It looks like Kim and Woz will spar for the number one spot for much of the year. Woz has oodles of points to protect in the front half, and Kim has oodles to protect in the back (she's run the table since Cincy last year)...so this is gonna something to look forward to all year.

In a way maybe all of Woz's success will keep her from coming far out of her comfort zone and truly developing the weapons we always speak of in reference to her. Also, she never takes time off, so the odds of us seeing many new wrinkles are slim.

That being said, I think that she and Piotr are perhaps the most constructive player-coach tandem in the game at the moment. The intensity, concentration, and dedication to a style of play have been pretty remarkable. Players are racking their brains for ways to beat her, but the only way at the moment seems to be by playing flawless agressive tennis -- much easier said than done.

Kusnetsova played badly and I do not agree that Caro won: from my point of view Sveta lost. Caro doesn't impress me but Sveta disappointed and I think that Caro is just very very lucky but luck will not last forever... Caro will fall and fall hard.

Caroline does NOT have a lot of points to protect in the front half. There's the IW final, but very little else. She won the majority of her points after Wimbledon.

I was rooting for Kuznetsova but she wasn't strong enough for Caro. She was too good today. I'm still waiting for the day when she doesn't call down her father for coaching tips.

Get yourself together TennisFun.
Caroline won - she had the truphy after the game and thats what counds.
You dont win a tournament only by luck - its a part of the game, and the one with the biggest mental surplus always gets most luck.
Kusnetsova was bad - she hit almost every ball long out of line.
The one that falls - is you! ;)

TennisFun, if Caro is talentless and #1, what does that make all the players under her?

Ed: The same can be said for Kim who only has to defend Miami points until the US Open series.

I have always been one of those who defend Wozniacki's right to be NO.1. I have always thought that she needed to develop an offensive game so that she will not be repeatedly blown off the court in big matches. However, this is not the first time we have seen her play aggressive tennis. She did so last year but as she is wont to do in tight situations, she goes back to her defensive game.

She basically outplayed Sveta today. Why Sveta kept going to her backhand is beyond me. For someone with a big forehand like Sveta, I could not understand why she was not stepping inside the court. That could have been because Woz' shots were going deep to Sveta's backhand but on the rare occassions that Sveta did the run around and hit she was quite successful.

It will be interesting to see how Caro stands up against the real elite women of the Tour. With all due respect to Sveta, while Martina N is always of the view that she has the best game out there, I am not convinced. There is a reason why she only has 2 majors, and 12 titles over-all. Her mentality is always suspect. If but for Flavia's errant serve yesterday, she would have won that match.

As for the Woz quote that the other women should be offended. Why does Woz think that anyone should be offended that she is No. 1 with a defensive game? After all Clijsters was just like that and FWIW still is.

Thanks for the comments, Guys. I'm reading and will comment more later.

Wilson75:
Indeed the same is true for Kim. Which means "The Fan Child" was only wrong about Caroline.

Regarding on court coaching - how do you feel about the multiple grand slam winner who also took advantage of it during this match?
It really didn't seem to make much difference for either of them today...

Interesting comment from Caroline! She makes a valid point. I think she doesn't have as much variety in her game as other players, but what she does have in her game enables her to win matches. The missing weapons are what she needs to win a GS, but not necessarily what she needs to achieve the No. 1 ranking. Is that a flaw in her game, or a flaw in the system? Hard to say.

Caroline's weapon is her amazingly dogged defense. Of course, amazingly dogged defense is not usually aesthetically pleasing to fans when watching tennis, unlike for example, Justine's backhand or Serena's power. So Caroline's defense usually gets dismissed as a non-weapon... But it is effective, and fortunately for Caroline, weapons only need to be effective, not stylish.

Lucky...?

Come on, even Obi Wan knew there is no such thing as luck! Coincidence, perhaps, but never in such a timespan.

Face it - Caroline is a world class tennis player, with perhaps the best defense in the game at the tender age og 20 and plenty of time to develop an offensive, which, in fact, we may have had the first taste of in this match.

Kuznetsova played badly, you say... How is that Caro's fault? Let me instead ask you why you would consider better a player who could bomb so immensely? Consistency is the first virtue of top athletes after all...

Today, Caro and Kim are THE top players in womens' tennis, no contest. Kim may have a slight edge yet, but Caro is building her arsenal steadily; in a few years I'm betting she'll set a new standard for the sport!

Karen, nice to see you around. Wozniacki has added a spinning 1.serve and something of an occasional kick 2. serve, which actually won her a game during the match. She's started to stand on the baseline during 2.serves which she's never done before.

But I agree that she sometimes reverts to her old baseline-hugging ways, but not so much when she's pressured, but when she's ahead. You saw that against Jankovic when she was ahead, and the same with Kuznetsova. Old habits die hard, and Caro's very much a comfort player. She's been working on the kick 2nd serve now for over a year, and only now is she comfortable enough to use it occasionally. Now she's working on a better service rhythm, she's still a little jerky. She wants more power, but not at the expense of accuracy. She's still a work in progress.

