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'​'Caroline Wozniacki (English pronunciation: /wɔːznjək/; Danish pronunciation: [kʰɑːoliːnə ʋʌsniˈɑɡ̊i]; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish professional tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 on the WTA Tour having held this position for 67 weeks.[2] She was the first Scandinavian woman to hold the top ranking position and 20th overall.[3]

From her WTA debut in 2005, she improved her year-end ranking each year until finishing on top in both 2010 and 2011. Wozniacki has won 21 WTA singles titles as of October 2013, three in 2008, three in 2009, six in 2010 (the most since Justine Henin's ten in 2007 until Serena Williams's seven in 2012),[4] six in 2011, two in 2012 and one in 2013. She was runner-up at the 2009 US Open and the 2010 WTA Tour Championships in Doha to Kim Clijsters. She won the 2006 Wimbledon Girls' Singles title but has yet to win a women's Grand Slam title. She also holds two WTA titles in doubles.

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Early life

Early life[edit][]

Wozniacki is the daughter of Polish Roman Catholic[5] immigrants, Piotr and Anna Wozniacki.[6][nb 1] Anna played on the Polish women's national volleyball team,[8] and Piotr played professional association football. The couple moved to Denmark when Piotr signed for the Danish football club Boldklubben 1909.[6][9] Wozniacki's older brother, Patrik Wozniacki, is a professional footballer for IF Skjold Birkerød in Denmark.[8]

Playing style[edit][]

Wozniacki's playing style centers on "the defensive aspects of tennis with her anticipation, movement, agility, footwork and defence all first-rate and key parts of her game."[10] Her two-handed backhand is one of her best weapons as she is capable of turning defense into offense, most notably the backhand down-the-line. Her defensive playing style has her contemporaries label her a counter-puncher.[11]

Sponsors[edit][]

In 2009, Wozniacki signed on to become an endorser for the line of tennis apparel designed by Stella McCartney for Adidas. She wore her first 'Adidas by Stella McCartney' tennis dress at the 2009 US Open.[12] She also has sponsorship agreements with CompeedRolexDanske InvestOriflameTurkish AirlinesProactivSony EricssonBabolat and e-Boks.[13] In 2012, Wozniacki became an endorser of Compeed BlisterPatch. At the end of 2013 she switched her racquet sponsorship from Yonex back to her long-time partner Babolat.

Career[edit][]

2005-2007: Early career[edit][]

Wozniacki won several junior tournaments in 2005, including the Orange Bowl tennis championship.[14] She made her debut on the WTA Tour at Cincinnati's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on 19 July 2005, losing to the top-seeded and eventual champion Patty Schnyder in the first round. In the Nordea Nordic Light Open, her other WTA tournament of the year, she lost to Martina Suchá in the first round.

In 2006, she was the top seed at the Australian Open (junior girls' singles), but lost the final to eighth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. She was seeded second with partner Anna Tatishvili in the doubles tournament, but the pair was knocked out in the semifinals by the French-Italian pair of Alizé Cornet and Corinna Dentoni, who were seeded eighth.

In February at the Memphis, she reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal, beating Kristina Brandi and Ashley Harkleroad, before losing to third-seeded Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.

[1][2]Wozniacki during the Junior Wimbledon final

Before the Wimbledon, Wozniacki won the exhibition tournament Liverpool International Tennis Tournament, beating Ashley Harkleroad in the finals.[15]

Later that year, she was given a wild card to the qualifying draw at Wimbledon, where she was beaten in the first round by Miho Saeki. However, Wozniacki went on to win thegirls' singles tournament, beating Slovak Magdaléna Rybáriková in the finals.

In August, she reached another WTA Tour quarterfinal, this time at the Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm. She defeated top-100 players Iveta Benešová and Eleni Daniilidou, before falling to eventual champion and third-seeded Zheng Jie.

