I imagine it just gets tiring to play that brand of defensive tennis. I am sure she was just tired from chasing balls down every match.

Caro is good top 10 player but not #1(seems she is going to be next JJ or Safina)....
Tooooo much pressure and (no weapons) .

Go Maria!

All the best to Andrea. To start, she plays for Germany and I have no problem her being called German. But to explain her spunky personality, read her bio and you will see that she was born in Bosnia and her dad is a Bosnian Serb. She frequently hangs out with Djokovic, Troicki and Bozoljac and she just pick up from them (she also speaks the language). The other day she played in doubles with Ana Ivanovic and they BOTH did the victory Petko dance. Very funny!

FIRST!! FIRST!!! FIIIIIRST!!!!! OMG, OMG OMG !!!!!!! FIIIIIIIIRRRRRRSSSSSTTTT!!!!!!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS... THIS IS TOO MUCH...
I AM FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRST!!
....WATER PLEASE
SOMEBODY...

Petko! Petkorazzie keep dancing! Petko dances her way to a big win. Well played Petko and great dance. Good luck to you. To Knez011, it happens that players are born in one country and represent another. Martina Hingis was born in Slovakia but called Swiss Miss, Mary Pierce grew up in the States but played for France and Milos Raonic was born in Montengro but is called Canadian. Pekto is pure personality!

TO Me: you 're just #4 not the FIRST ...ha ha ha....

This whole Wozniacki is not #1 drives me crazy. She plays every week, wins tournaments very often and beats great players. She works within the system, wins the points and the result is she is #1. She may not have won a grand slam but since when does winning a grand slam make you #1. In that case, Schivone was #1 for winning the French. If it is so easy, why have there only been less than 20 players to hold the #1 ranking in the open era. Stop giving her a hard time. The real question is why is Serena shaking her booty in commercials and yet her foot is in a boot and she is unable to play tournaments. For someone who claims to be religious, she sure sells her morals for money. I'm not judging just wondering.

Why is a player allowed to grunt OUT every ball?
Petkovic played smart, but if that was part of her strategy, it would be a disgrace.

Finally, Petkovich put CW out of her misery...

Petkovic and Djokovic dual #1's soon

Troicki, Tipsarevic, Jovanovic, Ivanovic, Raonic, etc.

Amazing how a country so small will dominate tennis

To Ken:Who cares about serena anymore ?? let her play in commercials (good for her)...
I don't hate Caro but she is just another(more athletic)version of JJ...

Nik:

Technically, Raonic is from Montenegro (unless you mean all ex-Yugoslav countries, which then brings in the entire Croatian squad). But if you are referring to Serbia, don't forget Danijel Nestorovic aka Daniel Nestor, born in 1973 in Belgrade, Serbia. He is a Canadian, but I think he still speaks the language...

Ken why don't you just ask herself instead of judging her life like you are perfect yourself. Serena has nothing to do with Wozniacki here. Instead of analyzing that blonde white dane's game and her inability to win a slam, you're finding a scapegoat. If it's about criticizing a "supposed" best player, aren't you supposed to lambast Clijsters who many will agree is the best player right now? Some people are just dumb and idiot at best

i love Wozniacki and i think she deserves to be N1, she's the best week in week out, but instead of attacking other people, you should analyse her game and detect what's right and what's wrong.
You're not helping her case by trying to compare her to people who have achieved soooooooooooooo much more, that's just not gonna work

i am not surprised that cw lost. i agree that playing such a defensive game gets tiring. you cannot keep it up not matter how fit you are. hopefully woz starts to develop her game now because even in IW i got the sense that she won but some of the other players started to figure out. also, i have noticed that she has won a lot of matches but a lot of the times she gets broken when she serves it out even if she ends up winning the match that is something players need to pay attention to. she is consistent and she will around for a while. she is stronger mentally than others but needs to seriously develop something else besides running around all day. she is the deserving number one no doubt but she also has not had much competition and everytime she has faced tougher competition (kim, henin, williamses, zvonareva, in a different level petra, stosur and cibulkova when their game is clicking she has had a hard time delivering). she is very competitive so i think she will develop but every player has a window and hopefully it does not close on her like Jankovic, Dementieva and other player that relied on their defensive skills.

@franchise: love what you said!

@Ken: Let Serena do whatever she wants to, she has achieved far more than any current player.. so give her a break!

this match today was nothing short of a disaster... at least in Sharapova Vs Stosur match, Maria kept her cool to win in straight sets and not making a mess of a match...

@knez011 and @Nik

Petkovic is playing for Germany, has grown up there and is German. If in your account she is not, then neither are Agassi nor Sampras americans.

@Wolpy: Are you ok? Pete Sampras was born and raised in USA and so was Agassi!
Petkovic wasnt born in Germany but was raised in Germany...
so its not the same case. so please dont make stupid comparisons..