Being more agressive has it's price, and she was wrong-footed twice that I remember, which is very rare for her, she usually reads a player so well.

But she still has that terrific defence as a base to work from, and that, coupled with her great tennis intelligence, a better forehand and serve, the rest of the season will be interesting.

Danmarks nr.1 I hope you did get yourself together when your sunshine lost to Li Na at AO: what a great example of the lack of the veapons against "hard hitters" when they are playing well and not give her the points because of unforesd errors (always her hope isn't it?). I believe that she is just lucky so far to be on the top (mostly because of easy draws). She was very lucky that Kvitova was eliminated, otherwise... What is Caro record against top 10: far from positive ratio...

Adam B, JJ and Dinara were also consistent for some time were they? Where are they now? Caro could be on the top TODAY but what will be TOMORROW only the time shows.

Tennis Fun
It is okay you don`t like Wozniacki and her defense, but to call it luck - well it just shows how litle you know about tennis.
Why do you think just about every player makes a lot more unforced errors than Wozniacki. Luck? That she always meets her opponents when they are having an off day?
No of course not. It is because Wozniacki makes them do that.

Tennis Fun
Yes let`s talk at the end of the year. I`m sure Wozniacki is #1 at the end of the year.

@TennisFun

I think Carolines stats against top 10 players 12 months back is positive. Its not her fault that the Williams has been gone for almost a year and I am looking forward to see them play agains Caroline here in 2011.

Kvitova?! Wozniacki leads 3-1

@TennisFun:

"I hope you did get yourself together when your sunshine lost to Li Na at AO"

Right, let's look at specific match and generalize for all... No, she lost to a better player on the day; on average she'd take Li Na rather than vice versa - her defense is too good and her game too consistent.

JJ and Dinara were/are never as consistent as Caro, and her time at the #1 spot shows it. Simple, really... She looks to be widening her repertoire to boot, so I'm expecting to see the same rock-solid defense along with a more aggresive attitud ein the year to come. Who knows, she might even gain a new fan or two among all those for whom only flashy play counts... ;)

I get what Caroline is trying to say but I don't think she says it well. She is correct in saying that to critise the player at the top does her and the whole tour a disservice because she got there by consistently winning matches against these players. I would be interested to see if there was more to the quote than that - for instance, did she say what she thought her big weapon/weapons were?
From watching Caroline over the last couple of years I think her mental strenght is one her best qualities. This combined with her willingness to keep developing her game has got her where she is today.
And is being number one all about having a big weapon? What was Kim's big weapon considered to be before she retired? It was only when Kim's mental strenght developed that she was able to take advantage of her game and win big consistently. In my view it takes more than a big weapon to win the majors - otherwise all those players with big weapons would be wiping the floor with the rest of the tour.
I guess this is what makes Serena, Venus, Justine, Steffi etc exceptional and great champions. They had weapons and the chops to use them - perhaps we should appreciate Caroline more because she is doing so well with being 'Fraulein Forehand' or whatever the Danish equivalent would be!

Claire, right, she could have been clearer, but remember, English is not her first language.

Ed: I'm not a fan of on-court coaching in general but Kuznetsova knows how to win matches without coaching. Caro sometimes, has not been able to overcome some of the opponents that she beats on a regular tour, at the slams. In her matches against Vera at USO and Li Na at AO I got a sense of panic which is not there at lower level events as she can always call her father down for help when she is in trouble.

Smartphone:
Over the last 12 months Caroline's record against top 10 opposition is 10-4.

Manixdk - I get that English is not Carolines first language but she is fluent so I don't think that played a part here. I do think it's inadvisable to take one thing a player says and run with it without knowing the context or actually hearing the converstaion yourself. So much is lost in translating the players woods into print, all the nuances etc. I like to read full interviews were and if I can or better yet, to watch the videos.

As a Wozniacki fan it's a little bit pittyful to read some of the so called "expert" commentators.

Each time Wozniacki makes a big result the old and grumpy commentators have to mention that she have not yet won a Grand Slam.

Now they even try to forecast what she will answer to the same questions the "experts" are capable of asking her.

To those of you who already waits to celebrate her retreat from the No 1 position, here are some hard facts for your stummach.

There are 14 titles that have to be included in the ranking for top-10 players. (Grand Slam, WTA Champ, premier mandatory and premier 5).

Wozniackis results in these 14 titles are listed below. She do not have a huge number of points to defend before Wimbledon.

