Not ignoring the fact that winning the 2017 WTA finals was a great achievement for Caroline Wozniacki. It added to the frustrations of her fans that she has achieved pretty much everything in tennis, barring winning a Slam.
WTA Finals – Caroline Wozniacki showed Slam Winning Consistency
One match at that event indicated strongly that the ever-popular Dane can win a Slam this year. Not the final, although it was sturdy performance against a rejuvenated Venus Williams.
It was in the semifinal against Karolina Pliskova that Wozniacki’s class and qualities shone through. Pliskova piled on the pressure in the first set and at times, looked like she would dominate the match. Wozniacki was at her stoic best and hung on in there, forcing a tie-break. The Dane raced to a 6-1 lead, it looked like panic over. Pliskova produced some brilliant shot-making to claw her way back into the key first set tie-break. Wozniacki eventually took the set 9-7 in the tie-break, showing Slam-winning strength of character. Building upon this to take the 2nd set 6-3, in accomplished fashion.
US Open 2017 Worst Showing for a few Slams for Wozniacki
It is worth taking stock regarding how far removed from the US Open disappointment that the WTA Finals triumph truly was. At Flushing Meadows, Wozniacki seemed unfocused and distracted, something that was borne out in an off-the-court spat with Maria Sharapova.
Despite having the lofty #5 seed tag, Wozniacki’s 2nd round defeat to Ekaterina Makarova represents the tamest Slam showing for sometime from the Dane. Prior to this match, Wozniacki owned the head-to-head 7-0. Obviously, Makarova is too good a player not to snap that record at some point, but no-one thought it’d be at the US Open. Uncharacteristically, Wozniacki looked like her mind was elsewhere, at too many points in this match.
Makarova Match a Turning Point
They say you learn more from defeat. That is certainly the case for Caroline Wozniacki. Ever since the Dane allowed her self to be distracted by things beyond her control like court scheduling, she has been a more focused player. It is as though the Makarova match has taught her that you cannot take your eye off the ball. Since this match, more belief is generally in the air amongst the Wozniacki faithful–regarding the fact that 2018 is the best year for Caroline Wozniacki to end her Slam drought.
In her first tournament after the US Open, in Tokyo, the Dane scooted to the title with reckless abandon. It was as though she’d been visited by ghosts of Slams past. She looked like she has set out on the long road towards building up the necessary focus and consistency, to finally become a Slam champion. Noticeably, Wozniacki has been taking her returns a tad earlier, playing with an abandon that underlines the fact that she is ready to step into unchartered territory in 2018.
Any Slam Could be a Winning One for Caroline Wozniacki
When Wozniacki steps out onto the court in the Auckland Open 2018, she looks to start off from where she left off. The Dane will have one eye on bagging that first Slam, as she prepares for the Australian Open 2018. Wozniacki fans customarily would circle the US Open at the season’s commencement and focus upon that. Not this year, given Wozniacki’s French Open 2017 quarterfinal run, in normally a write-off tournament for the Dane. The Dane will approach each and every Slam with a view to winning it. In 2018, the Slam duck could finally be broken for Caroline Wozniacki.
