Caroline Wozniacki
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| Country | Denmark |
|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco, usually |
| Date of birth | 11 July 1990 |
| Place of birth | Odense, Denmark |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 58.2 kg (128 lb; 9 st 2 lb) |
| Turned pro | 18 July 2005 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | US$ 4,717,785 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 217–87 |
| Career titles | 10 WTA, 4 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (22 March 2010) |
| Current ranking | No. 2 (30 August 2010) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (2008, 2010) |
| French Open | QF (2010) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2009, 2010) |
| US Open | F (2009) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Championships | SF (2009) |
| Olympic Games | 3R (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 30–43 |
| Career titles | 2 WTA, 0 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 52 (14 September 2009) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2008) |
| French Open | 2R (2010) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2009) |
| US Open | 3R (2009) |
| Last updated on: 27 August 2010. | |
Caroline Wozniacki (born 11 July 1990), is a Danish tennis player of Polish descent. As of 30 August 2010, she is ranked World No. 2 on the WTA Tour. She has won ten WTA singles titles and was the runner-up at the 2009 US Open.
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Career
Wozniacki has won several junior tournaments (including the 2006 Wimbledon girls' singles tournament and the 2005 Orange Bowl tennis championship), and made her debut on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour at Cincinnati's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on 19 July 2005, losing to the top-seeded and later champion Patty Schnyder in the first round.
2006
In 2006, she was the first seed at the Australian Open (junior girls' singles), but lost the final to eight-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. She was seeded second with Anna Tatishvili in the doubles tournament, but the pair was knocked out in the semifinals by the French-Italian pair of Alizé Cornet and Corinna Dentoni, who were seeded eighth.
In February in Memphis, she reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, beating Kristina Brandi and Ashley Harkleroad in the first two rounds before losing to third-seeded Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.
Before Wimbledon, Wozniacki won the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament beating Ashley Harkleroad in the finals.
Later that year, she was given a wildcard to the 2006 Wimbledon Championships senior qualifying tournament, where she was beaten in the first qualifying round by Miho Saeki. However, Wozniacki went on to win the girls' singles tournament, beating Slovak Magdaléna Rybáriková in the finals.
In August, she reached another WTA Tour quarter-final, this time at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm. She defeated top 100 players Iveta Benešová and Eleni Daniilidou before falling to eventual champion and third-seeded Jie Zheng.
Wozniacki was seeded second in the year's last major tournament, the 2006 US Open – Girls' Singles. In the first round on 3 September she won the first set against Russian Alexandra Panova, but was disqualified in the second set for verbally abusing an umpire. Wozniacki was said to have used an expletive in referring to a linesman who made a disputed call;[1] however, on her blog, she claimed to say "take your sunglasses of [sic]" and to be mistaken for talking to the linesman when she was criticizing herself after the next point.[2]
In her last junior tournament, the Osaka Mayor's Cup, she won the girls' singles and doubles.
Her first senior title came shortly after on 29 October, when she won the $25,000 ITF-tournament in Istanbul by beating Tatjana Malek in the final.
Wozniacki was set to face Venus Williams on 27 November in an exhibition match in Copenhagen,[3] but five days before the event, Williams canceled because of an injury.[4] The two did, however, face each other in the Memphis WTA Tier III event on 20 February. Williams beat Wozniacki, ending the nine-match winning streak Wozniacki had at the time.
On 30 November, Wozniacki was named ambassador for Danish Junior Tennis by the Culture Minister of Denmark at the time, Brian Mikkelsen.
2007
In early January she played the Hong Kong exhibition tournament Watsons Water Champions Challenge.
On 4 February, she won the singles title in Ortisei, Italy, at an ITF $75,000 tournament, beating the Italian player Alberta Brianti 4–6, 7–5, 6–3. On 4 March, she won the $75,000 ITF tournament in Las Vegas, beating top-seed Akiko Morigami in the final 6–3, 6–2.
