Caroline Wozniacki headed into the United States Open with an air of confidence that belied her status as a player making a comeback from a long hiatus. She was going to just her third tournament, and first major event, since announcing her return to competitive tennis two months ago. And, for those keen on handicapping title prospects, her first trek to the court in three and a half years 鈥 an invitational doubles stint in Wimbledon 鈥 could not even be counted. Which meant that all she had going for her was a second-round exit at the Canadian Open earlier this month. Still, she believed in herself, and in her capacity to make an impact in Flushing Meadows.
For all the illogic involved in Wozniacki鈥檚 disposition, however, there can be no discounting the result of her latest foray at Arthur Asha Stadium. Considering how she, a wild-card entrant ranked 623rd in the world, managed to upend 11th-seed Petra Kvitova yesterday, there is, in fact, reason to believe her when she says she is 鈥渉itting as well as I ever have.鈥 Never mind that comparisons to her peak as World Number One and major champion naturally arise as a result. Forget that she鈥檚 a proud mother of two and a mere year removed from picking up a racket in earnest.
In any case, Wozniacki no doubt drew from her experience in forging her latest triumph. She had previously won six of 14 matches against Kvitova, including the last, a three-setter at the WTA Finals in Singapore. It may have been half a decade ago, but it nonetheless appeared to be significant in fueling her self-assurance. As she noted in her post-mortem yesterday, 鈥渨e knew each other鈥檚 game very well. I鈥檓 just so happy that I was the one who came out on top today.鈥 Indeed, although for a while there, she seemed to let nerves get the better of her. Leading five to four in the second set, she wasted two match points and allowed her opponent to force a tiebreak. She righted the ship on time, though, taking care of business to advance to the third round in style.
Up next for Wozniacki is 433rd-ranked Jennifer Brady, and another victory looks to be in the cards. Although the latter is likewise in a resurgence after a three-set upset of Magda Linette, she鈥檚 heavily favored to advance to the Round of 16 and set a possible meeting with crowd favorite Coco Gauff. Make no mistake. She knows she鈥檚 in 鈥渁 dream come true. If you had asked me three years ago, I would have said I鈥檒l never be back here.鈥 All the same, she鈥檚 bent on showing nothing but her best from here on. There are no limits to excellence, and she鈥檚 living proof of the tenet.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
