Wozniacki Ends Year as WTA Number One

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 30th October 2010

Wozniacki Ends Year as WTA Number One |

Opinions may vary because Caroline Wozniacki has still to win her first Grand Slam title but the 20 year-old Dane is now guaranteed the year-ending world no.1 spot on the WTA rankings after scoring the one victory she needed.

Although the closest Wozniacki came to major glory in 2010 was a semi-final finish at the U.S.Open after a year earlier reaching the final, she has already won six titles this season and claimed the number one spot earlier this month en route to winning the China Open in Beijing

She becomes the tenth player to end the season as the world no.1 since the WTA ranking system was introduced in 1975, and only Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf did so at a younger age

A three set win over French Open champion Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships in Doha meant that even if Russia’s Vera Zvonareva wins the title on Sunday, she cannot overtake Wozniacki who said:”It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl and I’m really happy and really proud about what I’ve achieved this year.”

And she acknowledged the fact that there will be critics who question her legitimacy as the leading player in the female game because she has yet to win a Grand Slam. “To be honest, there will be always skeptics,” she added. “There are always people saying you’ll never reach the top 10, never reach the top five and you’ll never win a big tournament.

“If you win a Grand Slam, people will say it was a lucky shot or an easy draw. For me, the most important thing is that I know I had a great season.”

For an hour or so at Doha’s Khalifa Stadium, confusion reigned, not over Wozniacki’s no.1 spot but whether she had definitely qualified for the semi-finals after winning two of her matches and losing one.

There were not quite the same scenes of farce as seen at London’s O2 during last year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when 20 minutes passed with Juan Martin Del Potro actually on court as nobody knew whether he or Andy Murray had qualified for the semi-finals. But a hastily arranged meeting between WTA officials finally came up with the answer and it was decided although Elena Dementieva had beaten Samantha Stosur and still has one remaining group match to play, she can only match Wozniacki’s 4-3 set record and even with a 6-0 6-0 victory would not overhaul the Dane’s games won percentage.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Barclays, Caroline Wozniacki, Farce, Francesca Schiavone, French Open, French Open Champion, Grand Slam Title, Khalifa Stadium, Legitimacy, Lucky Shot, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Murr, Semi Finals, Skeptics, Steffi Graf, Vera Zvonareva, Wta Championships, Wta Rankings