The way it Woz
Dane shows she’s not done with rally over No. 9 seed
That irrepressible center-court smile was sparkling again from the face of Caroline Wozniacki, as a small resurgence in her game continued.
The former world No. 1 who has fallen all the way to No. 74 put together an impressive comeback performance at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, winning her second-round match over former U.S. Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-4, 6-4.
It came after Wozniacki was down 4-0 in the first set and was a break point away from going down 5-0. But the 5-foot-10 blonde Dane is on to the third round at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2013.
“I always believed in myself and I always think in my head I belonged at the top of the game,” said Wozniacki, who has dealt with ankle and arm injuries all season. “I’m going to have tough draws because of my ranking, but in the end of the day I’m healthy, and that’s the main thing. Then I can start building from that.”
Wozniacki, 26, was unable to play in the French Open because of an ankle injury, and when she did return in June, she was forced to retire mid-match at the Citi Open in Washington after suffering an arm injury.
“I think the toughest part really has been mentally,” she said.
In 2014, after finishing the previous two years ranked No. 1, Wozniacki made the U.S. Open final, losing to Serena Williams. She has fallen off from there, which includes the breaking off of her engagement to golf star Rory McIlroy after the two had sent out wedding invitations in the fall of 2014.
But during the down times, even with many interests outside of tennis, Wozniacki never once considered quitting.
“I think when you’re home for a big amount of time you realize that, you know, life goes on,” Wozniacki said. “I wasn’t thinking about quitting. I mean, I know that I have a lot of opportunities, I have a lot of other interests, and my life is going to be good regardless. But I’m still young. Hopefully I have a few more years in me.”
There certainly wasn’t any drop off in Wozniacki’s mettle against the No. 9 seed.
“It was just five minutes ago I was [up] 4-0, and now it’s 6-4,” Kuznetsova sai d. “So in the moment, I shouldn’t have let that happen. ... I was playing so good, and I wanted to make it better, better, and at some point, there is a limit.”
Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champ as a 19-year-old, hasn’t ended a year inside the top 20 since 2009. She beat Wozniacki this year in the first round on the grass at Wimbledon, but the 31-year-old Russian didn’t think that translated to this match.
“It’s different surfaces, you cannot compare it. It’s different games.” Kuznetsova said. “I know I played faster than I should.”
Kuznetsova clarified that when she went up 4-0, she just wanted to keep piling on and got ahead of herself. That allowed Wozniacki to mount her comeback, and now she gets to keep this run going at the place where she likes playing tennis more than any other.
“I love playing. You know, I believe that I can still be up there and challenging the best in the world,” Wozniacki said. “That’s why I’m here.”