Wozniacki was seeded second in Girls' Singles in the year's last major tournament. In the first round, she won the first set against Russian Alexandra Panova, but was disqualified in the second set for verbally abusing an umpire. Wozniacki was said to have used an expletive in referring to a linesman who made a disputed call.[16] However, on her blog, she claimed to have said, "take your sunglasses of [sic]" and was mistaken for talking to the linesman, when she in fact was criticizing herself after the next point.[17] In her last junior tournament, the Osaka Mayor's Cup, she won both the girls' singles and doubles.[18]

Her first title on the senior tour came shortly after on 29 October, when she won the $25,000 ITF-tournament in Istanbul by beating Tatjana Malek in the final.

Wozniacki was set to face Venus Williams on 27 November in an exhibition match in Copenhagen,[19] but five days before the event, Williams canceled because of an injury.[20]The two did, however, face each other in the Memphis WTA Tier III event on 20 February. Williams beat Wozniacki, ending a nine-match winning streak for Wozniacki.

On 29 November, Wozniacki was named ambassador for Danish Junior Tennis by the Culture Minister of Denmark at the time, Brian Mikkelsen.[21]

On 4 February, she won a $75,000 ITF singles title in Ortisei, Italy, beating Italian Alberta Brianti.[22] On 4 March, she won the $75,000 ITF tournament in Las Vegas, beating top-seed Akiko Morigami in the final.

She obtained a wild card for the Pacific Life Open main draw and made her Tier I debut there. She was knocked out in the second round by Martina Hingis.

She then made the semifinals of the AIG Open in Tokyo in October, her first career WTA Tour semifinal, and as a result became the first Danish woman to reach a WTA semifinal since Tine Scheuer-Larsen atBregenz in 1986. She was defeated by Venus Williams in straight sets.

2008: First WTA Tour title[edit][]

[3][4]Wozniacki won her first WTA title at the 2008 Nordea Nordic Light Open

At the Australian Open, Wozniacki defeated Gisela Dulko and 21st seed Alona Bondarenko on her way to the round of 16, where she lost to the eventual finalist and fourth-seededAna Ivanovic.

At the French Open, she was seeded 30th, making this the first Grand Slam tournament in which Wozniacki was seeded. She again lost in the third round to the eventual champion and world no. 2 Ana Ivanovic.

At Wimbledon, she reached the third round, but lost to second-seeded Jelena Janković.[23]

Wozniacki won her first WTA Tour title at the Nordic Light Open in Stockholm without dropping a set, defeating fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarterfinals, top seed and world no. 10, Agnieszka Radwańska in the semifinals, and Vera Dushevina in the final.

At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, she beat world no. 12 Daniela Hantuchová in the second round, before falling to the eventual gold-medalist Elena Dementieva. Wozniacki then won her second WTA Tour title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, defeating four seeded players, Dominika CibulkováMarion Bartoli, and Alizé Cornet, en route to the final, where she defeated world no. 11 Anna Chakvetadze.

Wozniacki was the 21st seed at the US Open. She defeated world no. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the third round, but lost to second-seeded and eventual runner-up Jelena Janković in the fourth round.

At the China Open, she lost her opening match to Anabel Medina Garrigues. However, she teamed up with Medina Garrigues to clinch the doubles title, defeating the Chinese duo ofHan Xinyun and Xu Yi-Fan. It was Wozniacki's first WTA doubles title. At the Tier III AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, she was the top seed for the first time on the WTA Tour, and she won her third career title, defeating Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the final.

Wozniacki then took part in the e-Boks Odense Open in her hometown of Odense. She won the tournament, beating world no. 64 Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in the final.

Her final win–loss record for the year (ITF matches included, exhibition matches not included) was 58–20 in singles and 8–9 in doubles. She ended the year ranked 12th in singles and 79th in doubles. She finished thirteenth in the race for the Sony Ericsson Championships. She also won the WTA Newcomer of the Year award for 2008.[24]

2009: First Grand Slam Final[edit][]

Wozniacki started the season in Auckland, where she lost to Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals. She also reached the quarterfinals in Sydney, this time losing to world no. 2 Serena Williams after having three match points. Seeded 11th at the Australian Open, Wozniacki lost in the third round to Australian wild card Jelena Dokić.

