Caroline Wozniacki dumped in the quarters; threat to her Australian Open campaign – Tennis Special
Reigning world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, was flabbergasted by the Pole world number 8, Agnieszka Radwanska, in the quarter-final of the Apia International Sydney on Wednesday. An eye-startling three-setter lasted for two hours and 38 minutes before
the Pole confirmed her semi-final spot; Radwanska lead the final scores line with 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Mammoth crowd had jumbled up at Sydney Olympic Park to witness the two prolific performers from the field of tennis. Six previous battles had resulted in five victories for the Dane, Wozniacki, after her first loss in August 2007 in Stockholm. World number
one had her revenge in Stockholm 2008 and then piled up four more victories in Indian Wells 2010, Tokyo 2010, Stuttgart 2011 and Istanbul 2011. New Year seemed to have brought good luck for the Pole as she managed to break the five match head-to-head winning
streak of the Dane.
Astonishing start to the match witnessed both players trading breaks in the first two games. They held their serves in the next two games and once again exchanged breaks to move the scores to 3-3. Superior game play from the Dane earned her the crucial break
in the eighth game that was good enough to confirm her triumph in the first set.
Trailing one set down and competing against world number one, it required a majestic comeback from the Pole to turn the tables upon her opponent from that stage and she did exactly that. Second set started in conventional manner and both players hung on
to their respective serves in the first three games. Stunningly the Pole broke Wozniacki’s serve against the run of play and piled up two games lead by the end of sixth game; scores were 4-2 at that point.
Wozniacki didn’t lose heart and broke back in the seventh game; held her serve in the next game to level the scores at 4-4. Two more breaks were exchanged in the next two games that pushed the scores to 5-5. The Pole held her serve and another vital break
in the last game of the second set raised her chances of qualifying to the semis.
Momentum was with the eighth seed Pole and she started the final set in style breaking her opponent’s serve in the second game to take 2-0 lead. Stunning display of composure helped the Dane to break; successful serve game levelled the scores at 2-2. Radwanska
stayed focused on her task and broke in the sixth game to reclaim her lead. Wozniacki looked a bit worn out at that stage and lost another game on her serve that confirmed her exit from the tournament. Radwanska contested against Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals
but was outplayed by the brilliance of the third seeded Belarusian to fall out of the competition.
Wozniacki has never won a Grand Slam title in her entire career and again it seems like her tipsy turvy performances during a single tournament has minimized her chances of clinching the Australian Open 2012. She is a very charming character at the court
and sometimes doesn’t commit herself to the task. The status she has achieved is a dream of millions but still she needs to learn traits of winning tournaments after another and confirming her place at the top.
The Australian Open is still an open bid to any player and the one that is more committed to her task will raise the Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne this year. Wozniacki might slip few ranks down this year but a time will come when she rise as the best star
in the world of tennis. That will be the time people can have a bet on her performance with conviction; at the moment she is not the hot favourite for the Australian Open title.
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