Wretched opener on a pair in attempt to win? (3)
I believe the answer is:
woo
'attempt to win?' is the definition.
(attempt to win someone's affection)
'wretched opener on a pair' is the wordplay.
'opener' says to take the initial letters.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a pair' becomes 'oo' (resembles 00, a pair of ducks in cricket).
The first letter of 'wretched' is 'w'.
'w'+'oo'='WOO'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for woo that I've seen before include "Try to attract" , "Court (someone)" , "Try to get the girl?" , "Court a lady" , "Pay court to" .)