2010
Aus Open ... 4 rd
Dubai ...... 3 rd
IndWells ... Final
Miami ...... QF
Rome ....... 3 rd
Madrid ..... 2 rd
Fre Open ... QF
Wimbledon .. 4 rd
Cincin ..... 3 rd
Montreal ... Winner
US Open .... SF
Tokyo ...... Winner
Beijing .... Winner
DOHA ....... Final
2011
Aus Open ... SF
Dubai ...... Winner

So like it or not all you Woz haters. She will have a solid chance of being No. 1 for a long time. Like it or not.

And there are several major reasons:
1: She have a strong position of points since Wimbledon last year
2. She's consistent.
2: She's the player with most devolopment in her game. She's far from her potential.

It's a pitty that the blindfolded "expert" commentators can't see it.

Some more facts .....

The last 8 top-14 tournaments have been won by the same two dominant players:

Cincin ..... Clijsters
Montreal ... Wozniacki
US Open .... Clijsters
Tokyo ...... Wozniacki
Beijing .... Wozniacki
DOHA ....... Clijsters
AusOpen .... Clijsters
Dubai ...... Wozniacki

Probably only one player are capable to disrupt this devolopment.
And she's not playing for the moment. Like it or not.

Well I'll start by admitting that I'm from Denmark and most likly somewhat biased to this question but I guess I still have the right to give it a shoot :)

Atleast in Denmark we have seen Caro on TV for like 8 years, and she has always said that she would like to become nr 1. (yes she said so in interviews at the age of 12)
Maybe we are different in culture, we dont have majors (or any big tennis tournaments) so I guess the biggest for us is to become nr 1, and not nessesary to win a major (which still would be nice).
She has now acomplished her childhood dream, and hopefully have many years to expand her ambitions, and maybe change her season planning to increase her chances at the majors.

Many (if not all) of the big shoots that she are compeeting with (and compared with), have a totally different season planning setup. They mainly focus their buildup for the majors instead of playing competative games most season. Which also by looking at other sports seem to give an advantage. Who was best on a bike, Lance Armstrong who focused everything on "just" the Tour de France, or the winner of the worldcup (collecting points over the season). Hard to say basically two different things. So why is it that it should be different in tennis ?

And yes it would be fun to see Caro do the same eventually, but I guess she will want to build on slowly, so I dont expect to see her do it right away.

To the discussion about does she have a "big" weapon, well since I do not believe in continuous luck ... I'll have to say yes
I know this sounds strange but how come her opponents always play bad?
She cant be that lucky?

A player who always end up with opponents making so many so called unforced errors. Really makes you wonder if they are unforced, or maybe the term should actually be something differently?
(Guess someone who makes a living out of commentating on tennis could be expected to be able to dig up some useful statisitcs, since I for sure dont have the time, and an actual fact based discussion would fit a place like this)

Oh well I will hopefully be able to enjoy watching Caro win some more tournaments in the future, and with an age of 20 she should have so many years to expand her play.

I think Caroline will win her maiden Slam before 2012 is over. If she repeats her performance today, she may win one in 2011. The clay season beginning with Stuttgart will be very interesting.

Cayman Karen,
Yes, Caroline played aggressive tennis before therefore, today was one of her better matches especially that first set.

It's interesting to read that people still believe 'commentators' are discredinting Caroline because she has yet to win a major. From what I hear most commentators do comment on her not winning a major yet but that is part of a statement that usually ends with 'but there is no doubt that she will/that it's just a question of when it happens'. They also tend to mention her young age and the fact that she is actively developing her game. Where others hear 'haters' I hear admiration and genuine excitment to see Caroline become the grand slam winner that she will not doubt be.

I have often been dismissive of Caroline and her game, but more because her style was not attractive to me. I was also tiring of hearing commentators sing her praises and tell me how wonderful she was for the game. This can be a consequence of watching lots of tennis, when you can predict what the commentators are going to say before they say it! I guess I shouldn't complain to much about the chance to watch tennis on the tv.

Dear Bobby,

Your question: Will Woz win a slam this year?

NO, she will win one slam - she will win 2 of the remaining 3 slams.

I don't get to watch much tennis except during Majors & US Open Series, however as I said last September about Caro, I think she can be THE dominate player in women's tennis for the next 10 years. She should be 1 of the main favorites at every tournament. The Fan Child said it best "flawless agressive tennis" is what beats Caro, and will probably always be what beats her. At AO11 Fran played 1 set, Li Na 2 sets. At USO09 Kim 2, USO10 Maria 0, Vera 2, Wim10 Petra 2, at YEC Kim 1+1walkabout+1.
JJ, Kuzzy, Maria don't do to many near flawless sets anymore. Most don't. Kim, Venus, & Serena have in the past, but may not the next time they face Caro. If Petra, Vika, Aggie, and other young players get in shape and learn to be patient in their play against Caro they can win, otherwise she'll own them. Commenters said Caro was more aggressive today. Is that going to be apart of Caro's game from now foward or just the fact that she has been beating Kuzzy and she knew she wasn't going to have any problems out of her? We'll see soon enough.

