After enduring a season marred by injury, Caroline Wozniacki has already set out big plans for her first tournament of 2017.
The former world No.1 arrived in New Zealand earlier this week, where she will play in the upcoming ASB Classic in Auckland. It will be Wozniacki’s third consecutive appearance at the tournament, which is in its 32nd edition. In previous years the Dane had been agonisingly close to lifting the Auckland title, settling for runner-up in 2015.
Wozniacki’s return to the event has been somewhat overshadowed by the appearance of another player, Serena Williams. The 22-time grand slam champion will headline the women’s draw in what will be her debut at the tournament. Williams is set to play her first competitive match since the US Open after ending her season early due to a shoulder injury.
With Williams likely to be standing in Wozniacki’s path to the title, the 26-year-old is hoping to end her seven-match losing streak against the American. The two have played each other 11 times on the WTA Tour, including the 2014 US Open final. Wozniacki’s sole victory occurred in 2012 when she disposed of Williams in straight sets at the Miami Open.
“We always have some hard battles,” Wozniacki told the New Zealand Herald.
“Unfortunately most of them Serena won but it has been close. I hope it’s my time to get out on top now.”
Closing out her year by winning the Hong Kong Open followed by withdrawing from a tournament in Luxembourg due to illness, 2016 has been a roller coaster year for Wozniacki. At her low point, she dropped down to 74th in the world in August after missing the entire clay court leg of the tour due to an ankle injury. Nevertheless, she still managed to end the season in the top 20 thanks to a strong end of the year, including an unexpected run to the semifinals of the US Open.
“I never doubted myself,” said Wozniaki. “I had a bad injury that took me out of the game for quite some time. I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent comfortable coming back and was maybe lacking the last five or 10 per cent. So I think it’s normal to drop down a bit after an injury. But I always believe in myself and I know I can win against anyone on the tour.”
Besides illness and injury, Wozniacki had another issue to address – retirement. During the final major of the year, multiple Danish news sources reported her father as saying that she was plotting her retirement from the sport. Since then, she has cooled the speculation and vowed to continue playing.
“I [will] continue playing as long as I have fun playing tennis,” said Wozniacki. “Right now I’m enjoying my time on the court.”
The ASB Classic will get underway next Monday with four top 20 players set to take part (Serena and Venus Williams, Wozniacki and Barbora Strýcová).