ME!!!!!
LOL

Ken you are being an idiot and yes you are judging! Serena was sidelined because of hematoma, which causes red blood clots on her lungs, not from the foot injury, which she recovered from in Jan 2011. What players do outside the WTA and APT tour is none of your business. These players make money in endorsements and that means ads. Whatever immoral conduct they depict in ads or off the court has no bearing on anyone but themselves, so Ken go and get a clue.

That's the problem with Wozniacki's game. She relies too much from an opponent's unforced errors - she keeps the point long so as to wait for the opponents to miss and that's tiring. But when she faces an opponent who is as steady as her, she doesn't have the finishing shots. And to win a slam, she can't cut it by playing 7 straight matches with all defense. She'll always face someone who can stay with her on long points but who also has those point ending shots. Most of these aggressive players become even inspired at the slams and can become "on". Think oh Na Li at the Aussie semi.

@knez011

You are right, how could I forget Nestor! He partnered with Zimojnic (another who I didn't mention). I can count Raonic on being Serbian because he referred to himself as much in an interview I read online. A lot of Montenegrins do identify nationally and culturally as Serbian, as do Bosnians (where I am from). There is also Bojana Jovanovska who is currently ranked in the 50's, Jelena Dokic, and Kristina Mladenovic (200+ IIRC).

@Wolpy

It is a bit different with us, the Serbs are a tightly-bound tribe and a lot of us, including myself, were born overseas, but 99% of us still consider ourselves Serbian even if we were born in Montenegro, Bosnia, USA, Australia etc. Raonic and Petkovic get a lot of support from Serbs world-wide because of this (note the flags at tournaments), and they definitely identify with it more than Sampras did, although Agassi was tight with his own roots.

A lot of good players have come out of the balkans in the past 20 years, from Seles (who was also Serbian but played as an American later on) and Ivanisevic though to the current crop.

Tennis has become a massive sport in the region because of our success, the papers and television stations are full of tennis programming, news and interviews, and the local media track Raonic, Petkovic, etc. like our own.

I'm laughing at all this nonsense in here.

Where are Master Ace and Samantha Elin and all the other praise singers for Caro? So loud lately, but MIA today. Master Ace said with 100% certainty that Caro would win ... that I went and bet all my savings on her. Now I want my money back... Should I sue Ken instead?

BTW Nik, I really don't see Petkovic as #1, though with the sad state of women's tennis, I suppose anything can and is happening. Just look at supposed #4 Stosur. Now Djokovic is entirely different matter. He can reach #1 for real unless clay season cools him down and he can't resume it after. Even having reached it, I don't think he can hold it for long, let alone dominate for years. Even with Federer and Nadal out of picture (extremely wishful thinking, BTW), the near future lies with Delpo, not Djokovic. Then, in a 2-3 years of time, there is a whole new generation.

I do agree, there is awful lot of top players with ****vic (must be doing something right), but it's not only Yugoslavia. Where are Martina, the other Martina, Berdych, Kvitova, Safarova, Benesova etc from? They are an even smaller nation, isn't it?

I was impressed by Petko's patience and her ability to mix speeds a bit. It was a nice win for her and I think she deserves some credit for sure. She could make the top 20 w/ a win in the next round.

As far as Woz goes, you can't win them all, but let's not forget that she seems to win most of them, and that probably won't change anytime soon.

Ha, ha. Petkovic is not German? As much as Wozniacki is not Danish? Very funny, but also very outdated Serbian nationalism.

Wozniacki's loss is not surprising at all. Withe her unimposing game, she'll always run into someone who can simply blast her off the court. That style of hers isn't gonna cut it for a slam. Maybe regular tournaments but not the slams.

Hi Paul,

Wozniacki is a Pole with the Danish passport, as much as Dokic is a Serb with the Australian passport. And, if you want to know what Andrea Petkovic is thinking about her nationality please read her interview published in The Indenpendent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/andrea-petkovic-finally-a-female-star-with-strings-to-her-bow-2219939.html

Born in Bosnia to Serbian parents, Petkovic and her family moved to Germany at the start of the Balkan wars. Their home was in Tuzla, ...
I consider myself to have a big Serbian heart, because I'm more emotional than Germans usually are. I have a big temper, though I try to control it. I hang around a lot with the Serbs at tournaments because they are somehow a little more easy-going, although I'm also very good friends with the German girls... etc

@ Samantha Elin(Caro and Robin, 2011 FO champions): Good that you have something to laugh about after Wozniacki's loss :)

@Dropshot - Excellent point on dane getting her serve broken too often.

CW gets the #1 rank by playing the system and not by playing best players ie, minus Sisters, Clijsters. She is like dallas mavericks in nba only in that mavs are high offence/no defence and CW is high defence no offence. Mavs are killers in regular season but struggle in playoffs. CW might do well in WTA but somehow cannot crack a GS.

