MELBOURNE – Like a queen without a crown, new world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki is grabbing more attention entering the Australian Open for what she is missing than her lofty status. The 20-year-old Dane won more matches (62) and titles (six) than any other women’s singles player last year. But Wozniacki will walk onto Rod Laver Arena to play Argentina’s Gisela Dulko on Monday with a glaring gap in her otherwise impressive resume – no grand slam trophy.
Not that Wozniacki, the fifth woman to attain No.1 status without a major title, gives credence to the critics who say that undermines the legitimacy of her ranking.
“You don’t become No.1 winning small tournaments or doing bad results. You know, I’m a good player. I’ve done great results, I won six tournaments last year. I don’t have to prove anything,” she said.
Kim Clijsters – who owns three US Open titles and has three times been a grand slam runner-up, including at the 2004 Australian Open – is the clear-cut tournament favourite. Wozniacki, by contrast, has made only one grand slam final and never been past the fourth round in Melbourne. Wozniacki has not had an official tournament victory this year, comfortably beaten in straight sets by Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova in her only competitive match, in Sydney last week.
Cibulkova could be waiting for Wozniacki in the third round in Melbourne, although the Dane first needs to survive her testing first-round match against Dulko, the world’s top-ranked doubles player who last year ousted Serbian star Ana Ivanovic in the second round.
Three days before losing in Sydney, Wozniacki won just one game against Russian world No.2 Vera Zvonareva in an exhibition match in Hong Kong.
The Dane shrugged off those concerns and suggestions she might be struggling to adjust to a new racquet. But, with queries over Wozniacki, the absence of injured reigning champion Serena Williams, and the well-credentialled Justine Henin and Venus Williams coming off injury, the door seems open for the likes of Clijsters, Zvonareva, Australia’s Samantha Stosur and China’s Li Na. Li, a semi-finalist in Melbourne last year, beat Clijsters in the Sydney final. But Clijsters, while delighted with her form and fitness, refused to contemplate her chances of a maiden Australian Open title. “To be honest, I don’t think players think like that. I think we just really focus on one match at a time. There can be so many surprises in a grand slam,” Clijsters said. Keeping that short-term focus should be easier given the Belgian supermum features in what should be the marquee match-up of the opening round, a Tuesday clash with fellow former world No.1 Dinara Safina.
Still no grand slam for Caroline Wozniacki