She obtained a wild card for the 2007 Pacific Life Open – Women's Singles main draw and made her Tier I-debut there. She was knocked out in the second round by Martina Hingis 6–1, 6–3. The two faced each other again on 27 April in Copenhagen for an exhibition match, where Wozniacki again lost 7–6(7), 3–6, 6–2.
She then made the semifinals of the AIG Open in Tokyo in October, her first career semifinal and also the first Danish woman to reach a WTA semifinal since Tine Scheuer-Larsen in 1986 at Bregenz. Wozniacki lost to Venus Williams 6–3, 7–5.
2008
At the Australian Open, she defeated Gisela Dulko, 21st seed Alyona Bondarenko on her way to the Round of 16 where she lost to the eventual finalist and fourth-seeded Ana Ivanović.
At the French Open, she was seeded thirtieth, making this the first Grand Slam tournament in which Wozniacki was seeded. She lost however in the third round to the eventual champion and World No. 2 Ana Ivanović.
At Wimbledon, she reached the third round but lost to second-seeded Jelena Janković.[5]
Wozniacki won her first ever WTA tour title at the Nordic Light Open in Stockholm without losing a single set, defeating Vera Dushevina. She had previously beaten the no. 5 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals and the top seed and World No. 10, Agnieszka Radwańska in the semifinals.
At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, she beat World No. 12 Daniela Hantuchová in the second round before falling to the eventual gold-medalist Elena Dementieva. Wozniacki then won her second WTA tour title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, defeating four seeded players in Dominika Cibulková, Marion Bartoli and Alizé Cornet en route to the final, where she defeated World No. 11 Anna Chakvetadze.
She was 21st seed at the US Open, and defeated World No. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the third round. In the fourth round, she lost to second-seeded and eventual runner-up Jelena Janković.
At the China Open, she lost her opening match to Anabel Medina Garrigues. However, she teamed up with Medina Garrigues to clinch the doubles title, defeating the Chinese duo of Han Xinyun and Xu Yi-Fan. It was Wozniacki's first WTA doubles title. At the Tier III AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, she was the top seed for the first time on the WTA Tour, and won her third career title, defeating Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the final.
Wozniacki then took part in an ITF tournament in her hometown in Odense. She won the tournament there beating World No. 64 Sofia Arvidsson in the final.
Her final win–loss record for the year (ITF matches included, exhibition matches not included) was 58–20 in singles and 8–9 in doubles. She ended the year ranked 12th in singles and 79th in doubles. She finished thirteenth in the race for the Sony Ericsson Championships. She also won the Newcomer of the Year award for 2008.
2009
In her first tournament of the year at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, she lost in the quarterfinals to Russian Elena Vesnina 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. She then reached the quarter-finals of the Medibank International in Sydney where she lost to World No. 2 Serena Williams 6–7(5), 6–3, 7–6(3) despite having three match points when serving for the match at 6–5 in the third set. Seeded 11th at the Australian Open, Wozniacki advanced to the third round where she lost to Australian wild card Jelena Dokić 3–6, 6–1, 6–2.
Wozniacki reached the quarter-finals of the Pattaya Women's Open in Thailand but lost to 8th seeded Magdaléna Rybáriková 6–4, 6–1. Seeded first at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Wozniacki advanced to the final but lost to the Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 6–1, 6–3. Afterwards, Wozniacki and Azarenka won the doubles title, beating Michaëlla Krajicek and Yuliana Fedak 6–1, 7–6(2) in the final.
Wozniacki then took part in the first two Premier Mandatory tournaments of the year in North America. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Wozniacki lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva 6–4, 6–2. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Wozniacki scored her first wins over 18th seeded Patty Schnyder and the 4th seed Elena Dementieva in the third and fourth rounds respectively. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–1 in the quarter-finals.
Wozniacki won her first title of the year on the green clay of the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach. After surviving a tough first round encounter against Samantha Stosur, she then handily dispensed of Virginie Razzano and Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets to reach the semifinals where she survived four match points to defeat Elena Vesnina 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(5). She then defeated Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak in the final 6–1, 6–2. Seeded fifth on the green clay at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, she defeated top seed Elena Dementieva 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 in the semi-finals before losing 6–2, 6–4 to Sabine Lisicki in the final.
