Dubai Duty Free 2011: Caroline Wozniacki regains number one spot
Caroline Wozniacki continued her supreme form at the WTA Tour Series 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011 as she defeated the world number eleven Shahar Peer in straight sets to reach the semi-finals.
With this win, she will also regain her number one position in the Women Tennis Association rankings.
The Danish star looked in a destructive mood right from the start of the match as she quickly wrapped up the first set 6-2, breaking her opponent’s serve on three occasions. Wozniacki won the first set in less than 38 minutes and smashed 9 winners with very
few unforced errors.
She continued the second set with the same momentum, winning the first four games in a row to take a 4-0 lead. However, Wozniacki lost her concentration for a bit giving away next four out of five games but that did not stop her from completing a well-deserved
6-2, 6-4 win over her Israeli opponent. With her aggressive approach, the Dane was able to finish the match in just 75 minutes.
On the other hand, the world number eleven, Shahar Peer paid heavily for her sluggish on-court movement as she reacted very late to the short balls played in by Wozniacki. Peer also made a whopping 34 unforced errors in the match as compared to 16 by Wozniacki
which proved to be the difference in the match.
Overall, it was an all-round and dominating performance from Wozniacki as she continued from where she left in her previous match. She converted 6 out of 8 break points and was extremely good in coming close to the net. Wozniacki made the most of the stats
as she had a 4-1 head-to-head career record against the Israeli before the match.
With this win, the Dane has also snatched the world number one ranking from the Belgian, Kim Clijsters. She will return to the top spot when the new world rankings are released on Monday.
“Of course it’s nice to be back at number one,” Wozniacki said. “You know, it’s a good feeling. Yeah, I gave Kim one week. Hopefully now I’ll have it for a few more weeks.”
Top seed Wozniacki, who has been heavily criticised for not winning a grand slam despite reaching the top of the rankings, is now set to face former world number one, Jelena Jankovic in the semi-final who earlier defeated Samantha Stosur in a three-set thriller.
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