Wozniacki wins Montreal, now for New Haven
Caroline Wozniacki claimed her third title of 2010 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Monday, defeating Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva in the final.
And in typical style, the world No. 2 then promptly set off to New Haven to fulfil her commitments to play in the Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale this week.
It’s a decision that will see Wozniacki playing a solid month of tournaments in the lead-up to the US Open, which begins next Monday, and while some would question the wisdom of that decision, perhaps the Dane is simply making hay while the sun shines.
Indeed, when the rain that halted her semi-final against Svetlana Kuznetsova just two games into it in Montreal on Saturday finally stopped and allowed play to resume yesterday, it was the 20-year-old who was able to build a 2-0 advantage into a 6-2, 6-3 victory and a place in the final.
Wozniacki was equally emphatic in her victory over Zvonareva hours later, taking the title with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the final to clearly demonstrate her mental fortitude in what were trying circumstances for all involved.
The Rogers Cup title now joins the title Wozniacki claimed in Ponte Vedra Beach this spring, and the crown she won in Copenhagen as she commenced her packed warm-up schedule for the year’s final Grand Slam, where she is destined to be the top seed after Serena Williams’ withdrawal from the tournament with a foot injury.
While Serena’s usual approach to preparing for a major is to play just enough competitive tennis to fine tune her game for the big one – and with 13 Grand Slam titles to her name, no-one can doubt the wisdom of her preparation – Wozniacki, even in her comparably short career, has developed a reputation as one of the busiest players on the WTA Tour.
In fact, Wozniacki arrived at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha last year having played and won more matches than any other player, at that stage a 65-22 win-loss record that included three titles – including New Haven last year.
No-one can argue that, at least in 2009, it was one tournament too many for the then 19-year-old, as she won her way through to the first Grand Slam final of her career at Flushing Meadows, only to fall to comeback queen Kim Clijsters at the final hurdle.
Wozniacki will begin her title defence with a second-round match (as top seed Wozniacki has a first-round bye) against Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, who arrives in the second round courtesy of a first-round win over last year’s US Open giant-killer Melanie Oudin.
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