Wozniacki then suffered early exits in her next two tournaments losing to Marion Bartoli 7–6(6), 6–4 in the second round at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and losing in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome to Victoria Azarenka 6–2, 6–2. Wozniacki advanced to the final at the inaugural Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open where she lost to World No. 1 Dinara Safina 6–2, 6–4. Seeded 10th at the French Open in Paris, France, Wozniacki lost to Sorana Cîrstea of Romania, 7–6(3) 7–5. Cîrstea and Wozniacki lost in the first round of the doubles tournament to Maria Kirilenko and Flavia Pennetta, 6–4, 6–4.
During the grass court season, Wozniacki won her second title of the year at the AEGON International in Eastbourne. She advanced to the semi finals with defeats over Alisa Kleybanova, Samantha Stosur, and Ekaterina Makarova. There she faced near namesake Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, recovering from a set down to win 2–6, 6–4, 6–4. She beat Virginie Razzano in the final 7–6, 7–5.[6]
Wozniacki was seeded 9th in Wimbledon, where she defeated the #20 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–2, 6–2 before falling to Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round, 6–4, 6–4.
On her 19th birthday she lost in the final of the Swedish Open 7–5, 6–4 to María José Martínez Sánchez of Spain. In her first hard-court tournament in preparation for the US Open, after receiving a bye in the first round of the LA Women's Tennis Championships she lost in the second round to Sorana Cîrstea 1–6, 6–4, 7–6(5). At the Cincinnati Masters, Wozniacki advanced to the quarterfinals, falling to Elena Dementieva 6–2, 6–1. In Toronto she lost in the second round to Zheng Jie 7–5, 6–3. She then went to defend her title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven. In the first round she had her first ever double bagel win, 6–0, 6–0 over Edina Gallovits in 41 minutes. In the final of the tournament she beat Russian challenger Elena Vesnina 6–2, 6–4 to win her third title of the season.
Wozniacki was the 9th seed at the US Open. She was the first Danish woman to reach a Grand Slam final, where she was defeated 7–5, 6–3 by unseeded Belgian Kim Clijsters who had recently returned to the WTA Tour after retiring in 2007. Wozniacki's runner-up showing allowed her to reach a career high ranking of No. 6 which shortly after improved to No. 5 without playing. By reaching the US Open final in September she qualifed, for the first time in her career, for the WTA Tour Championships in Doha which start October 27.
In her first match since the US Open she retired due to a viral illness at 0–5 in the first set against Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, after having received a bye in the first round. She then lost to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round of the China Open 6–7(5), 7–6(2), 6–0.
She lost 6–0, 4–6, 6–4 to Samantha Stosur in the semifinals of the HP Open in Osaka. The following week in BGL Luxembourg Open, she retired with a hamstring injury in the first round when while leading 7–5, 5–0 over Anne Kremer.
At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Wozniacki qualified for the semi-finals. Struggling with a stomach strain and a left thigh injury, Wozniacki lost to World No. 1 Serena Williams in the semis, retiring while trailing 6–4, 0–1.[7]
2010
Wozniacki started the 2010 season playing at an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong where she lost two singles matches for Team Europe but won two mixed doubles with Stefan Edberg. In her first WTA tournament of the year, Wozniacki suffered an opening round loss to Li Na of China in Sydney. She was seeded 4th at the Australian Open, her first top-eight seed in a Grand Slam. She again fell to Na, this time in the fourth round, in straight sets. Despite her 4th round exit, Wozniacki achieved her career high ranking of No.3.
As the 2nd seed at Indian Wells, Wozniacki reached the final, despite dropping a set to three players en route. She was defeated by Jelena Janković 6–2, 6–4. With the result, she again achieved a new career high rank of World No. 2.[8] At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Wozniacki lost in the quarterfinals to the newly returned Justine Henin 6–7(5), 6–3, 6–4.
