Caroline Wozniacki vs. Jelena Jankovic: Fourth Round Preview – Australian Open 2012
On Sunday, Rod Laver Arena will heat up when the likes of reigning world number one, Caroline Wozniacki and former world number one, Jelena Jankovic, battles against one another for the berth in the quarterfinals of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament,
the Australian Open. It will be the clash of the titans; both contenders fight for their first ever singles Grand Slam title of their career; Wozniacki has never won any Grand Slam title whilst her rival has won a mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2007.
The contest will be held at the hard courts and both players love to play at this surface. It is expected to be an enthralling battle with the Dane entering the match as the hot favourite to win it. Jankovic will be fuming to dethrone the reigning
world number one and step close to the title. Wozniacki on the other hand will be looking to level the head to head tally with her fourth successive win over the Serb.
This arch rivalry started way back in 2008 during Wimbledon. Jankovic was on top of her game and was ranked world number two. She ousted the Dane in a tiring three-setter to stamp her first win. These two contestants went face-to-face in the US Open
2008 as well and again the 13th ranked Serb dumped the reigning world number one in an enthralling three-setter. Jankovic eased her third head-to-head triumph in Sony Ericson Championship contested in Doha in 2009. Next year she plonked
the Dane in straight sets during the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
World number one, Wozniacki, put breaks to the victories of Jankovic last year with a cracking triumph in Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. She decreased the trail with a win in Family Circle Cup and completed her hat-trick of triumphs with an emphatic
win in Rome. It will be interesting to see how she tackles the Serb in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday.
It is expected to be a nail-biting contest with one contestant looking to level the head-to-head scores whilst her opponent looking to revive her form and break into the Top-10 players of the world. Wozniacki eyes the former objective while Jankovic
will be looking to concentrate on the latter goal. Considering the performances of both players, there is absolutely nothing to separate the two world class performers in recent past. They have been vigilant, aggressive and dominating throughout the Grand
Slam tournament.
Interesting thing to notice in this encounter is the proximity of game style of both the contestants. They had just one tough battle in 2012, as both of them started their year’s campaign in Apia Sydney International tournament. Wozniacki lost seventh
seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinals while Jankovic was defeated by world number three, Victoria Azarenka, in the second round. They are having a second tough battle of the year so both players will be looking to make a strong impact and extend their
Grand Slam campaign.
A mammoth crowd is expected at the arena to witness this tremendous clash. It will be a weekend so more people will have a chance to move into the arena and support their respective icons. No doubt that Wozniacki is the hot favourite to win the contest
but no one can stop Jankovic when she gets going.
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