World number one Caroline Wozniacki hits back at critics
World number one Caroline Wozniacki has hit back at her critics who say that the Dane must win the Australian Open 2011 in order to justify her spot at the summit of the world ranking.
“I do not feel I need to prove anything to anybody. You do not become No.1 winning small tournaments or getting bad results. You know, I am a good player. I have had great results. I won six tournaments last year. I do not have to prove anything. I had a
great year last year and finished No.1, so I am really happy about that,” said Wozniacki while talking to the reporters on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Dane, who made her debut on the Women Tennis Association tour back in 2005, recorded a stellar 2010 season highlighted by her highest career ranking of world number one. The right-hander jumped to the top spot in October 2010 after picking
up six singles titles in the year.
However, Wozniacki was soon criticised for being slam-less. She is the third player on the WTA tour to be ranked number one without a major title after Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic.
While denying all the recent criticism that she must triumph in at least one major in 2011 to justify her top rankings, Wozniacki said that her number one ranking is enough to justify her class. When asked about her 2011 plans on the tour, the Dane added
that she is looking to work on her form and play even better.
“You always try to improve, always try to build some things into your game. For me I play to win, so I play the way I have to in order to win the match. The good thing is that I can play a mixed game. I don't have to play aggressively. I can also play defensively
because I know I can run a lot of balls down. I can mix it up. Of course, I always want to build on what I already know how to do,” she reflected.
Wozniacki is playing in Melbourne as her third WTA tournament of the 2011 season as she started her season’s campaign by playing at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic where she was beaten in the final by Russian Vera Zvonareva.
She next took part at the Medibank International in Sydney where the Monte Carlo resident suffered a shocking second round exit at the hands of Dominika Cibulkova. Now heading into the Australian Open, Wozniacki is quite hopeful and looking forward to put
up a good show.
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