In Pattaya, Wozniacki lost to Magdaléna Rybáriková in the quarterfinals. Seeded first at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Wozniacki advanced to the final, but lost to Victoria Azarenka. Afterwards, they partnered in the doubles final to defeat Michaëlla Krajicek and Yuliana Fedak.

Wozniacki then took part in the first two Premier Mandatory tournaments of the year. At Indian Wells, she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva. In Miami, she scored her first win over Elena Dementieva, before losing to another Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

[5][6]Wozniacki reached her first Grand Slam final at the US Open

Wozniacki won her first title of the year at the MPS Group Championships on green clay in Ponte Vedra Beach, where she defeated Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak. InCharleston, she defeated top seed Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, before losing the final to Sabine Lisicki.

Wozniacki suffered early exits in her next two tournaments, losing to Marion Bartoli in the second round in Stuttgart, and to Victoria Azarenka in the third round in Rome. She reached the final of the inaugural Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she lost to world no. 1 Dinara Safina. This was Wozniacki's only match against a reigning no. 1 before she herself became no. 1 in October 2010. Seeded 10th at the French Open, Wozniacki lost to Sorana Cîrstea in the third round. They partnered in doubles, but lost in the first round.

Wozniacki won her second 2009 title on the grass of Eastbourne. In the final, she defeated Virginie Razzano.[25] Wozniacki was seeded ninth at Wimbledon, where she lost toSabine Lisicki in the fourth round.

On her 19th birthday, she lost the final of the Swedish Open to María José Martínez Sánchez. On hard court at the LA Women's Tennis Championships, she lost in the second round to Sorana Cîrstea. At the Cincinnati Masters, she reached the quarterfinals, before falling to Elena Dementieva. In Toronto, she lost early in the second round to Zheng Jie, but she then went on to defend her title at the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven without losing a set. In the first round, she had her first double bagel win as a professional, 6–0, 6–0, over Edina Gallovits in 41 minutes. In the final, she beat Elena Vesnina for her third title of the season.

Wozniacki was the ninth seed at the US Open. She made her best result to date by becoming the first Danish woman to reach a Grand Slam final. There, she was defeated byKim Clijsters, who had recently made a comeback after retiring in 2007.

In the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, she retired because of a viral illness down 0–5 against Aleksandra Wozniak. She then lost to María José Martínez Sánchezin the first round of the China Open, and to Samantha Stosur in the semifinals in Osaka. The following week in Luxembourg, she retired with a hamstring injury in the first round, while leading 7–5, 5–0 over Anne Kremer. This aroused controversy because of the scoreline.[26]

Wozniacki's 2009 results qualified her for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha for the first time. She won two of three group matches and advanced to the semifinals. There she struggled with a stomach strain and a left thigh injury against world no. 1 Serena Williams, and retired while trailing 6–4, 0–1.[27]

2010: New World No. 1[edit][]

In her first WTA tournament of the year, Wozniacki suffered an opening-round loss to Li Na of China in the Sydney. She was seeded fourth at the Australian Open, her first top-eight seed in a Grand Slam. She again fell to Li, this time in the fourth round, in straight sets. Despite her fourth-round exit, Wozniacki achieved a career-high ranking of no. 3.

As the second seed at Indian Wells, Wozniacki reached the final before losing to former world no. 1 Jelena Janković. With this result, she achieved a new career-high ranking of world no. 2.[28] At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Wozniacki lost in the quarterfinals to the newly returned Justine Henin.

Her next tournament was in Ponte Vedra Beach, where she defeated Olga Govortsova in the final. Wozniacki then competed at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. She advanced to the semifinals, where she metVera Zvonareva. Wozniacki was forced to retire down 2–5, after she rolled her ankle while chasing down a short ball.[29][30]

Despite her ongoing ankle injury, she continued to compete in tournaments through the clay-court season, suffering early losses in StuttgartRome, and Madrid. She then reached the quarterfinals in Warsaw, but retired there after losing the first set.[31]

[7][8]Wozniacki at the 2010 US Open

Wozniacki was seeded third at the French Open. She posted her best result at Roland Garros by advancing to the fourth round without dropping a set. After defeating Flavia Pennetta in the round of 16 in three sets, she lost to eventual champion Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals. Wozniacki partnered with Daniela Hantuchová in doubles, but they withdrew before their second round match against the Williams sisters because of a right shoulder injury to Hantuchová.

