Fall and injury end Caroline Wozniacki’s winning streak

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Caroline WozniackiTop seed Caroline Wozniacki fell during the first set of her semifinal against seventh seed Vera Zvonareva at the Family Circle Cup, injured her right ankle, retired and ended her eight-match winning streak.

The semifinal started off in favor of Zvonareva, who raced to a 3-0 lead. Last year’s Charleston finalist Wozniacki, after short consultations with her father, won her first game in the match, but shortly after, during one point in the seventh game, she fell and lay on the green clay in tears.  A medical timeout followed and even though Wozniacki returned to the court she very soon retired, at 5-2 in the first set.

The world No.2 Wozniacki should next play the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, if her injury heals in time.

Zvonareva’s opponent in the final will be the winner of the match between Samantha Stosur and Daniela Hantuchova. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

28 COMMENTS

  1. I watched the match on TV. I didn’t know she was injured, until she cried and had a medical timeout.

    Marija, do you think she’ll skip some upcoming tournaments?

  2. Never like to see a match won or lost like this but, in all honesty, i’m glad that Vera got through to the final.

    She’s had a rough time herself with injuries and it’s great to see her finding some form again 🙂

    Got to fancy her to beat either Sam or Daniela in the final!

  3. Mentari, I’m still not sure how serious the injury is. She was able to stand on her foot so that is a good sign.

    Tony, and after all she was dominating the match when Wozniacki was still healthy.

  4. Vera was very nice to Caro while handshaking because she understands her very well. Remember what happend to her last year. It was so sad to see Caro like that 🙁

  5. I think she needs to slow down a little. I really would not like to see a repetition of Doha.Get well soon, Wozzy.

  6. I think the reason of Wozniack’s stragety ‘I’ll play every tournament if I can’, was to reach the number one ranking. It back fired. Wozniacki and her team did not learn the lesson from last year, I hope this is a wake a call. Pam Shriver said there was, “A soft spot on the ranking”, I’m guessing she was referring to Caroline, she also said that Caroline has not beaten a number one or a number two ranked player.

    Like I said previously Caroline’s game has improved, the point where she got injure was amazingly played. What was the rush to be rank number one? As oppose to doing it steadily step by step.

    Get well Wozzy, and remember the definition of stupidity: When a person does the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

    Ms. Marija do you think this strategy is still worth it?

  7. Carlos, I know you’re always attacking Wozniacki’s habit of playing a lot of tournaments, but this injury in particular was a consequence of an incident, she fell, it wasn’t that her body was drained. If the strategy is bringing injuries, and entering too many tournaments is definitely increasing the risk, it is so not worth it, of course. Thorough plan is always necessary.

  8. I agree with you Marija. I think that it’s really unfair to put her down and claim she doesn’t deserve her ranking. Because to climb to no.2 or no.1 spot one does not only need to “play” the a lot of tournaments, they need to win them or go far in most of them. It is no cakewalk, you know. Ranking is fair because it rewards consistency and hard work. So what she has not beaten a no.1 player yet, she is just 19 and have beaten a lot of great players with much more experience than her.
    You need to realise that top 100 WTA is a tiny proportion of the most talented tennis players in the world, therefore beating anybody from those players is an achievement.

  9. Marine, that’s right, we often forget how difficult it is to be a Top 100 player. We take it for granted when we watch those players.

  10. Ms. Marija I’m not attacking Wozniacki I’m merely pointing out the obvious. When ESPN analyst are saying what I been saying all a long, it is as obvious as the sun shinning on a clear summer day. I know the exact reason why you defend this “strategy”. What makes you think I’m attacking Wozzy? For the record I root for her when I have the chance to see her play.

    Ms. Marija and Ms. Marine, every sport is tough to make it, whether an athlete plays in the MLB or the NFL or the NBA, or any other sport, not only tennis, but you already knew that. Only those select few who excel in their sport are call superstars who later become legends. So which one is Wozniacki? If she is a superstar, why rush things and risk a burn out or an injury. If she is a solid player and not a superstar then this cheap back door shenanigan that has catapulted her to the number 2 spot cheapens the game of tennis/rankings IMO. Don’t get me wrong I like the kid, she is like a giant stuff bunny 😛 (actually my sister says that). I questioned her defensive style of play before, but she has improved, proving me wrong, which is always good. 🙂 Right now this is my only beef. If I’m critical is because I expect better from Wozniacki not for her to use short cuts.

    Do you ladies think she is a drama queen?

  11. Carlos, I didn’t say you were attacking Wozniacki, but her habit of playing a lot of tournaments. Why do you think I defend this strategy, because of Jankovic? 🙂

    Wozniacki is definitely one of the select few that excel in the sport, although she is not even near some of the tennis legends, but that’s like of course.