Caroline quoted in Ekstra Bladet online http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/anden_sport/tennis/article1506600.ece (my translation)

I felt really good out there today. I was hitting the ball cleanly and well, and this time managed to stay aggressive for the whole match. I'm very satisfied with my play. I went for my shots, and I certainly played better than I have before.

But I had to. If I let Svetlana dictate the play, she's just too strong. So it was important for me today to keep her moving, and keep her close to the baseline.

After my loss in Australia (which she was one serve away from winning, BTW- me), it's great to be able to come back this way. I was already on the practice court the day after. There were some things that were bugging me.

But I've always been convinced that if I work hard and grab my opportunities, my time will come. Now I'm back and playing well.

Caroline's fathers is coaching her using Polish language...it would be nice if it will be in Danish...so people in Sweden and Norway could understand it...

I think it's quite impressive that Woz is the reigning champion in all premier mandatory and premier 5 since Canada (August 16). Well done!

Let her have 20 titles under her belt, and then the grand slams will come.

And really nice to see Janko and Kuz back with good faith and feeling. I am really looking forward to the spring and summer and to the return of the Williams.

chrissy, Caro's dad speaks very broken Danish. They speak Polish at home, while Caro speaks usually Danish with her brother Patrick. This is very common for immigrant families.

Kuznetsova can't stand losing against Wozniacki. Here is what she said "I just didn't play well. I did too many unforced errors," Kuznetsova said. "She played a basic game and didn't have to do much. I was just making so many unforced errors."
"I think I force too much. This is because she defends well I force too much," Kuznetsova said. "I mean, for me, it's very frustrating because I don't play my good game. If I would play my good game and I lose, OK. You know, it's like she played better than me. She does well. She plays a stable game and she wins. But I cannot tell you that she overpowered me or she overran me."

Fantastic match by Caroline today, she outplayed Kuznetsova in every part of the game. She forced K into poor shot-making by moving her around with deep shots, variation and net approaches. K seem frustrated that she had to hit 2-3 winners before actually getting points. The dedicated practice of Carolines offense skills is alrady paying off, she matched K's number of winners today. Caroline being lucky? She did not drop a set all tournament and only gave K 4 games - I don't think so!

while Martina N is always of the view that she has the best game out there, I am not convinced. There is a reason why she only has 2 majors, and 12 titles over-all.

Cayman Karen, sveta case we all know what happen with her. is her mentally that's why she is 12-19 in finals. she can't usually hold the presure of being in a big final. just a couple of time she can handle the situation.
she is for me the best game of the wta behind justin henin. if could has henin mentally she will has like 7 or 8 slam for sure. i had she her play many many times and she awalys shoked in big matches. it's sad but it is what it is.

butcaro will never has the game the sveta has. sveta is 3 time better and sorry to caro fans but she can't beat anyone when they are playing good. she get this title cuz jankovic was too tired sor the semis. she just got luck.

@Euris from D.R. "Caroline can't beat anyone when they are playing good"

That's just rediculus, she is the reigning champion in all premier mandatory and premier 5 since Canada!

What's that about her not having any weapons, here where she leads the WTA:
- her mental strength (perhaps the most important pro tennis player asset)
- her backhand is between the very best on tour
- her court coverage is second to none on tour - she has that rare ability
(like Federer) that she just seems to know where the ball will be at
- she is the most fit (now that Dementieva is no longer around) on tour

Plenty of guns there, and the results go to show

Mookey

well yeah she has a amazing game ofcourse, for something she is no.1.
but what player she beat for the premiere event that she won..uumm
cry baby svonareva. choker kuznetsova. even more choker dementieva( caro can beat her is demi play her best like in wimbledon 2009).

she didn't beat clijsters, the williams sister. henin. a in form maria. a in form JJ. she just beat a coules of player that just are in the tour to be finallys an any event. she need to show me that she can beat her bigges oponent so i can believe that she is the no.1

- Manixdk -

I did read that the whole family speak Danish at home - on the court he speak Polish cause of he's broken english ;-)

Waouh Mookey i kinda like Wozniacki but is she really mentally stronger than Serena?
Wozniacki is not the best player game-wise but she's deservedly ranked n1, so everybody deal with it lol

Through the end of Roland Garros Wozniacki has 2256 points to defend (including Ponte Vedra Beach, which is no longer a tournament. Clijsters has 1110 (virtually nothing but Miami)so the rankings will probably be shifting back and forth.

Why does everybody think that a defensive game is so unattractive? Of course if she just pushed and pushed... but that wouldn't take her to number one. During a match like this against Kuznetsova there are a handful of points, where Wozniacki makes miraculous saves, and just keeps getting the impossible balls back. Those points are magical to me! Then again, I get that if you are supporting the other player it can probably get a little bit frustrating. But to me, there are no other player on the tour with as much guts as Caroline Wozniacki. Such an amazing fighting spirit and mentality!

