ONE STEP AT A TIME:
Wozniacki is not thinking about her first Grand Slam title after qualifying for the Australian Open quarterfinals
CAROLINE Wozniacki is not thinking about a first Grand Slam title, saying there’s still “a long way to go” after storming into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open yesterday.
The world number two handed out a tennis masterclass to 2017 Wimbledon semifinalist Magdalena Rybarikova, winning 6-3, 6-0 in 63 minutes of mesmerising shot-making on the Rod Laver Arena.
Angelique Kerber is the only Grand Slam champion remaining in the draw meaning Wozniacki may never have a better chance to get off the mark.
But the Dane was in no mood to think about breaking her duck with an Australian Open title, nine years after making her first major final at the US Open.
“No,” she replied when asked if she could see her hands on the trophy yet. “I just play one match at a time. We’ve played four matches so far. There’s still three to go. There’s still a long way to go. So I really just focus on the task ahead of me.”
Wozniacki conceded an early break to go 1-2 down but then rattled off 11 of the next 12 games to complete a humiliating rout of the 19th seed. “She really mixes up the pace; I just tried to calm down, get my returns in and wait for the opportunities to attack,” she said after a ruthless crushing of the Slovak. “I think you can tell my confidence is pretty good at the moment.”
Rybarikova had a breakout year in 2017 as she reached her first Slam semifinal and got into the world’s top 20.
But she was given a tennis lesson by the Dane, who won 11 consecutive points to close out the first set and sprint into a 2-0 lead in the second.
A rampant Wozniacki even successfully attempted a rare “tweener” back between her legs to retrieve a lob.
“That’s the first time in a match. So if I may say so myself, I was pretty proud of that,” she said. “I’m admiring myself right there. I’m sorry. But you know, I’ve made a few tweeners in practice. But never in a match.
“And even in practice sometimes I make a fool out of myself. So when that went in I was like, ok, I’m done.”
Wozniacki has only dropped one set in the tournament but was perilously close to going out at 1-5, 15-40 in the third set to Jana Fett in their secondround encounter.
“I think being almost out of the tournament, you have nothing to lose after that,” said Wozniacki, reflecting on saving two match points.
“I played really well from being down 5-1. Since then I’ve just kept that going basically.”
She will face Spain’s unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro for a place in the semifinals, and leads previous clashes 5-2, with both the Spaniard’s wins coming on clay. “Obviously hard courts are a little different,” said Wozniacki. “But we’ve had a lot of tough encounters on hard courts as well. I’m expecting a great fight and some really good tennis.” —