Wozniacki fit for title defence
DEFENDING champion Caroline Wozniacki is confident her game is in strong shape to retain her crown at Melbourne Park after a health shock last year.
The Dane won her maiden grand slam crown last summer, but revealed late last year she had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
While Wozniacki said the auto-immune condition had not forced her to make any changes to her game, she had become smarter in listening to her body.
After recharging during the off-season, the No.3 seed is ready defend her title.
“All I can say is that I feel good – I feel like I’m hitting the ball well, so … I’m happy with that,” Wozniacki said. “You just always try to figure out what’s working and what’s not, then you listen to the body, you try a few different things.
“For me, it’s just all the time making sure I get good massaging, good treatments, ice baths, stretching, do everything even more thoroughly than in the past. “Then you just listen extra. “If you’re not feeling good one day, then you take it easier – I’m just trying to learn my body, getting to know my body even better.”
Wozniacki believed she had been suffering from the condition for “quite a while”.
“I probably just thought I’ve just overtrained ... a little bit,” she said. “So it wasn’t until I really had a big flare-up that I really was like, ‘OK, there’s something not quite right’.’’