Wozzy – where woz ya?

Written by: Staff on 10th September 2010

Wozzy - where woz ya? |

You had to feel for Caroline Wozniacki, who came into the first of Friday’s US Open women’s semi-finals as strong favourite against Vera Zvonareva and left with a sobering two-set defeat to come to terms with.

“She played a really good game, definitely,” said Wozniacki, with typical good grace and hiding what must have been searing disappointment inside after losing 6-4, 6-3 to the Russian. “You know, she was not missing a lot. She was going for her shots. Most things were going in. You know, I had chances, and I don’t know, I made some mistakes today that I usually don’t do. It was a tough day for me in the office, and unfortunately it was today. That’s the way tennis is sometimes.”

Wozniacki had swept all before her not just over the course of this US Open, but throughout the American hard-court summer which preceded it. She earned herself $1 million by winning the US Open Series prior to the tournament and would have earned a second million had she gone on to win the title but she looked flat and a little drained – both mentally and physically – against Zvonareva and it’s possible that she paid a heavy price for all those wins leading into Friday’s match. With hindsight, she might have been better off missing the defence of her title in New Haven prior to the US Open in order to rest the week before a grand slam like so many other players do.

She was not pressed too hard on the point afterwards but when the issue of fatigue was raised Wozniacki refused to accept that it might have been a factor. “I’m actually not feeling too tired, to be honest with you. I wouldn’t have minded playing one more match,” she said. She may genuinely still feel fresh or, more likely, the Dane might have been anxious not to belittle her opponent’s performance by damning her own.

Zvonareva deserved that much after putting in a performance of poise and purpose to match anything she produced on her similar run to this year’s Wimbledon final. The Russian was on the attack from the start, serving and returning well and nipping away at Wozniacki on almost every point. Despite her reputation for melting down mentally in matches, Zvonareva was consistently composed, even when she broke so many strings on so many rackets that she actually ran out of bats to play with. Her coach had to hand her an old racket before a fleet-footed ballkid came to the rescue with some restrings.

As well as Zvonareva played, though, she must have expected a fightback at any moment from the tournament’s top seed. The increasingly uncomfortable murmurs in the crowd suggested that they too found it difficult to believe quite how tamely Wozniacki accepted the stealing of her dream.

Wozniacki is young and she vowed to learn from her defeat. After a well-deserved rest, a long discussion of her 2011 schedule should be on the agenda for her, her influential father and her team of advisors. She is World No.2 on the back of a year of playing and winning almost every week and while her tally of achievements is impressive, she might be better advised to take a leaf from the Serena Williams handbook (though possibly not the chapter about walking around in restaurants) and be more selective about when and where she plays. Winning titles in places like New Haven is all very well, but Wozniacki would surely give up any number of victories in Connecticut for one big one in New York.

Topics: 1 Million, Caroline Wozniacki, Disappointment, Fatigue, Good Game, Good Grace, Grand Slam, Hindsight, Match, New Haven, Open Women, Opponent, Poise, Russi, Semi Finals, Tennis, Tough Day, Vera Zvonareva, Wimbledon, Ya