As the defending champion, Wozniacki lost early at the Aegon International, her first grass-court tournament of the year, to Aravane Rezaï. Wozniacki was seeded third at the2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she defeated Tathiana GarbinChang Kai-chen, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route to the fourth round, where she was defeated by Petra Kvitová.

Wozniacki was the first seed at the inaugural 2010 e-Boks Danish Open. It was the first Danish WTA tournament, created largely out of Wozniacki's popularity in Denmark. She reached the final, and she defeated Klára Zakopalová to win her second title of the year.

In Cincinnati, she lost in the third round to Marion Bartoli. As the second seed in Montreal, Wozniacki was forced to wait two days to play her semifinal match with Svetlana Kuznetsova because of heavy rain. She defeated both Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva on the same day for her third singles title of the year. As the top seed in New Haven, Wozniacki defeated Nadia Petrova in the final for her third consecutive title there. By virtue of this, she also won the 2010 US Open Series.

Wozniacki was the top seed at the US Open due to the withdrawal of world no. 1 Serena Williams. She advanced to the semifinals, before being upset by Vera Zvonareva. With her semifinal appearance, Wozniacki became one of only two women (the other being Venus Williams) to have reached at least the fourth round of all four Grand Slam events in 2010.[32]

Wozniacki's first tournament during the Asian hard-court season was the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She won back-to-back three setters against Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva, the latter of whom she beat in the final to win her fifth title of the year.

She then entered the China Open in Beijing. In the third round, Wozniacki faced Petra Kvitová, who had routed her at Wimbledon. Wozniacki avenged that loss, which ensured that she would replace Serena Williamsas the new world no. 1 after the tournament. She was the fifth player to reach the no. 1 position without having won a Grand Slam tournament. She also became the first Danish player, man or woman, to reach the top ranking.[33] Wozniacki ultimately won the tournament, defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final to win her sixth title of the year and twelfth overall.

At the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Wozniacki was drawn in a group with Francesca SchiavoneSamantha Stosur, and Elena Dementieva. She defeated Dementieva in her first round-robin game, but lost to Stosur in the second. She won her last round-robin match in the group against Schiavone, securing the year-end world no. 1 rank and a place in the semifinals against the winner of the other group, Vera Zvonareva. Wozniacki defeated her, but then lost the final in three sets to Kim Clijsters. Wozniacki ended the season with six WTA singles titles, the most on the tour. Clijsters won five, and no other player won more than two.

2011[edit][]

During the off season, Wozniacki switched her racquet make from Babolat to Yonex.[34] Wozniacki began her 2011 season with an exhibition match in Thailand against Kim Clijsters where she lost in a super tie-break.[35] Wozniacki then played another exhibition, the team Hong Kong Tennis Classic, where she represented and was captain of Team Europe. She won two matches against Team Asia Pacific, before getting crushed by world no. 2 Vera Zvonareva in the final against Team Russia.[36] Her first WTA tournament was the Medibank International Sydney. She received a bye to the second round, where she lost to Dominika Cibulková.

[9][10]Wozniacki during the 2011 Australian Open semi final

The Australian Open was Wozniacki's first major as world no. 1.[37] She lost to Li Na in the semifinals after failing to convert a match point when trying to serve out the match at 5–4 in the second set.[38]

Wozniacki dropped to no. 2 behind Kim Clijsters during the week of 14 February, but regained the top spot the following week. She received a bye to the second round in Dubaiwhere, in the quarterfinals, she beat Shahar Pe'er to ensure her no. 1 position in the next rankings update.[39] She went on to defeat Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final to take her 13th career singles title and first of the year. In Doha, she received a bye to the second round and reached the final, after defeating Nadia PetrovaFlavia Pennetta, andMarion Bartoli in straight sets. She lost to Vera Zvonareva in the final. In the first Premier Mandatory event of the year in Indian Wells, Wozniacki made it to the final, where she defeated Marion Bartoli for her 14th singles title. After a first-round bye at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, Wozniacki lost in the fourth round to 21st seed Andrea Petkovic. Wozniacki made an uncharacteristic 52 unforced errors and later said she had been playing a lot of matches when she was asked about fatigue.[40]

