Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday made a successful return to tennis after a hiatus of 3 and a half years from the game. She beat Australia’s Kimberley Birrell in straight sets in Round 1 of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, to ensure that a mouthwatering Round 2 clash with current Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova will take place. During her hiatus, women’s tennis has seen a lot of changes such as Serena Williams retiring from the game, the emergence of new talents such as Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka as well as there being a 2-time World No.1 player, Iga Swiatek.
Prior to the Danish star calling it quits at the start of 2020, she took on Swiatek in the only match they have played against each so far in a women’s singles event. Coincidentally, that event was the Rogers Cup in 2019 and it was in the Round of 32. Both Wozniacki and Swiatek are playing in the 2023 edition and could clash again should both advance further.
Wozniacki continues winning streak against qualifiers
In 2019, Caroline Wozniacki was seeded 15th while Iga Swiatek was a qualifier. And it was the Polish superstar who won in a 3-set nail-biter. The win, in a way, made Swiatek announce herself on the WTA Tour. The irony is that now, Swiatek is the top seed while Wozniacki is a wildcard at the Rogers Cup, which will also be the case at the US Open 2023.
3 – Caroline Wozniacki has won her last three matches against a qualifier – the last time she lost to such an opponent was at the Canadian Open 2019, vs Iga Swiatek when the current #1 was ranked #65. Twist.#OBN23 | @OBNmontreal @WTA_insider @WTA
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 8, 2023
The 2019 match was also the last time Wozniacki lost to a qualifier. In that match, the Dane was quick to win the first set, 6-1. However, with a few breaks of serve and aggressive tennis on the baseline, Swiatek clinched the second set 6-3. In the final set, Swiatek won some big moments as Wozniacki stumbled under pressure, with the Polish star completing an unexpected, grand comeback with a 6-4 win. Although Swiatek won the match, she lost the following one to Naomi Osaka.
Iga Swiatek set to surpass Caroline Wozniacki’s No. 1 Record
Iga Swiatek has been the World No.1’s women’s tennis player for 71 weeks now. It has made her the player who is the 10th best when it comes to the most number of weeks on being on top of the rankings. What it also means is that Swiatek has now equaled Wozniacki’s feat, who was World No.1 herself from 2010-2011 and briefly in 2018 as well. With both of them tied, the 9th position belongs to USA’s Lindsay Davenport, who was World No.1 for 98 weeks.
At 36 with two children, Wozniacki might not have it easy to make a comeback. The upcoming match against Vondrusova might give fans a good idea about this being a possibility. But if she does win, she might gain a lot of confidence entering the US Open as a wildcard. From there on, she may harbor hopes of challenging Swiatek’s might, who has arguably been the most versatile player considering all surfaces and venues.