If she can add the big shots to her game too, then she will definitely win a slam sometime soon. And today she did play a couple of really potent winners too.

Euris from D.R.---

Then Sveta must have been playing very badly in the last 3 matches playing Caro ;-)

My prediction is that Zvonareva will become number one briefly this year. She has only 780 points to defend between now and Wimbledon - if she keeps playing like she has been (this week excepted) she's likely to overtake Clijsters and Wozniacki both. Cue another round of "do you deserve it"s...

Euris from D.R., what a poor arguments. By the way, baseball board is on mlb.com

SuperG - agree.
And for everybody else, includning the jerks that yesterday on this site predicted a Kuzzy victory: Wake up, because tennis will in this decade produce a true legend: Caroline Wozniacki.
Look at the improvement of her game. Then take a look at the others. Got it?
If not, I will give you a hint: Look at her forehand down the line today in the Dubai Massacre. Then look at it, going back 3-4 tournaments. See the difference?
Today was an impressive display of tennis intelligence, converted through an exceptional athletes body. People who can see this, truly value sports achievements at the highest level. No matter if they are Danish, Australian, German or Russian....! The rest...who cares?

I'm not a fan at all, but even I will admit to being impressed with Woz today. For a so-called "moon-baller", she was hitting very aggressively; the best match I've seen from her.

My thoughts is that "tennis.com" commentators has a very narrow definition of what a "winner" is. Apparently a winning ball is not a winner, unless it's done in the exact predictable way that the commentators feel comfortable with. Sort of the way that Raymond in the movie Rainman can't function in the world if there is anything out of the ordinary. If one book on Raymond's bookshelf is placed differently, he freaks out. The same way with "tennis.com" commentators - If the players wins the balls any other way than the usual predictable fashion, they freak out and can't function.

Example 1: A ball that is suddenly played with less force will create less rebound from the opponents racket and if they don't notice it will end in the net. A play often used by Wozniacki and the geniuses at "tennis.com" doesn't notice that. They just think the opponent makes an unforced error and are having an off day.

Example 2: A ball that suddenly is played a little higher can also provoke an error from an unsuspecting opponent.

You can give many other examples of similar tactics with changing spin and ball placement.

Fortunately for Danish viewers of Eurosport, one of the commentators is also one of Wozniacki's trainers, so we are fortunate to get the inside info on Wozniackis winning technique. "tennis.com" commentators, not so much.

I posted this on Tignor's post, but it seems to post it here too.

Congratulations to Caro and all her fans for triumphing today the Dubai Championships and her 1st title of the year. If she can sustain or even improve on the way she played today against Kuz, they'll be quite a few more titles she'll be holding before the years out. Great performance today. Caroline showed grit, toughness, tremendous focus on each point and basically kicked Kuzi's backside. She mentally mastered the veteran Kuznetseva from early in the 1st set and had an answer for everything she could throw. Caroline really impressed.

So shout out to Eilif. I'm still not a believer with the "Queen Dane" stuff till she wins a couple majors. When she accomplishes that (hard to see a reason why she won't win one and then some eventually) and is regularly beating her top rivals can she legitimately claim *Best player in the world* status. All she has to do is do it. I will concede after watching her just handle Sveta that she could be something special.

Caro will keep on winning and staying on top becuz at least 90% of wta make many unfo. errors. and the truly elite players are mia due to injury and their selectivity.

I don't care how many small or major (0) tournaments Caro wins. She is BOOOOOORING to watch. She set back women's tennis 20 years. We don't need another Andrea Yeager.

Sveta did not play like a multiple slam winner today except when she broke Caro as Caro served for the match.

Caro brought her A+ game, Sveta brought her C game.

I think I'm beginning to support Caro simply because everyone else is bashing her for her "boring" game and being Slamless and not having any weapons.

Tennis players are not beauty pageants. They're out there to win matches with whatever skills and mental fortitude they have at the moment, They're only as good as their last match. Go watch ballet or figure skating if you want ladies who move "pretty". Don't take people with "beautiful" games like Henin and Federer for granted. As Sharapova always likes to say (and I adore her for this), this is their job, and sometimes there are "bad days at work," but those who can keep consistent attitude and execution of a winning formula naturally bring the most results and deserves all the success. And right now Caro and Kim are the two players who achieve that and BOTH of them deserve to be ranked where they are.

ED:

IWells- final
Miami - Quarters
Ponte Vedra Beach- title
Charleston (semis)
and the whole rest of the spring up until Wimbledon (relative to Kim) is a lot.

Espesh the French (quarters).

I'll have to get together sometime and discuss what the word "oodles" actually means...

Thanks to KBW's math (check it, I didn't) we know that Woz has 2256 pts to defend and Kim has 1110 up to the conclusion of Roland Garros.

In my book, "oodles" means 2.256x bigger than something else, so I'd like to state for the record that I feel vindicated.

