Wozniacki eyes top-three spot
Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:57
The 19-year-old is the youngest player in the world’s top 39 following a storming season which culminated in the Dane reaching a first grand slam final at the US Open. The 2006 Wimbledon junior champion also added three titles last season and reached the most finals and posted the most wins by any player to propel herself to a career-high world ranking after beginning the season just outside the top 10.
“It is important to take small steps in terms of goals and also have goals that are realistic in the short term and I think three is realistic right now,” said Wozniacki. “I need to have great results at all the grand slams if I want to make it up to one or two.”
He added: “It is tough to set specific tournament goals as everybody is playing well. It is tough to make a final and to win a grand slam, you have to play seven great matches so I don’t really have a tournament goal but, looking at Australia, I will look to improve on my third round last year.”
While 2008 was a storming year for Wozniacki, she does not own a winning record against any of the other top-10 players and she has yet to prevail over world number one Serena Williams in two attempts, while second-ranked Dinara Safina triumphed in their only career meeting in the Madrid Open final this year.
She has fared much better against the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva and is confident her results will continue to improve, with Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic also holding 100% records against the Dane.
“Everybody’s record against top-10 players are probably not the best,” she added. “I am a young player and have gained a lot of experience.
“I beat a lot of good players this year and last year so I am happy with my results and I’m sure if I keep working hard and keep fighting I will have more top-10 wins in the future.
“My rise really went faster than I expected and I didn’t expect to reach a grand slam final this year. I’m the youngest player in the top 20, everything has just gone well for me and I am really happy with my results.”
Wozniacki will step up her preparations for the Australian Open at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic at the start of January alongside Venus Williams and world number 14 Maria Sharapova.
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