    Do I think she is a drama queen? Well, when she fell on the court with her latest injury, that thing came to my mind, but I have no solid reasons to call her a drama queen. Would you call her that way?

  12. I think it is a sad trend in the fan circles these days when people tend to show little appreciation for the players who did not win a grand slam. In the past it used to be different, there was even a term “a champion without a grand slam” to give them credit they deserve. Players like Wozniacki or Safina grind the tour,they give it their all.I think their road is much more difficult than for the winners of slams therefore if they have the ability to climb up the rankings and even surpass people who won a grandslam I think they are without a doubt a champion.
    The number of grand slam does not automatically means determines the quality of the player. Ivanovic is a winner of a slam, but her game at the moment is not as good as the game of many other players who have never won a slam before. And I am a big Ana’s fan, but this is the sad reality.

  13. You are right Ms. Marija, you didn’t say that I was attacking Wozniacki, you said that I was attacking her habit of playing a lot of tournaments, my bad, I apologize -note to self: don’t speed read, it leads to embarrassing situation-.

    Yes, I tend to think you defend this strategy because of Jankovic 🙂 . If I recall correctly you did say that I was attacking JJ when I criticized her for using this strategy to reach the number one ranking. 🙂

    I do think Wozniacki is a drama queen, she throws her racket when she gets frustrated or angry, argues with umpires when calls don’t go her way, and I think she exaggerates when she gets injure, remember Doha and AO 10 against Li Na? It is hard to think of the Big Lovable Stuffed Bunny this way because of her big smile.

  14. Ms. Marine point taken, but it comes down to consistency vs important titles. I prefer important titles. I’ve talked previously about this subject, Ms. Marija disagreed with me and Ms. Ella agreed with me. No matter the sport everyone remembers who was the champion not the runner-up. When a tennis player wins a grand slam it brings prestige like an actor winning an Oscar. The Oscar winner for best male or female actor it will always be remember as an Oscar winner as a tennis player winning a grand slam will always be remember as a grand slam winner. Yes, there have been one slam wonders like Myskina and actors who probably did not deserve to win an Oscar. To me it means the winner of a slam didn’t choke in the big stage like Dinara did in RG 09 or Dementieva when she played against Myskina in RG 04, or Jana Novatna when she faced Steffi Graff in the Wimbledon 93 final, just to mention a few examples. You mentioned you are an Ivanovic fan, if Ivanovic and JJ retire right now, first thing that would come up is that Ana is a grand slam winner, JJ isn’t. They will say that Ana at her peak did win a grand slam JJ didn’t. Here in the U.S. the only thing that people care are titles, this may sound rude to you, but to me, “A champion without title” means a choker, someone who could never get over the hump, someone who couldn’t step it up when the time came, an athlete not good enough to win, a bridesmaid.

  15. Carlos, what about this perspective: a movie was watched and liked by millions of people, but failed to win an Oscar? 🙂

    Wozniacki in Doha was a horrible sight, and I wouldn’t call that just a drama because I don’t know how I would look in that situation. I feel bad even with a little cut on my finger. 😛 But I’m not denying she is one, I’m just cautious of calling her that way just yet.

  16. Ms. Marija good perspective! That movie was Saving Private Ryan who lost to Shakespeare In Love. 😛 I’ll answer your perspective with this perspective: would you watch movies that have the same ending? When before hand you know how is going to end? 🙂 The objective of an athlete is to win, to do better then expected, or to improve from the previous performance.

    As far as Wozniacki and the cramps, do you remember Serena against Dani H. ? I think it was Wimbledon, when Serena had cramps, she was in pain but she didn’t threw herself to the ground. Serena won the match (that pretty sums up Dani’s career). I came to the conclusion the Big Lovable Stuffed Bunny likes attention, people who like attention crave for attention who later become drama queens.

  17. Carlos, I don’t watch movies much, but why not, I know people who watched some movies many times.

    Yes, it was Wimbledon. Haha “that pretty sums up Dani’s career”. Well, as I said, I’m not sure about Wozniacki, could be…

  18. Ok, Carlos, I understand the way you see it. I see things differently. I think the importance of the title needs to be “confirmed” by the overall performance. So, if someone wins a slam but does not perform consistently apart from that I do not see them better than someone who does not win a slam but goes far and does win WTA tournaments (premier and the like).
    The comparison with Oscar is also a very good one: when a film does win an Oscar it does not mean it has to be a great film.

  19. Ms. Marija, I’m one of those people who sees a movie many times if I really like it. But to see different movies with the same ending is not my cup of tea.

    Ms. Marine, I see your point of view, our points of view are the reverse of each other, mine is: The overall performance is “confirmed” by how many titles are won. You are absolutely right, just because a player wins an important title doesn’t mean that player is good=fluke.

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