In the Family Circle Cup, Wozniacki made it to the final, where she defeated unseeded Elena Vesnina to take her third title of the year, 15th of her career. In Stuttgart, Wozniacki made it to her fifth final of the year, where she lost to Julia Görges in straight sets. In Madrid, Wozniacki lost to Görges again, this time in the third round. In Rome, she lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinal round. At the Brussels Open, Wozniacki reached the semifinals, where she defeated third seed and reigning French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone.[41] In the final, Wozniacki's sixth of the year, she defeated eighth seed Peng Shuai to win her first red clay title, after having won three on the faster green clay.[42] Wozniacki was the top seed at the French Open, but was defeated in the third round by 28th seed Daniela Hantuchová.[43]

Wozniacki's next tournament was the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open in her native Denmark. In the final, she defeated fourth seed Lucie Šafářová, taking her fifth title of the year.[44] At Wimbledon, she had straight-set wins until the fourth round, but then lost to 24th seed Dominika Cibulková.[45]

[11][12]Wozniacki at the 2011 WTA Championships

At the Rogers Cup Wozniacki made an early second-round exit. She was defeated by Roberta Vinci in straight sets despite holding a 5–1 lead in the second set. Wozniacki was the top seed at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, but lost in the second round to world no. 76 Christina McHale. Next playing at the New Haven Open at Yale, Wozniacki won the title for the fourth year in a row, defeating Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals and qualifier Petra Cetkovská in the final.[46]

At the US Open, Wozniacki was the first seed. In the first round, she defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives. In the second round, Wozniacki defeated Arantxa Rus,[47] and in the third round, defeated American Vania King.[48] In the fourth round, Wozniacki fought back from a 7–6, 4–1 deficit, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova.[49] Wozniacki then progressed to the semifinals by defeating Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals.[50] In the semifinals she lost to Serena Williams.[51]

In Tokyo Wozniacki lost to Kaia Kanepi in the third round. In Beijing she lost to Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals. This was Wozniacki's only loss in the 12 quarterfinals she reached in 2011.

Wozniacki was the top seed at the WTA Championships. In the group stage she beat Agnieszka Radwańska before falling to Vera Zvonareva. She lost also to Petra Kvitová in her final round-robin match and so she failed to advance to semifinals for the first time in three appearances. She finished the year as world no. 1 for the second consecutive year.

2012–2013: Struggles with form[edit][]

2012[edit][]

Wozniacki began her season by representing Denmark at the 2012 Hopman Cup with Frederik Nielsen as her partner. Wozniacki won two of her three round robin matches in singles, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Tsvetana Pironkova before losing to world no. 2 Petra Kvitová.[52]

Wozniacki's first WTA event was the Apia International Sydney. After a first round bye, Wozniacki defeated Dominika Cibulková after trailing 4–0 in the third set.[53] She lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets in the quarterfinals, after serving for the match at 5–4 up in the second set.[54]

[13][14]Caroline Wozniacki at the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open

Wozniacki competed at the Australian Open as the top seed. She defeated Anastasia RodionovaAnna TatishviliMonica Niculescu, and Jelena Janković, all in straight sets, to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to the defending champion Kim Clijsters. As a result, Wozniacki lost her top ranking and was replaced by the 2012 champion Victoria Azarenka.[55] Next playing at Doha, Wozniacki lost to Lucie Šafářová in the second round, having received a first round bye.

Wozniacki was the defending champion in Dubai and Indian Wells, but failed to defend either title, losing to Julia Görges and Ana Ivanovic, respectively.

Wozniacki reached the semifinals in Miami after beating Barbora Záhlavová-StrýcováPetra CetkovskáYanina Wickmayer, and Serena Williams, all in straight sets. Wozniacki then lost to second seed Maria Sharapova. Wozniacki did not defend her title in Charleston as she was not allowed to participate under WTA rules because two top-6 players had already entered the draw.[56] Wozniacki then played her home tournament in Copenhagen. She reached the final but lost to Angelique Kerber, her first loss at the tournament since the start in 2010.