News Flash:

Woz actually has 2.0324324324324324324324324324 x's more points to defend than Kim (up to the conclusion of Roland Garros)at the moment...I just did the math and found a very juicy repeating decimal.

Caro appears to be building up a solid lead to cusion any loses during IW - WIM. Will Kim play or win enough to catch up to Caro may be the question? Caro plays every week, Kim skips and has nothing to protect herself from bad loss somewhere. There is the very possibility that Kim can win all of the Majors this year, but Caro stay #1 all year but 1 week.

Caro actually has 2,135 RELEVANT ranking points to defend through Roland Garros, but yes, you're basic point is correct, The Fan Child. If you would like me to verify by listing how this breaks down, I can do that if anyone would like.

***Check that; she actually has 2,010 ranking points to defend through Roland Garros. I forgot that Rome was just replaced by Dubai in her ranking breakdown.

Those rankings points sure aren't easy to figure out, are they? :-)

According to my maths, Caroline would drop to 7566 points after RG if she loses 1 round in Doha, IW, Miami, Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome, Brussels and RG (not very likely), so in that sense she has 1864 points to lose. On the other hand, if she wins them all (not very likely either), she will get to 13980 points, which is a gain of 4550 points. In reality, she'll probably end up around 10000, I guess.

Sigmund: Well said. Even though I think Carolines intelligent counter punching after a great defense, is about as beautiful as it gets. You know, like "The Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire, a while back :)
Nuir: Your statement: "Caro brought her A+ game, Sveta brought her C-game". I find it interesting that some who follows sports, don´t seem to understand that you are never better than your opponent allows you to be. Example: There is a good chance that Real Madrid will look better at home against Valladolid, than away against Barcelona. Pretty basic, isn´t it? Or in tennis: Kuzzy looks a lot better against Pironkova, than she does against Caroline.

Just did Kim's numbers too. If I'm correct, she would drop to 7746 points if she lost 1 round in IW, Miami, Madrid, Rome and RG (loss of 1089) and rise to 13625 points (gain of 4790). I have a feeling that she'll end up around 10000 points just like Caroline ...

Wow you guys are obsessed.

Let's just wait and see what happens. WTA have algorithms and analysts to do the math for us.

Interesting quote from Kuznetsova http://www.wtatour.com/news/20110220/wozniackis-dream-week-in-dubai_2256076_2297926 :

"I was just making so many unforced errors," Kuznetsova said. "She defends well and doesn't really give you many free points. She plays a stable game and she wins. I just kept changing my strategy all match instead of just choosing one thing and playing it. She's just a smarter player. That's it."

Leo, you are right - let the girls play. But I got a bit of money on Caroline to reach 10000 points this year and be ranked No.1 after Wimbledon...

Woznowuss - Spend the money in advance, you are home free on that bet :) Clijsters is going down in the next showdown between the two champs, if injuries are avoided for both of them.

Caro's improvement has been very steady. BUt let's correct a few things someone posted earlier.

What's that about her not having any weapons, here where she leads the WTA:
- her mental strength (perhaps the most important pro tennis player asset)
- her backhand is between the very best on tour
- her court coverage is second to none on tour - she has that rare ability
(like Federer) that she just seems to know where the ball will be at
- she is the most fit (now that Dementieva is no longer around) on tour

I agree with the mental strength. Caro's BH is quite strong, but it's certainly not comparable to Clijsters (the real best 2H BH on tour), Venus, or even Li Na or Kvitova.
Similarly her court coverage and fitness is also terrific, but again Clijsters is the superior mover and defender (best ever in the women's game w/o question) and I have to say Schiavone is supremely fit. As is Penetta.

She does anticipate quite well though.

Kom sa, haters, hear the Nordic battle cry. Kuzzy didn't lose, Caro won it.

Roddick fan:

It's not true that Caroline plays "every week". So far this year she's played in three tournaments. Of the top ten only Radwanska and Venus have played less and they've both been troubled by injuries.

The fact that Kim chose to play in Paris while skipping the semi-mandatory tournament in Dubai - rather than the other way around - obviously shows us she's not all that concerned about collecting ranking points.

I think someone asked what Wozniacki thinks she does well. She comments on that a bit here. Enjoying your comments. Will read more this evening.

http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=69004

@Northernboy: - her mental strength (perhaps the most important pro tennis player asset)
- her backhand is between the very best on tour
- her court coverage is second to none on tour - she has that rare ability
(like Federer) that she just seems to know where the ball will be at
- she is the most fit (now that Dementieva is no longer around) on tour

1. Her mental strength is very good but not great. Can you imagine Serena letting Li Na off the hook serving at match point at AO?

2. Her backhand is steady. It is nowhere near the best. See Serena, Clijsters and 20 other top women.

3. She has good anticipation. I'll give you that. But to say she is the best mover on tour and then comparing her to Fed, now you are just talking out of your @ss. You just killed what little credibility you had.

