Wozniacki slays Stephens to reach Rogers Cup final
TORONTO: Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the Rogers Cup final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.
Wozniacki eliminated Stephens in a tidy 83 minutes at Aviva Centre on Saturday.
“I think I was moving very well and retrieving and just trying to stay aggressive when I could,” Wozniacki said.
“But it was a difficult match. And I think it was closer than what the scoreline showed.”
Wozniacki, the No. 6 seed from Denmark, will play fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in the final after the Ukrainian beat defending champion Simona Halep 6-1, 6-1 in the second semi-final.
Svitolina broke Halep six times. She won each of her previous two meetings with Wozniacki.
The tournament’s singles champion will earn US$501,975 (RM2mil) of the US$2.74mil (RM12mil) purse. The finalist will take home US$243,920 (RM1mil).
Wet weather hampered the proceedings at the WTA Tour Premier 5 event for a second straight day. The afternoon semifinal was briefly delayed in the second set.
Wozniacki knocked off top-ranked Karolina Pliskova on Friday just over five hours after they started warm-ups. They had to wait out four rain delays and spent nearly three hours on court.
Stephens, who is trying to regain her form after missing almost a year due to a foot injury, showed flashes of her impressive power game. But she had 41 unforced errors, compared to 11 for Wozniacki.
A former top-15 player, Stephens returned to action last month at Wimbledon. Her ranking has plummeted to No. 934 due to her extended absence.
“I didn’t win, but I think this whole week was a very big personal victory,” Stephens said. “So I didn’t win the tournament, but in my eyes I did.”
Wozniacki, a former world No. 1, is 0-5 in finals this season. The 27-year-old won the Rogers Cup in 2010 at Montreal, one of 25 career titles.
“I don’t really think too much about others when I’m out there on court, I just think about myself and what I need to do,” Wozniacki said.
“And every time I step out on the court, I believe I can win.
“That’s really the way I think.” Stephens did not have high expectations for this summer and was quite pleased to reach the final four.
“For this to be my third tournament back and playing like this, I mean I really couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said. “So I’m super happy with that.” — AP