Don't hate the player, hate the game.
I offer that eloquent lyric to you folks who are ready to throw tomatoes at Caroline Wozniacki when she arrives in the United States, or picket her matches with signs screaming "The Great Dane?"
There's really no need for all that. As Steve Tignor and Kamakshi Tandon explored in great detail on Wednesday and Thursday, Wozniacki's reclaiming of the No. 1 ranking is partly merit-based and partly attributable to the system under which all WTA players compete. Kamakshi said it best in that the rankings exist "to decide who should get into which tournaments," not to determine the best player. The tournaments themselves do that, and in a very cut-and-dry way, I should add. We can debate who should be seeded higher, not who should be champion. Leave that to college football.
So yes, it would probably be irritating—to Wozniacki, more than anyone—if she didn't go on to win this tournament, the Dubai Championships. But even if she doesn't, she's still the No. 1 player in the world. The best player in the world? The tennis never lies.
It won't be easy for Wozniacki; she'll next face either Samantha Stosur or Jelena Jankovic. But after her 6-2, 6-4 decision over Shahar Peer, Wozniacki is definitely a clear favorite either way. Surrendering just six games to a player of Peer's caliber is impressive, no matter if it's in a Premier event or a Grand Slam.
The win was especially impressive considering the circumstances. At any other tournament, a quarterfinal between Wozniacki and Peer would be contested on the showiest court available. Because of security measures, today's match was scheduled on Court 2; all other singles contests were held on Centre Court. By now, Peer is probably used to this environment; her comments this week suggested as much. But for Wozniacki, who usually battles under the brightest lights, the experience must have been a strange one.
Unlike having the number "1" next to her name, which she'll experience for the second time come Monday.
—Ed McGrogan