Wozniacki reached the third round of the French Open, where she lost to Kaia Kanepi in three sets.[57]

Wozniacki lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Austrian Tamira Paszek.[58] It was her first opening-round exit from any Grand Slam since making her professional debut at the2007 French Open.[1]

Wozniacki represented Denmark at the Olympics as the eighth seed in the women's singles event. In the first three rounds she defeated Anne KeothavongYanina Wickmayerand Daniela Hantuchová. She was then defeated by the eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Wozniacki next participated in the Rogers Cup where she lost to Petra Kvitová in the semifinals, and the Western & Southern Open where she was defeated in the third round by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. As the four-time defending champion at the New Haven Open at Yale, Wozniacki retired against Maria Kirilenko in the semifinals due to a right knee injury, which she had suffered in her quarterfinal win over Dominika Cibulková.[59]

Wozniacki, still suffering with the injury, was seeded eighth at the 2012 US Open, but did not advance past the first round. She lost in two sets to 96th-ranked Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. As a result of the loss, Wozniacki dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in three years.

After the US Open disappointment, Wozniacki won her first tournament of the year in Seoul by defeating Arantxa RusCaroline GarciaKlára ZakopalováEkaterina Makarova, and Kaia Kanepi in the final. It was her 19th career title.

Wozniacki's next tournament was the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She defeated Bojana JovanovskiDaniela Hantuchová and Li Na, before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals.

At the China Open in Beijing, Wozniacki defeated Chanelle Scheepers and Hsieh Su-wei but lost to Angelique Kerber in the third round.

Wozniacki's next tournament was the Kremlin Cup. As the third seed in the tournament, she defeated top seed Samantha Stosur in the final in 3 sets to take home her second title of the year, and 20th overall.

At the year-end Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Wozniacki won her three group matches and reached the final but lost to Nadia Petrova. She ended the year ranked 10th.

(Roddick) and (Djokovic) do it all the time and Caro does (it) and now it's racist.??

Serena Williams responding to the critism of Wozniacki.[60]

In December 2012, during an exhibition match in Brazil, Wozniacki imitated friend and fellow tennis player Serena Williams by stuffing towels in her shirt and skirt in order to appear to be large-chested and have a large rear end. This act divided opinion on social network sites. It was noted that Wozniacki has done the impression before without controversy.[61] Williams also defended Wozniacki in an email to USA Today and pointed out that they are friends and that the act was not racist. Williams added however, that if people feel this way then she should do something else next time.[60]

2013[edit][]

Wozniacki began the year at Brisbane. Seeded eighth, she lost in the first round to qualifier Ksenia Pervak in three sets. Wozniacki then played at the Apia International Sydney. She defeated Urszula Radwańska but lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round.

At the 2013 Australian Open, Wozniacki beat Sabine LisickiDonna Vekic and Lesia Tsurenko, but again lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, this time in the fourth round.

Wozniacki's next tournament was the Qatar Total Open where she reached the quarterfinals with wins over Mervana Jugić-SalkićSorana CîrsteaMona Barthel, before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska.

[15][16]At 2013 BNP Paribas Open

In Dubai Wozniacki defeated Lucie ŠafářováZheng Jie and Marion Bartoli. In the semifinals she lost to Petra Kvitová.

At the Malaysian Open she lost in the first round to Wang Qiang. She then played in an exhibition match at the BNP Paribas Showdown in Hong Kong. She was originally scheduled to play Li Na, but she had to withdraw due to injury. Instead Wozniacki played Li's replacement world no. 4 Agnieszka Radwańska. She lost 6–4, 6–4.

In Indian Wells she defeated Alizé CornetElena Vesnina and Nadia Petrova in rounds two, three and four. She received a walkover in the quarterfinal when Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion, withdrew due to a foot injury. In the semifinal, Wozniacki defeated Angelique Kerber to reach her first final in 2013 but lost the title match to Maria Sharapova. In her next tournament Sony Open in Miami, Wozniacki made it to the third round where she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza.

