Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open on Tuesday with a ruthless 6-0 6-2 win over wounded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.
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Two-time US Open finalist Wozniacki proved too good for Sevastova, who was hampered by an injury to her right ankle throughout the contest, to reach the fifth Grand Slam semi-final of her career.
Caroline Wozniacki, derailed this year by an ankle injury which sent her career into a tailspin, and Anastasija Sevastova, who quit the sport three years ago, set up a US Open quarter-final duel.
“I’m not surprised that I could make it this far because I always believe in myself and I always think that when I got on court I always believe that I’ll win the match”.
“Even if I had no injury, it would’ve been tough to beat her”.
After her quarter-final victory against Sevastova, Wozniacki dismissed speculation regarding retirement. “When I feel ready to open up and say something, then I will”. However, Wozniacki leads Kerber 5-4 on hard court and has the tennis IQ and court coverage to give the German issues. After about 11/2 years away, during which she studied accounting and marketing in Austria, Sevastova chose to give the sport another go.
Wozniacki continued her resurgence with a commanding 6-3 6-1 win over Romania’s Monica Niculescu.
While not competing, Wozniacki kept her social-media channels busy with red-carpet launches and photo-shoots, including her body-painted appearance for Sports Illustrated.
The hype will be real, the stadium (likely with a closed roof) will be loud and the result will be meaningful for both players. “She’s obviously very passionate”, said Wozniacki. After impressing everyone in Paris with the French Open title, she has failed to back her wonderful feat and has only extended her Grand Slam woes.
“Seeing it on TV is one thing, but I was feeling how deep she’s hitting the ball and feeling like I can’t get on the offense right away”, Keys said after their match. “It’s not going to be an easy one, but I’m excited just to have another shot”, said the Dane.
It was the first time in 89 years that three French men had reached the quarter-finals of the U.S. championships.
“I remember the semis in 2011”.
After rallying from a set and a break down in her opening match and then coming back from 5-1 down in the third to beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka, Keys could not find a way past the former world No.1. “It’s really nice to be back here, it’s a special tournament”, Kerber said.
“I never wrote a message to anybody during a match before, but I thought, why not?” he said.
“Semis! Was a really close match today, so glad that we came back after losing the first set, and won the super tiebreaker 13-11 at the end!”
Tuesday’s victory, however, should be tempered by a ragged outing by Sevastova, who proudly wore an “I love Liepaja” hat in honor of her seaside village from which Kristaps Porzingis of the Knicks also hails.
“I think I was just a little extra focused”, Wozniacki said.
If the German prevails on Thursday and goes on to dethrone Williams as world number one, Wozniacki will be one of the first to congratulate her coffee club friend.
Sevastova had not won a match in NY since 2010 before this year and with her career unravelling she quit in May 2013 to study leisure management in Austria.
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