Three-time defending champion and World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won her 16th match in a row over four years at the WTA New Haven Open on Friday to reach the final of the US Open tuneup. The Danish star defeated Italian third seed Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, to sustain her win streak and received a kiss on the court afterwards from her boyfriend, reigning US Open golf champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.
Awaiting Wozniacki in the final will be Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska, who upset French Open champion Li Na of China 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (11/9) in the other semi-final to reach her first WTA championship match.
Wozniacki played the second set with her right thigh taped but said it was only a minor muscle strain and would not hinder her in the final or the US Open. “I did it for protection because I started feeling it a little bit in my groin,” Wozniacki said. “It was more so it didn’t get worse. I just wanted to wrap it up and make sure it didn’t get worse.”
Wozniacki, still seeking her first Grand Slam title as the year’s final Slam tournament looms starting Monday in New York, trailed 4-2 in the first set but rallied to dominate the tie-breaker and advance.
McIlroy wore a Yale University gridiron jersey in tribute to the school which hosts the tournament. He joined the Yale team in celebrating the victory on the court with Wozniacki, although only McIlroy received a kiss. Yale players have attended Wozniacki’s matches since she spoke at a 2009 practice.
“It’s a good tradition to have, having the Yale football team there sitting in the back supporting,” Wozniacki said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll make it to their practice this time. But it’s great. I love it.”
Isner, Benneteau advance to ATP final: Hometown hero John Isner will face French qualifier Julien Benneteau in Saturday’s final of the ATP Winston-Salem Open after each captured dramatic semi-final triumphs on Friday. With monster Hurricane Irene bearing down on the North Carolina coast some 500 kilometres to the east, it was anything but tennis as usual in a city known for tobacco. Isner upset top seed and fellow American Andy Roddick 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 while World No. 113 Benneteau outlasted Dutch 10th seed Robin Haase 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6).
