match, or that I couldn’t come back. I continued to believe that it was possible."

The victory puts $60,662 in Wozniak’s bank account. Just as important, she has earned 90 WTA computer points. Even if she goes no further, she’ll vault from No. 140 in the world back into the top 100.

"It’s great," Wozniak said.

"All the work I’ve put in is paying off, and I’ll continue with great determination to keep playing this well."

After the match, Wozniak headed straight for the gym. She worked out on the bike to get rid of the lactic acid in her legs, and did some stretching.

It’s a far cry from the Aleksandra Wozniak of old. And the payoff is finally starting to come.