Wozniacki started the clay season in the Family Circle Cup where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Stefanie Vögele. After that Wozniacki lost in the first round toCarla Suárez Navarro in Stuttgart, to Yaroslava Shvedova in Madrid, to Bojana Jovanovski in Rome, and to Zheng Jie in Brussels. At the French Open Wozniacki defeatedLaura Robson in the first round, before once again losing to Jovanovski in the second.

After the clay season, Wozniacki played at the 2013 Aegon International in Eastbourne. Her first grass tournament started well as she reached the semifinals after victories overTamira PaszekLaura Robson and Ekaterina Makarova. She then lost to qualifier Jamie Hampton. In the first round of Wimbledon, Wozniacki beat Estrella Cabeza Candela. In the second round, she faced Petra Cetkovská. In just the fourth game of the first set, with the score at 2–1 and going with serve, Wozniacki slipped and fell, injuring her ankle. She received treatment but was visibly struggling and went on to lose 6–2, 6–2.[62] Wozniacki was one of several players to slip and injure themselves, including Jo-Wilfried TsongaVictoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. After the match, Wozniacki questioned whether the preparation for the tournament was the same as in previous years, adding: "I just know that it's just not really fun to be out there when you feel like you can't really push off on your foot."[63]

Wozniacki's woeful season continued at the 2013 Rogers Cup, where she fell in the second round to Sorana Cîrstea despite having double match point in the second set. She then reached the quarter-finals at the 2013 Western & Southern Open, beating Shuai PengMonica Niculescu and Petra Kvitova, but was defeated by Victoria Azarenka for the first time since 2009 – 3–6, 6–7. Wozniacki then played at the 2013 New Haven Open at Yale. She reached the semifinals beating Shuai Peng via retirement, Karin KnappSloane Stephens and then losing to Simona Halep with the score of 2–6, 5–7. At US Open Wozniacki was seeded nr.6 and won in first two rounds against Yingying Duan and Chanelle Scheepers in straight sets before losing to qualifier Camila Giorgi 6–4, 4–6, 3–6 in third round. It became the first season since 2008 that Wozniacki failed to reach quarterfinal at least on one grand slam tournament.

Wozniacki continued her season in Asia at Tokyo where she was seeded #4. She received bye into second round. Then she defeated Flavia Pennetta and Magdaléna Rybáriková in amazing form, dropping just 7 games in 2 matches. In quarterfinals she faced Lucie Šafářová of Czech Republic and won in 3 sets before losing in semifinals to Angelique Kerber 4–6, 6–7. Her next tournament was in Beijing where she was seeded sixth and received bye into second round as the other three Tokyo semifinalists. Wozniacki started the tournament amazing again, this time dropping just 6 games in second and third round to Monica Niculescu andSloane Stephens, but in quarterfinals she was beaten by world number 1 Serena Williams 1–6, 4–6.

After Beijing, Wozniacki took a week off before competing at Luxembourg. But that same week Angelique Kerber won at 2013 Generali Ladies Linz which meant that she has secured herself last ticket to Istanbul; Wozniacki becomes first alternate at the tournament. Her last tournament before Istanbul was Luxembourg, where she was first seed. She played some good tennis and won in first two rounds without dropping a set. In quarterfinals she defeated Serbian Bojana Jovanovski for the first time in this year after Jovanovski won both their meetings earlier. After 3 set quarterfinal Wozniacki had a battle with this years Wimbledon finalist and German nr. 2 Sabine Lisicki and won 6–4, 6–4 to make her second final of the year where she faced Annika Beck of Germany and once again showed amazing tennis to claim first title of the year with final result 6–2, 6–2.

Wozniacki was the first alternate at the WTA Championships but did not get to play. The Luxembourg title qualified her for the Tournament of Champions in Sofia the following week but she chose not to participate.

