Kerber could dethrone Serena Williams, who she has already faced in the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals this year, on top of the world rankings if results go her way. Such was Kerber’s confidence that she raced to a 4-0 lead in just 16 minutes.
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Before this tournament, Sevastova’s best Grand Slam run was reaching the fourth round at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to – it just so happens – Wozniacki in their only previous meeting.
“For me, it’s just wonderful to be after Steffi the next No. 1 player in Germany”, said Kerber, who at 28 will also be the oldest player to reach the top of the rankings.
Wozniacki, whose ranking has slipped to 74 after a long absence to fight an ankle injury, goes on to face either USA eighth seed Madison Keys or Naomi Osaka of Japan for a quarter-final slot.
She added: “I don’t want to really talk about that now”.
Nine of the top 10 women tennis players in the world have confirmed that they would take part in this year’s tournament, the Wuhan Open organizing committee said.
Sevastova had never been past the fourth round of a slam, and her best result in NY were second-round berths in 2009 and 2010, but her run this year was one of the best storylines of this year’s tournament.
“She’s an incredible mover”, said Keys, who was bidding for her first US Open quarterfinal.
“To reach the semis here again means a lot to me”. “The main thing is that when I’m on court I have to believe in myself”. Just as she had after her quarterfinal victory, Wozniacki declined to address a question about reports that her father told media she could retire in the next year or two.
“I’m still trying to stay focused on match to match”, Kerber said.
“Well, I have had – I had some tough matches against her in the past”. She broke Kerber in the fifth game, and fought off two set points in the ninth game to get to 4-5, but Kerber won the set on serve when Wozniacki’s return went wide on set point.
“It s fun but also frustrating”, said 2009 and 2014 runner-up Wozniacki of her opponent s unusual style. “I hope that you guys will support me a lot”, Kerber said.
Even having her right ankle heavily strapped did nothing to improve her chances of becoming the first Latvian woman to reach the last-four at a Grand Slam.
Wozniacki continued her resurgence with a commanding 6-3 6-1 win over Romania’s Monica Niculescu.
Her mother cooks and does laundry for Wozniacki while she’s here, too.
“She’s a tough player”.
According to Sina, with Wozniacki’s entry, the 2016 Wuhan Open would feature eight Grand Slam winners and five former world No. 1.
Of course, she does get preferential treatment, being that she’s Caroline Wozniacki.
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Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, tweeted Tuesday about the decision to step away from the tour until 2017 – making the announcement one week after losing in the first round of the U.S. Open.
