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After 67 weeks as the world’s no.1 female tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki is now guaranteed to be dislodged from top spot in the WTA rankings. And while it cost her earnings, from ranking related bonuses from endorsement from the likes of adidas by Stella McCartney, Oriflame, Turkish Airlines and Compeed, there almost seemed a sense of relief.
Wozniacki, beaten in the Australian Open quarter finals by defending champion Kim Clijsters, will now be replaced at the top of the rankings by either Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka or Maria Sharapova, depending on who goes furthest in the women’s singles at Melbourne Park.
Sharapova and Kvitova play their quarterfinals on Wednesday while Azarenka and Clijsters will meet in Thursday’s semifinal. However that is all irrelevant to Wozniacki who said of losing top ranking: “To be honest, I don’t really think about it.
“I have been there for a long time already. I finished No. 1 two years in a row. In the end of the year we will see who played the best, most consistently all year?round.
“We are just in January. In the end of the year you see who has played the best. I will get it back eventually, so I’m not worried.”
Wozniacki will spend the next two and a half weeks practicing, potentially in Abu Dhabi where her boyfriend, U.S. Open champion golfer Rory McIlroy is competing in the HSBC Championships. Thereafter Wozniacki has a busy schedule, first contesting the Qatar Total Open in Doha before defending her title at the Dubai Duty Free Championships a short hop across the Arabian Gulf.
Then she will head across the Atlantic for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells where she was also the 2011 champion with the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami coming next.
But she is philosophical about the long term future. “I start laughing every time the media talks to me,” she said. “It’s like I’m finishing my career, I only have one year left and time is running out.
“The fact is I still have quite a few good years in front of me. I’m still improving. I still have a number of Australian Opens and a number of U.S. Opens and Wimbledons and French Opens left. I will definitely do my best and try to win one or even more.
“At the end of the day, you can just do your best. You can’t do anything more than that. If your best is good enough, that’s great. If not, then it’s just too good from the other person. I will come back not only once but more times.”
© “DAILY TENNIS NEWS WIRE”
Topics: Australian Open, Caroline Wozniacki