NEW YORK—Dumping a drop shot into the net from point-blank range, Caroline Wozniacki playfully dribbled the mis-behaving ball with her white adidas' while her soccer-playing dad and head coach, Piotr, peered over her shoulder from behind a pair of shades inside the player box in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Even when she made errors, the world No. 1 found ways to give flashes of frustration—and feisty Vania King—the boot. The top seed reeled off seven straight games mid match en route to a 6-2, 6-4 triumph to step into the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the fourth consecutive season.
It was Wozniacki’s seventh straight win and sent her into the round of 16 for the ninth time in her last 10 majors. The much-maligned Dane is playing some of her best tennis in a while—she’s surrendered just 12 games in three matches here—though she created some complications in completing today’s one hour, 36-minute match. Wozniacki served for it at 5-3, but went into prevent defense mode as King cracked a bold backhand winner down the line to break for 4-5.
In her first appearance on Ashe since she partnered Yaroslava Shvedova to win the 2010 U.S. Open doubles crown, the 103rd-ranked King knew she had to play high-risk tennis to trouble Wozniacki, and did so successfully at times. Ultimately, Wozniacki played a cleaner match, making just 17 errors compared to 39 for the 22-year-old Long Beach native.
Quick court coverage, unerring consistency and her willingness to grind from the baseline has earned Wozniacki the "Golden Retriever" nickname that some view as a derisive tag, highlighting her rep as a punchless counterpuncher who can struggle to finish points. Skeptics say defensive specialists don’t win majors these days. Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 Roland Garros, in part, because of her ability to attack net on pivotal points, but Wozniacki has the ability to play more offensively from the baseline while she works with adidas coaches Sven Groenefeld and Mats Merkel to develop a transition game. Wozniacki, who is at her best playing shot combinations, hits with more topspin than most members of the Top 10 and would be well served hitting deep, heavy topspin forehands to push opponents behind the baseline, create court space, and then work the short-angle forehand or strike her kill shot, the down-the-line backhand. In short, vary the height and depth of her drives.
Wozniacki didn’t do a lot of that today, relying on her legs and corner-to-corner consistency in fighting off three break points to hold for 3-2. She caught King trying to close the net and stretched her enough to coax a volley error and break for 4-2, part of a seven-game surge that saw her seize a 6-2, 3-0 lead. The American closed to 2-3 and took treatment to tape up her strained left thigh serving at 4-5, but Wozniacki used a lob winner and successive King errors to seal it and prompt the obligatory "Sweet Caroline" serenade over the sound system.
It’s hard to quibble with her performance through three rounds, though Wozniacki will likely need to amp up her aggression if she's to continue to get her kicks. A possible clash with former U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova looms next.
—Richard Pagliaro