2014: Drop out of top 10[edit][]

During the off season, Wozniacki switched her racquet make from Yonex to Babolat. She was scheduled to start the season in Brisbane and Sydney before the Australian Open. She withdrew from Brisbane due to a right shoulder injury but played in Sydney. In the first round she beat Julia Goerges in three sets, but lost to Lucie Safarova in the second round in straight sets. She was defeated by Garbine Muguruza in the third round of the 2014 Australian Open.

After the Australian open, Wozniacki competed at Qatar where she was 8th seeded and earned a bye to the second round, where she lost to Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets. The week after, she took part at Dubai championships, again seeded 8th. In the first round she won a 3-set match against Sabine Lisicki, in the second round she defeated Annika Beck and then Sorana Cîrstea in the quarterfinals. Wozniacki lost to Venus Williams 6-3 6-2. She then reached the 4th round at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open with wins over Bojana Jovanovski and Yaroslava Shvedova, before losing to Jelena Jankovic, causing her to fall to 18th in the world. Her next tournament was the 2014 Sony Open Tennis, where she reached the quarterfinals. She recorded wins over Monica Puig in 3 sets and then dropped just 2 games in her next two matches, wins overSloane Stephens and Varvara Lepchenko. Wozniacki then lost to Li Na. Wozniacki then competed for the first time at the 2014 Monterrey Open, where she reached the semifinals. She won her matches against Coco VandewegheKristina Mladenovic and Karolina Pliskova, before losing to the eventual champion Ana Ivanovic.

Her first tournament for the clay season was scheduled to be the 2014 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, however she was forced to withdraw due to a left wrist injury.

Personal life[edit][]

Wozniacki's best friend is her fellow Danish tennis player, Malou Ejdesgaard, who has been her doubles partner in five tournaments.[64]

She speaks Danish, English and Polish fluently.[65][66][67]

When asked in 2008 by Teen Vogue magazine what sports beside tennis she liked to play, Wozniacki said "I like handball, soccer, swimming, playing the piano, and all kinds of different things."[68]

On 20 December 2010, she signed a three-year deal to endorse Turkish Airlines' business class service.[69][70]

She is a fan of English Premier League team Liverpool F.C.. She wore a Liverpool shirt signed by footballer Steven Gerrard on court in the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open.[71]

According to Forbes in 2011 she was the second highest-earning female athlete in the world.[72]

According to the June 2011 edition of SportsPro Wozniacki is the world's ninth most marketable athlete.[73]

She was in a relationship with Northern Irish professional golfer, Rory McIlroy from 2011 until 2014.[74] She announced their engagement on her Twitter page on 1 January 2014.[75] On 21 May 2014, it was announced that McIlroy had ended the engagement: "The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realise that I wasn't ready for all that marriage entails. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves and thank her for the great times we've had."[76]

Career statistics[edit][]

Main article: Caroline Wozniacki career statistics===Grand Slam finals[edit]===

Singles: 1 (0–1)[edit][]

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 2009 US Open Hard [17]

Kim Clijsters

5–7, 3–6

Singles performance timeline[edit][]

Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 SR W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A 4R 3R 4R SF QF 4R 3R 0 / 7 22–7
French Open A 1R 3R 3R QF 3R 3R 2R 1R 0 / 8 13–8
Wimbledon LQ 2R 3R 4R 4R 4R 1R 2R 4R 0 / 8 16–8
US Open A 2R 4R F SF SF 1R 3R 0 / 7 22–7
Win–Loss 0–0 2–3 10–4 13–4 15–4 15–4 6–4 7–4 5–3 0 / 29 70–29

Doubles performance timeline[edit][]

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 SR W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A 2R 1R 1R 0 / 3 1–3
French Open A 1R 1R 2R 0 / 3 1–3
Wimbledon A 1R 2R 2R 0 / 3 2–3
US Open 1R 2R 3R 2R 0 / 4 4–4
Win–Loss 0–1 2–4 3–4 3–4 0 / 13 8–13

Awards[edit][]

Notes[edit][]

  1. Jump up^ Since she is the daughter of Polish immigrants, Polish-language sources occasionally give her name as Karolina Woźniacka[7] (pronounced [karɔˈlina vɔʑˈɲat͡ska]), the Polish form of her name.
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