Tennis Speaks: Wozniacki

Showing posts with label Wozniacki. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

RG: DAY 3 RECAP

2012 French Open
May 22 - June 10

DAY 3 RECAP:

© FFT

It was yet another stunning and exciting day three at 2012 French Open. Murray and Nadal strolled into the second round in straight sets. Janko Tipsarevic battled back to beat Sam Querrey in four sets after dropping the first set 6-2. The Americans seemed to be unprepared as they kept dropping out one after the other. Mikhail Youzhny defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 and Bulgaria’s Grigor DiMitrov defeated Donald Young 7-6(7), 6-1, 6-1. On the women’s side Jamie Hampton lost to Arantxa Rux. Maria Sharapova came out strong today and defeated Cadantu 6-0, 6-0 in 48 minutes. We all know that each grand slam is full of surprises, and unexpected twists. The earliest came today as Serena Williams lost her first ever first round match at a grand slam tournament. Ten years ago she won this same tournament. She lost to Virginie Razzano of France 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. French woman, Aravane Rezai lost to Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 5-7, 7-5, 2-6. Of the 19 women’s singles matches that were played, only four went into the third set. Kvitova, Wozniacki and last year’s runner-up Francesca Schiavone were also through in straight sets as they faced no trouble whatsoever from their opponents.

Stay tuned for updates on Day 4 at Roland Garros. Of the exciting matches being played tomorrow, Michael Llodra will face Tomas Berdych, Shahar Peer will go up against the No. 13 seed Ana Ivanovic, and USA’s Melanie Oudin will tackle Italy’s Sara Errani. Roger Federer, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Azarenka and Del-Potro will also be out on the courts tomorrow so stay tuned for live updates from our twitter feed if you won’t be watching the matches. It’s too early to pick a favorite on the women’s side but Tennis Speaks will be announcing their picks soon. What say you? Who are your picks for this year’s French open champions?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

What’s Next For Caroline Wozniacki?

Caroline Wozniacki © Getty Images

A couple of hours ago, Caroline Wozniacki fell in the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open at the hand of defending champ, Kim Clijsters (6-3, 7-6) and will lose her No. 1 ranking. Since she became world No. 1 in October 2010 (save for the 1 week Kim Clijsters took over the spot), Caroline Wozniacki got to the Semi Finals of Australian Open and US Open in 2011, Fourth round at Wimbledon and Third round at Roland Garros. She was the first player in two years to finish at No. 1 two years in a row without winning a Grandslam title.

She was often criticized for her inability to win a Grandslam due to various reasons ranging from her game being too safe to her overly packed schedule. There’s an element of truth to each reason, and its high time Caroline picked quality over quantity. It seems like she plays in so many tournaments to hang on to her now lost No.1 ranking. However, there is something to be said about her commitment to playing so many tournaments and remaining consistent. Caroline is used to winning by playing it safe but that game plan never works in slams because most players are aggressive and ready to play the big points. Bottomline is Wozniacki needs to add more variety to her game. I’m talking drop shots, serve and volleys, consistent aces, coming to the net and not staying 12 feet behind the baseline. She has speed and stamina but how about adding more firepower to her arsenal? That seems to have worked for many of the top players.

Possible successors to No. 1 position are: Maria Sharapova who is on a mission and is plowing through the draw, Petra Kvitova who won Wimbledon last year and is looking good to win this tournament, and not-so-much of an underdog, Victoria Azarenka who is in top form mentally and physically.

Is this the end of the road for Caroline? We should hope not. Unlike Dinara Safina who was also number one but never lifted a Grandslam singles title, Caroline has a lot of potential to improve. It doesn’t seem like she is retiring anytime soon so time is on her side, after all Kim Clijsters won her first slam at the age of 22. She has always been admired for her fighting spirit and with the pressure of being No. 1 off her shoulders; I see her regrouping and doing better than before.