Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kim Clijsters: Quarterfinal Preview – Australian Open 2012
Reigning world number, Caroline Wozniacki, meets the former world number one, Kim Clijsters, in the quarters of the Australian Open tournament on Tuesday. The Dane knows that Clijsters was the one that took her number one spot
by winning the Australian Open title last year. Although the Belgian couldn’t hang on that ranking for long but it would have definitely left a strong impact in the mind of the Dane.
Physiological advantage of two head-to-head wins rest with Clijsters and she is defending champion at the Australian Open. The support at the arena will favour the Belgian and Wozniacki will have to fight all these factors running
against her to confirm a spot in the semis. The Dane is famous for falling apart in the big match and fails to deliver. She needs to fight back that claim as well and prove to the world that she can nail down her opponents in advanced stages of the tournament
as well.
An interview from the Czech born Martina Navratilova, 18 time Grand Slam champions, publicly proclaimed that Wozniacki is not a true world number one. She said, “Clearly nobody feels that Wozniacki is a true number one, Wozniacki
doesn't even have that great of a record in her career or the last four years over the top 10 or against the top five, whereas Petra you feel really imposes herself on the match and any player. She's number one because that's how they set up the computer ranking.
If you had the system from six years ago she wouldn't be.”
This statement from a legend makes it crystal clear for the Dane that she has to prove herself and world number one spot is not what she deserves at the moment. Wozniacki hasn’t won a single Grand Slam title in her professional
career. A lot depends on her performance against Clijsters. She has to prove her worth to millions across the globe and sometimes the pressure to perform in the big match becomes the reason for a player’s downfall.
Clijsters defeated Wozniacki in the Grand Slam final of September 2009 and again in the final of the Sony Ericson Championship that was contested in Doha. They have not played enough tennis amongst themselves but they know their
duties that are expected of them in the quarterfinal on Tuesday. It will be an exciting encounter to say the least; it’s not just a match, it’s a fight of champions and clash of titans.
Mammoth crowd is expected to turnout as they will not see such an encounter at an elite stage of a Grand Slam championship between these two contestants for quite a while. Clijsters have dumped the Chinese number one, Li Na, ranked
superior than her, in the fourth round of the Australian Open; so she is out there to defend her title. Wozniacki will face the toughest contest in the Australian Open for the first time; that fact also runs in favour of Clijsters so Wozniacki has a lot to
prove on Tuesday whilst Clijsters remains the hot favourite to win the match.
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