4. Again as in #3, you demonstrate how little you know about tennis. She is overweight by elite tennis standards. She needs to lose 10 - 15 lbs. She looks ridiculous in that Stella McCartney dress. She was dying at the end of the 3rd set against Li Na.

Comments to TenFanLa:

1. Of course Serena could loose a match point to anyone. Everybody can.
Lots of times I have seen Caro being down 0-40 and still winning an important game or set. So her mental strength is very high.

2. More or less thrue - though I would disagree about the 20.

3. Caro moves exceptionally well. Better than any female player. But to compare to Fed or any other ATP player makes no sense.

4. Well - everything is relative but I found these statistics from their profiles:
Wozniacki: 1.77 m and 58 kgs
Clijsters: 1.74 m and 68 kgs
Serena: 1.75 m and 68 kgs

So if Caro is overwight by elite-tennis what is Clijsters and Serena?

Anyway I do agree about the Mccartney dress. It is awful. Yhe one last year (black/eallow) was much nicer.

@ED

Carolines program:

Qatar
IW
Miami
Stuttgart
Madrid
Rome
Brussels
French Open
Copenhagen
Wimbledon
Båstad Sweden

@ziggi

1. Like I said, very good but not great.

2. You look at the top 20 on WTA. Their BH is as good or better than hers. Her BH is not a potent weapon. It is good for retrieving and looping.

3. I wouldn't go as far as to say the BEST on WTA Tour.

4. Clijster - even more overweight
Serena - extremely overweight, although a lot of it has to do with muscles that no other women players have.

Thanks for the link Bobby, it's interesting to read that she enjoys moving people around the court and seeing her defensive game wear the other players out. That explains her tactics nicely and it amuses me that the thing she gets critiqued about all the time - playing defensive and not terminating the rally by stepping up - is what brings her pleasure!
I wonder if her view will change in light of the way she played against Svetlana, and the adoption of a more attacking style. Some of those more aggressive points must have been very satisfying to pull off.

I feel bad for Caroline. I do think she was number one earlier than it should because the WTA is not strong enough especially on the mental department. She should be a top ten player now not number one if top ten players play top ten tennis. However I do think she has the potential to become a dominant player because of her tennis and not consistency.
Her mental strength is very high however there is still room for improvement. She has in fact choked in several matches especially in Grand Slams. She did beat Schiavone but it took her three sets and after Schiavone played the longest match??? it should have been a quick two sets. Her loss to Na Li was bad. She has lost her serve when serving for the match in many important occasions including her victory against Kusnetsova. I would like to see her winning big matches when serving. I do see her developing a good game but I wonder if she will the same problems Andy Murray has in big matches??? Her progression reminds me a lot of Andy Murray's the difference is in the men's game he is a top five and in the women's can give you the number one.
Mental strength is there, backhand is very good not great, ok serve, weak forehand, great defensive skills, great movers, needs to get fitter she did look very tired against Na Li. Anyway, sounds like the female Andy Murray. She could win a couple of slams in the next 6-18 months.

what a (generally) negative load of opinions. bit shameful- love a talented 20 year old getting to nr.1 with a good few years ahead with which to improve on blips in her game. For you suckers who can only find bad words for her- get a life.

I do not understand why so many people can not accept that NO. 1 is based on pure mathematics (2+2=4) and not who's the best tennis player. Right now, Kim is probably the best tennis player.

As mentioned earlier by a smart guy with a suitable overview (as opposed to TenFanLA, VB): The last 8 of the Top 14 tournaments have been split between Clijsters and Wozniacki with 4 each. And NOTHING for the rest of the elite.
Why is it then that only Clijsters gets credit from a lot of you guys, and not Caroline? Even the injured and the every-week-losers gets more credit. Nuts and plain envy. In panic, some of you go back to find a weak point in an historic match at AO. Pitiful. And what´s with the Murray crap? In my opinion he is far from Nadal, Djoko and Fed.
The results stand out for themselves and until Caroline beats Clijsters (which is just around the corner), she will objectively be 2nd in the world - by a mile to no. 3. We should all agree to that.
Caroline truly loves the game and I think she is the coolest female on the tour. A true fighter. She will be around and winning a good part of it for a long while, so get used to it :)

Grow up guys !!

Who on earth should be No 1 - if not Wozniacki ????
Who are the players that deserve the No 1 spot more than Woz ???

The only one are Nadal - but he then need an operation first :-)

And forget all speculations about defending points. She's close to 10.000 points because she's reaching the semi or final each time it really matters. She's not defending. She's aggresively increasing points.

And then of course .... the more points you - the more you can loose.