Reposting this from the other thread about Caro's loss, or should I say Petkovic's victory :) I enjoyed the match very much, if only to see what I had been hoping to see for a long time - ie make Caro generate her own pace on the forehand. She can't do it. Anyway this is form Petkorazzi.

Petkovic is one of the most open and delightful personalities on the tour. She is also very fair in her assesment of Caro:

Source: source:
http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/anden_s...cle1527109.ece

- I'm really looking forward to meeting Caroline. You know, I really enjoy watching Caroline play because I love the way she bring herself in position for the ball and where she places the balls. I really enjoy to watch her matches and I believe I have a good sense of what makes her so good.

Is her playing style underrated?

- If people underrate it, they're really stupid. I'm sorry but everyone who knows a thing about tennis, and has played it themselves, has to recognize she plays so well and cleverly. People talk about her lacking power. But look at the power she has in her legs. She's the girl on tour who gets one more ball back than everyone else and that's what makes her so good. And then there's her mental game.

- It makes me sad when people focus on her not having won a slam, that she's boring and so on. Listen, she's 20 years old. 20! I have a sister who's 21 and I know what life experience she has. The fact that Caroline can handle all this stuff that comes with being number one at this age is just incredible, and people who criticize her don't know much about tennis.

caroline's loss happens to all top rank players...but...she's still beautiful

Nik,
Seles was ethnically Hungarian. I doubt Pekovic is #1 material anyway. Top 10 - maybe.

Vuvu, Nice points about Andrea's take on Caroline: no malice or one-upmanship. Just a lot of learning points.

"Now I want my money back... Should I sue Ken instead?"

Justerer Fan,
Sue Ken. LOL!

Just to state a fact: Petkovic was NOT born in Germany. She was born in Bosnia.

Samantha Elin-

Funny enough I'm seeing it your way for a change. Laughable indeed.

If you look farther than just numbers, out of 5 Masters equivalent events she has won in a row:

- none had Serena in it
- 3 were Kim-less
- 1 had Kim retire before the semis (IW)
- only one (Toronto) featured healthy Kim, who was defeated by Vera who was defeated by Caro. I agree, that one is real

What if Soderling wins 5 Masters titles in the absense of Nadal, Djoko and Federer, beating maybe Murray in the final, and becomes #1? Would he dare say "I deserve my ranking" or brag about his 5 Masters titles?

@ Master Ace: now that you are here, I want my money from you. I have a sneaky suspicion that you bet against Caro and made a ton of money yourself, and that your confident approval of Caro was simply misdirection.

Love the Petko dance, hope I see it in the next round. What a day of tennis so far.

amen. stop giving your game, payday to that phoney #1. the women should not be paid for the lame games they dish out its not professional but a headache to watch. serena is the last best player there ever be on the wta. venice needs to get her game back because the wta tour is whacked.

@justerer fan - five master equivalents? i think it is just Montreal and IW. i am not sure beijing should be considered "master" it is hard now because the wta only has two two tier levels and that is how a lot of players have been able to rack up a lot of points not just Caro. She does quite a few tier three titles which is ok I guess but what I see is that she has always played way too many tournaments. she played seven in two months last year between ponte vedra and wimbledon that is way too many. when she was ranked 12th in the world she played an itf event. do not understand. even before she became number one i had noticed her ranking was pretty high even though she did not have "high profile" wins. i do think she has the mental fortitude to win a slam that would be the difference between her and previous editions but like dropshot said she does need to develop her game more in order to do so.
I do think the wta needs to at least evaluate the breakdown of tournaments a little better maybe follow the atp's example. basically they are giving all premier events a "master" level value which i do not think charleston or stutgart should have the same value as madrid or indian well. maybe this will help with not overstating a ranking...anyway i am not a fan of woz but for the sake of competition i would like to see her improve her game and maybe that will inspire other to play at least competitively.

if she wants to win a slam she needs to star beating players in GSs. She has only beaten two top ten players in grand slams one was kuznetsova (ok) and francesca after playing for nearly five hours. This again speaks to the level in the wta tour...also she cannot be losing to a player ranked 50-60 in the world 6-0, 6-2 in a GS quarterfinal...anyway, we'll see what happens...i think she will do well in the french open...

Justerer fan,
I was going to keep the cash until Caroline made the final then wager.

Caro needs a weapon and a second serve to bail her out when the defensive game isn't on.

Petkovic should definitely give up dancing. She's no #1 material in tennis, but in dance..really...she stinks..Se reminds me of Elaine Benes's.

This is a bad omen. I will not be surprised if Nole or Rafa falls before SF

Amazing that some loony actually used "Stopthedance" as a name. To be that affected by a 5-sec little shake that someone does is just sad.

