By Laura Amato
Turns out the rumors of Caroline Wozniacki’s on-court demise were a bit premature.
The former world No. 1—who dropped to No. 74 in the WTA rankings earlier this year—breezed into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, defeating ninth-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 6-4.
It’s the first top-10 victory of the year for Wozniacki, who has impressed early in Flushing Meadows.
“I love playing here at the Open. I have great memories here,” Wozniacki said. “I have had matches against Sveta so many times before here where she’s been killing literally on court 6-1, 4-1, and then I have managed to come back and win the match in three sets. It’s like, You know what? Just keep going, wait for your opportunity and your chance, and I did that today.”
Wozniacki battled her fair share of obstacles on and off the court over the last year. She missed two and a half months and was unable to compete in the French Open due to an ankle injury and advanced to the third round of a tournament only once since returning to play in June.
Still, there was never a moment when Wozniacki doubted her dedication to the sport.
She’s a tennis player, first and foremost, and at this year’s Open, Wozniacki is having fun with that self-imposed label.
“I always had in my head that I just have to keep working hard and I’ll come back and hopefully play strong and play well,” she said. “I knew that it’s not easy to come back, and especially, you know, you are going to get tough draws. I’m a player that needs matches to kind of get into the tournament”
Although she won in straight sets and was never particularly challenged by Kuznetsova, Wozniacki’s victory wasn’t—technically—perfect.
She lost the first four games and found herself down 0-30 in the fifth before rallying to win that game. She then went on to win the next six and take the set.
Kuznetsova rallied a bit in the second set, but Wozniacki earned a match point in the final game and clinched the victory with a forehand winner.
It was enough.
“For me, I was thinking, I need to grab my chances, be more aggressive,” Wozniacki said. “I was thinking more about myself than anyone else. It wasn’t like I went out there and was playing terrible for the first four games. That’s a different feel you have. I felt I was playing pretty well. I just needed a bit of momentum for myself.”
Wozniacki isn’t certain of anything going forward. She’s found, after this last challenging year, that it’s better to focus simply on one point at a time.
She doesn’t have any sort of preconceived expectations in Queens, but Wozniacki isn’t lacking for confidence. She wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t confident.
And, after everything she’s been through, Wozniacki is certain she can do anything.
“At this point I feel like I like the game,” Wozniacki said. “I love playing. You know, I believe that I can still be up there and challenging the best in the world. So, yeah, that’s why I’m here.”