It's therefore amazing to read all the crap like...
- shes No 1 because shes lucky
- the other players are always "out of form" when they meet her
- she's winning because they make unprovoked erors when they meet her

WHO????-

There are still players Wozniaki can't beat. That is... CAN NOT BEAT! That is the reason why legitimacy of her wearing the crown of #1 is so much in question here and will continue to persist. That is why it will continue to persist WHO????. That is the reason why.

That's very true, M-life. Injured and retired players are impossible to beat.

Thank you Mike, they are nothing but Caro haters.

Thank you Mike, they are nothing but Caro haters.

Are these comments for Real??

1. Her mental strength is so-so...!
2. Her backhand is average....!
3. She's overweight.....!

Hahaha - I don't Think you have to defend Caro against allegations like that:
These people are either Golfers or mentally challenged!

This girl is the new Nadal in womens tennis...
Steadily she will build her weapons just like Nadal has done!
Except in womens tennis, there is no Federer!
So get used to Caro being No. 1.
She'll be there for a looooong time.

Unfortunately Caro has got the flu in Qatar. 50/50 % if she can play wednesday

Dear "M Life",

You should name the players Wozniacki can not win against.

Look at the top-20 of the ranking. She have already beaten 17 of these.
Yet to come - only 3 players. But - she have had extremely few chances against these players.

Serena (11). Only 2 games. The last one she had to retire.
Clijsters (2). Only 2 games. The last game could go both ways.
Venus (8). Only 3 games. Last time was nearly three years ago.

She has won against these 17 players in top 20 ...
Zvonareva (3), Stosur (4), Schiavone (5), Jankovic (6), Li (7), Azarenka (9), Radwanska (10), Peer (12), Kuznetsova (13), Kvitova (14), Pennetta (15), Kanepi (16), Sharapova (17), Bartoli (18), Pavlyochenkova (19) and Kleybanova (20)

Let's do the evaluation later .... when she have had a fair chance to meet the Sisters and Clijsters.

Ed-

You are absolutely correct. I will also say, that your enormously intelligent and insightful observation does have a glaring omission. Restated to include your oversight omission is "Injured and retired players are impossible to beat" - as well as players who have dominated said player during thier entire career, including the most recent matches within the last eight months, who are not entered in the tournament you are presently playing in. Those players, 4 to be sure, will certainly be no danger to Caro, at least through sunday. Go get'em Caro!!!

Samantha Elin-

You are also correct. Svetlana didn't lose the match. Caroline just went out there and kicked her butt. Anybody who saw the match is either high or delusional if they were to claim otherwise. It was a champion calibre performance no question.

"Who ?????"

you forgot to add that the one full match against Serena, Caroline had match points against Serena? She didn't convert any of them and Serena won, but Serena had to claw her way through that match.

So I would say that one could have gone both ways too :)

Tennis noob-

Yes, it could have gone either way, but it didn't. It went one way. When speaking of competition, it has always gone *one way,* it will continue to always go *one way.* Unfortunately for you and WHO????, it did not go the way of the young Polish/Dane's favor. That in effect is always the hardest part of *getting it done* don't you think? The *doing it* part. Always a killer isn't it? I feel terribly for you. Just want you to know. :)

Oh- and btw, can I just combine the names of the two of you? In essence, you are basically the same person anyway right? It seems that it would be so much cleaner and easier for everybody. Just go by- "Tennis WHO NOOB????" I think that's beautiful. It doesn't get any better than that.

Woz's dad is a creepy guy. He hovers over her like a vulture. I can't even imagine the type of pressure he puts on her. It will be interesting to see what happens as she gets older and starts to spread her wings.

Dear M Life,

Please remember to take your medicine. Paranoia can be very bad :-)

In case you haven't noticed. It does not always go one way in competitions.

Serena have done fantastic and won 13 majors!
Still .... she have "lost" 30 majors

Let's compare Woz and Serena when Woz have played 43 majors.

WHO????

There is little doubt, that in 10 years or so, when Caroline's career comes to an end. Everybody who calls themselves a fan of the game of tennis will know what Caro's Grand Slam titles number will be. I fail to see the paranoia in that. Furthermore, two things can be equally true, that is, Serena may (arguably) be the most fearsome player who ever played the women's game, she can also be considered, as I do, an underachiever. What does that have to do with the price of apples in Venezuela? Never was the discourse centered on Serena Williams. The article was written about Wozniaki. 98% of all comments were on Caroline Wozniaki. Who is a lovely, immensely talented and hard working, young professional tennis player who is presently an undeserving but nevertheless, number one ranked player in the world. I really don't have any idea what you are talking about. All of my comments were completely focused on, both in praise and in critique of Caroline Wozniaki and her ability right now. Not after her career is over and definitely not of Serena Williams. Please clarify. WHO NOOB????

And to think I liked you M-life, why doesn't she deserve to be no l?? She earned it fair, through the ranking system and won more titles than any other player in 2010. Kom sa, Caro, Scandinavia's and the world's no l! I believe in her. Just wait until she wins a slam!