And while Petkovic wasn't born in Germany she started playing tennis at age 6 when she was already living there.

caro played badly hence she lost. we all know that if caro had played reasonably well she would have had this in straights

@paul68

It isn't nationalism, it is simple pride in a fellow countryman. Petkovic is as German as Monica Seles was American. Ask her yourself what nationality she considers herself.

@Justerer fan

My comment about Petkovic going to #1 was said in jest, but you are right, the Womens tour has been in such a state of flux recently seeking out a true number 1 that anything can happen. I don't think it could happen for Andrea this year, but perhaps next. Looking at all the potential upcoming stars she would definitely be part of any '5 most likely to reach #1' list.

I can't wait for the clay court season. If Novak can keep his game up and take a few points away from Rafa (I believe 60% of his points are in those 2 months?) he will set himself up to be in a good position when they come back to the USA again. I need to sit down and work out Rafa's points and all the permutations, but needless to say Djoks will depend on Rafa losing and getting himself into the semi's finals

Between Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and French we have following points to defend:

Rafa: W, W, W, W = 5,000
Novak: SF, - , QF, QF = 1080
Roger: - , F, 2R, QF = 1005

you can see that Nadal has a lot to defend, the points gap between him and Novak atm is 3,920, so there is little chance of him losing his #1 spot but if Novak can grind results out and beat Rafa or go further than him at least once, he sets himself up nicely for the remainder of the tour - where Novak hasn't got as many points to defend other than the US open

btw, last years French result broke Roger's 23 grand slam run of where he at least made the semi's.

I am a huge fan of Petkovic outside of my general base support for the Serbian players :) she has a very bright personality and brings a lot to the tour and the sport. it will be interesting to watch her develop in the coming years. I hope to see more surprise results like today!

this is the beginning of the demise of Caroline Wozniacki.

@rogerthat - What I call Masters equivalent are the 4 Premier Mandatory (IW, Miami, Montreal/Toronto, and Beijing) which are worth 1000 pts and Premier 5 events (Dubai, Rome, Madrid, Cinci, Tokyo) which are worth 900 pts, almost same as ATP-1000. The other Premier events get something like 470 pts, making them ATP-500 equivalent. I agree, it's disgusting how Dubai and Bejing used their money and aggressive lobby to push traditional hosts out, but what can we do - money trumps everything. I wouldn't be surprised if in 5 years time Shanghai becomes the official 5th major, just like UN might move to Beijing, or all famous italian opera houses might move to China for quadruple salaries).

Regarding Caro, she plays enough tournaments so that she gets the maximum 21 results counted, with some 200-300 points at each, and that adds up. Keeping it up, she could stay No 1 even with Kim winning all 4 majors (a mere 8000 points, equal to five 1000-level events plus six 500-level events). WTA's formula that awards generous points to non-winners is one of the culprits.

Congrats to Petkovic.
She deserved it.
But my my, I have never seen Caro play that bad. So tired and uninspired - she really needs a couple of weeks off. You cannot win every week thoughout the year - not even Caro.

Anyway, I really don`t understand why she has obliged to join in Charleston, when her original schedule didn`t include that tournament.
A couple of weeks away would do her much better

Just to make clear: Charleston and Stutgart do have only half the value of Madrid and IW.

To Paul68

Yes we are proud to be what we are, Andrea is very proud of her origin and that is a fact. Caro is Polish, just listen what language she spoken with her dad during the match, quite a danish:)

Can someone please tell Wozniacki to update her weight on the WTA site. She hasn't seen 128 lbs. (58 kg) since probably 13 years old! She's closer to 150 at least.

u guys are arguing over ancestry/nationality? how pathetic.

True, it's a woman's choice to redecorate the numbers when it comes to age, weight and calorie counting! Give Caro (and all of us who do the same) a break please!

Petkorazzi is so beautiful, and so much fun! Great match from her yesterday.

Such a breath of fresh air! I have no problem with the way rankings work - you win points, you're No. 1. But the Woz bores me to tears.

I thought she IS a robot...

"first German woman to beat a reigning world No. 1" - what an oddly specific statistic

Caro lost, because she can't play with power, she only win when play defensive the whole game,and the other player made the errors, and they not move the ball around the court, Andrea P. has a future in tennis. Caro is far away to get slam, Number 1, but for the fans of tennis she is not the number 1. Cograt to Andrea P and Maria S.

A lot of Caro obituaries out here. You guys are so fickle.
Caro doesn't play to entertain you but to win, win her way. I've seen her play close up and it's not boring................
We'll see whether the giant slayer Petkovic is the flavour of the month. I like her and it's nice to see that she is a reader too.

@TrueWeight

At Copenhagen Open aka "Wozniacki Open" she was listed at 68 kg (149,9 lbs) in the programme for the tournament. Probably just WTA that hasn't updated the info...

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