Her next tournament was at Ponte Vedra Beach, where she defeated Olga Govortsova 6–2, 7–5. Wozniacki then competed at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. Wozniacki advanced to the semi-finals, where she met Vera Zvonareva of Russia. She was forced to retire down 4–2 when she rolled her ankle chasing down a short ball. The injury was cited as serious.[9][10]
Despite her ongoing ankle injury, she continued to compete in tournaments through the clay court season, suffering early losses in Stuttgart, Rome, Madrid, and Warsaw. Despite her poor clay court season, Wozniacki was seeded 3rd at the French Open. She posted her best result at Roland Garros by advancing to the fourth round, without having dropped a set. There, it took almost three hours for Wozniacki to defeat Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7–6(5), (4)6–7, 6–2. In the quarter finals she lost to Francesca Schiavone, the eventual champion, 6–3, 6–2. Wozniacki partnered Daniela Hantuchová in doubles, but withdrew before their second round match with the Williams sisters due to a right shoulder injury to Hantuchová.
As the defending champion, Wozniacki lost early at the AEGON International, her first grass court tournament of the year. Wozniacki was seeded 3rd at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Tathiana Garbin, Chang Kai-chen and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route to the fourth round, where she was crushed by Petra Kvitová 6–2, 6–0.
Wozniacki was the number 1 seed at the 2010 e-Boks Danish Open. It was the first Danish WTA tournament and was created largely because of Wozniacki's popularity in Denmark. She reached the final where she defeated Klara Zakopalova to win her second title of the year.
In Cincinnati, she lost in the third round to Marion Bartoli 6–4, 6–1. Wozniacki was seeded number 2 in the Rogers Cup in Montreal. She defeated Russia's Vera Zvonareva in straight sets 6–3, 6–2 for her third singles title of the year.
As the top seed at New Haven, Wozniacki defeated Nadia Petrova 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 in the final for her third consecutive title at New Haven. She also won the 2010 US Open Series and was the only woman with two titles. They came only five days apart since the Rogers Cup final was delayed to Monday due to rain and the New Haven final was Saturday to give rest time before the US Open.
Wozniacki is the top seed at the US Open, due to the withdrawal of World No. 1 Serena Williams. Should Wozniacki win the US Open, she will replace Williams as the World No. 1 player. She will also get the largest payday ever in women's sports, $2.7 million including a $1 million bonus for winning both the US Open Series and the US Open. She defeated Chelsey Gullickson 6–1, 6–1 in the first round and had an even easier second round, 6–0, 6–0 over Chang Kai-chen in 47 minutes. The third round saw her defeating another Taiwanese player, Chan Yung-jan, 6–1, 6–0. In the fourth round, she defeated the 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova 6–3, 6–4. She defeated unseeded Dominika Cibulková 6–2, 7–5 in the quarterfinals. She will play Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals.
Career statistics
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2009 | US Open | Hard | .svg.png){kind=small} Kim Clijsters |
5–7, 3–6 |
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Career Win–Loss |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 4R | 3R | 4R | 8–3 | ||||
| French Open | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | QF | 8–4 | ||||
| Wimbledon | LQ | 2R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 9–5 | ||||
| US Open | A | 2R | 4R | F | 10–3 | |||||
| Win–Loss | 0–1 | 2–3 | 10–4 | 13–4 | 10–3 | 35–15 | ||||
Awards
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Playing style
Caroline is considered to be a defensive counter-puncher and wins many points by forcing opponent errors and running down so many balls. Her movement and speed allow her to retrieve most balls hit by her opponent. She has improved her game and has become more aggressive and controlling of points.
Wozniacki is able to effectively absorb power from her opponents with her forehand. However, it is her two-handed backhand which is her more powerful and controlled swing. She is known for her backhand down the line. The semi-western grips that she employs on both wings allow her to hit her shots with topspin.
She can play relatively well on all surfaces.
