2011 Sony Ericsson Open WTA Part 1: Caroline Wozniacki
World Number 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Danish tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki currently reigns supreme on the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] Tour, topping the rankings as World Number 1. The right-handed player lives in Monaco, and has been part of the professional
circuit since 2005. The 21-year-old player has been the subject of media attention over the past few months, since her ascension to the top spot. Many critics note that she is one of the few players to make it to the spot without a Grand Slam title under their
belts, and that these players generally turn out to be unsatisfactory.
The Danish pro made her debut on the hard courts of Miami in 2008, three years after she joined the tournament. She was ranked World Number 43 at the time, and had a remarkably successful first run. She managed to defeat players
Tsvetana Pironkova, ninth seed Marion Bartoli and Slovakian pro Katarina Srebotnik to make it to the fourth round of the tournament. She was ousted by Venus Williams, who was ranked World Number 7 at the time.
Wozniacki’s next showing at the event was in 2009, when she was ranked World Number 13. Her ranking was high enough for her to be one of the 32 seeds, and she received a bye in the first round. The Dane went on to defeat Jelena
Dokic, Swiss pro Patty Schnyder and fourth seed Elena Dementieva before being defeated by Russian pro and eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinal of the tournament.
Her last showing at the tournament in 2010 was similar to her 2009 run. She was ranked much higher at World Number 2, just a few short wins away from World Number 1. Wozniacki began her campaign in the second round, and ousted
Tsvetana Pironkova in three sets. She took on and defeated Maria Kirilenko of Russia and twenty-second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before losing to Belarusian pro Justine Henin in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
The young pro is seeded first at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open this year. She has appeared at the tournament thrice before, although she has never been able to make it past the quarterfinal. However, her last tournament was the 2011
Indian Wells event, where she performed admirably and dropped just one set on her way to the final. She took the title home, defeating French pro Marion Bartoli in the process. The two events are almost identical, and her success at Indian Wells is a good
omen for her performance at Miami.
These victories will certainly help Wozniacki in her run for a Grand Slam event, since they duplicate the draw and style of play quite well. She is expected to finally make the impact the world has been waiting for in 2011.
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