Riding solo, Caroline Wozniacki sets eye on first Grand Slam win

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Some does it better alone. After golfing sensation Rory McIlroy, now it's the turn of Caroline Wozniacki to ride solo and high. The former world number one reached her second US Open final. And it came after she was dumped publicly by McIlroy in May.

Since then, the Northern Irish golfer went on to win some of the biggest golf titles as his profile continues to grow. The 25-year-old had not won a Major for the previous two years, but this year captured the British Open and US PGA Championship, thus doubling his Slam count.

In contrast, the Dane's tennis career was seemingly going haywire post split. Just after the break-up, she suffered a Roland Garros melt-down, exiting the tournament in the first round itself – her earliest loss for seven years there.

However, the 24-year-old has found the form of her life, winning 17 out of 21 matches after the French Open. And more importantly, found another shot at a Grand Slam title. In the final, she will fight her new friend and defending champion Serena Williams as she hope to capture her elusive target.

On Saturday, Wozniacki qualified for the final at Flushing Meadows, after China's Peng Shuai retired in the second semi-final of the women's singles competition. The Dane was leading 7-6 (7-1) 4-3 when the Chinese was helped off the court for medical attention, and had to retire shortly after that.

Wozniacki is one of the few players who has, so far, failed to win a Major title despite being a top-ranked player in the world. The former world no.1 has only ever made one Slam final, at Flushing Meadows five years ago.

During her relationship of nearly three years with McIlroy, her win-lost record was a lowly 37-21 for a former top player. Her ranking dropped as low as 18 at one point and many more first round exits. Her only notable performance during the period was a lone semi-final at the US Open in 2011.

But it seems, everything is working fine for Wozniacki since the break-up. She won Istanbul Cup in July, then made the semis and quarters in Montreal and Cincinnati – both times losing to Serena in three sets. A couple of days back, she even shared a "'this is me' shoot" for a JBS underwear campaign in micro-blogging site, Twitter. If everything goes well, she could well end her Slam drought this weekend in New York.

#tbt 'this is me' shoot.. pic.twitter.com/77qOfQUley — Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) September 4, 2014