Personal life
Wozniacki is the daughter of Polish immigrants, father Piotr Wozniacki and mother Anna Wozniacki.[11] Piotr Wozniacki guides her as one of her coaches.[12] Caroline is from a sports-minded family, her mother having played on the Polish women's national volleyball team.[12] Also, Caroline's father played professional football in Poland and in Mannheim, Germany, and the Wozniackis moved to Denmark when he signed for the Danish football club Boldklubben 1909.[11][13] Caroline's older brother Patrik Wozniacki is a professional footballer for Brønshøj BK in Denmark.[12] She is a big fan of Liverpool and Spain striker Fernando Torres.[14]
When asked in 2008 by Teen Vogue magazine what sports beside tennis she likes to play, Wozniacki said "I like hand ball, soccer, swimming, playing the piano, and all kinds of different things."[15]
Since the US Open in 2009, Caroline Wozniacki has been the face of Stella McCartney's line of Adidas sportswear.[16]
References
- ↑ "Not sweet, Caroline". Daily Mirror. 5 September 2006. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2006/09/05/not-sweet-caroline-115875-17684901/. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ↑ Wozniacki, Caroline (4 September 2006). "Caroline Wozniacki U.S. Open Blog entry 2". http://www.carolinewozniacki.dk/blog/us-open-2/. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
- ↑ "Caroline Wozniacki i storform til Tennisgalla 2006 i KB-Hallen" (in Danish). f.reklame. http://www.f-reklame.dk/TG06nyhed.asp?Id=4. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ↑ Ritzau (22 November 2006). "Wozniackis kamp mod Venus aflyst" (in Danish). DR Forside. http://www.dr.dk/Sporten/Oevrig_sport/Tennis/2006/11/22/163811.htm. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
- ↑ Newcombe, Barry (28 June 2008). "Jankovic hobbles to hard-fought win". All England Club. http://2008.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/match_reports/2008-06-28/200806281214665988140.html. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ↑ "Wozniacki triumphs at Eastbourne". BBC Sport. 20 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8110893.stm. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ↑ "It's Venus against Serena in WTA Championships final". AFP. 31 October 2009. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h4FweZTbT9gCb8o6ZdoNdW9iqMpg. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ↑ Jankovic Finishes With A Flourish BNP Paribas Open, 21 March 2010
- ↑ "Saturday Recap – Sam & Vera Reach Final". Family Circle Cup. 17 April 2010. http://www.familycirclecup.com/pages/articles/20100417210445.html. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ↑ "Vera & Sam Into Final". WTA Tour. 17 April 2010. http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/news/20100417/vera-sam-into-final_2256076_2027943. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "About Caro". Caroline Wozniacki Official Web site. http://www.carolinewozniacki.dk/?page_id=2. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (DEN)". WTA Tour. http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Info/0,,12781~12631,00.html. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ↑ "Dane Caroline Wozniacki is the Wimbledon 2009 Women's Dark Horse". The Optimist. http://optimistworld.com/Dane-Caroline-Wozniacki-Wimbledon-2009-Women-Dark-Horse. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
- ↑ Robert Kemp (2010-05-21). "Wozniacki primed for Roland Garros assault". Tennis Open. http://www.tennis-open.net/news.php?nid=5543&lang=en. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ↑ Bhattacharya, Runa (12 November 2006). "20 Questions with Tennis Phenom Caroline Wozniacki". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. http://www.teenvogue.com/beauty/blogs/beauty/2008/11/20-questions-with-tennis-pheno.html. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ↑ "Face of Stella McCartney". http://www.shoppingblog.com/blog/713092. Retrieved 23. August 2010.
External links
- Official website
- Caroline Wozniacki on Twitter
- Caroline Wozniacki channel at YouTube
- Wozniacki Tennis Academy
- Caroline Wozniacki on the Women's Tennis Association
- Caroline Wozniacki at the International Tennis Federation
- Caroline Wozniacki at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
- Caroline Wozniacki at the Fed Cup
- Caroline Wozniacki at the Internet Movie Database
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Ágnes Szávay |
WTA Newcomer of the Year 2008 |
Succeeded by Melanie Oudin |
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