Caroline Wozniacki vs Francesca Schiavone – Semi-final Preview: New Haven Open 2011
Going into the semi-finals of the New Haven Open at Yale, the world number one, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, will battle it out against the eighth ranked Italian, Francesca Schiavone, on Friday to earn a title shot in final.
The mush awaited contest will be held on the hard courts of the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, with two of the finest women tennis players in the world going one-on-one for a place in the
final of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Premier Series event.
Being the top seed in the tournament, Wozniacki received a bye to the second round of the tournament to play against the unseeded Slovenian, Polona Hercog. She blew away Hercog in straight sets to meet the local wildcard, Christina
McHale, who defeated Wozniacki last week in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, in the second round of Cincinnati Open. The top seed proved her supremacy this time round and wiped out McHale 7-5, 6-3, to make her way into the semi-finals of the New Haven Open at Yale
to face the third seeded Schiavone.
Seeded at number three in the tournament, Schiavone went through Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania in the opening round and then outplayed Monica Niculescu in the next round to reach the quarter-final draws. Having been 0-4 against
her, Schiavone received a walkover from Anabel Medina Garrigues, who was suffering from a knee injury after winning her last second round match against the Russian, Elena Vesnina.
The defending champion Wozniacki’s recent form has been a point of concern for her tennis fans. She suffered defeats in her opening matches in the last two tournaments she played at Toronto and Cincinnati but the world number one
has made a strong comeback in the New Haven Open. Wozniacki is yet to drop a set in the tournament so far, as she has won both of her matches in straight sets to reach the semi-finals.
The top seed Dane has a 51-12 winning record in the running WTA season and has already bagged five championship titles so far. Wozniacki is 15-0 at New Haven and has been winning the title for the last three years in succession,
becoming the hot favourite once again for winning the semi-final clash against Schiavone.
The eighth ranked Italian runs a 30-17 winning record in the current WTA season and hasn’t clinched a single title in the year so far. She is facing a four-match losing streak at the hands of Wozniacki, who has already nailed two
victories in the current year against her. The last time these two contestants played against each other resulted in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, victory for Wozniacki in the semi-final at Brussels this year, making the Dane’s overall lead against Schiavone to 4-2.
“I’ve had a lot of tough matches against Francesca. Last time I think it was in Brussels, where we played three sets and I think we were at it for three hours,” told the world number one after winning the quarter-final. With a
winning streak of four matches against the Italian, Wozniacki is certainly anticipated to take down Schiavone with ease in the Friday’s contest.
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