VIDEO: Wozniacki furious over blown call

Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki didn't start their respective 2014 tennis seasons well. At one point, Sharapova was in danger of falling out of the WTA tour's Top 10, and Wozniacki did just that. And yet. Sharapova is back at No. 2 now, and, though she would never say it, seeking to loosen Serena Williams' stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking. Wozniacki had a rough season but fought her way to the U.S. Open final and landed in the Top 8 for the WTA Finals in Singapore. There are reasons why these are two of the great battlers in pro tennis, and they showed it in their first round-robin match in Singapore, won 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 6-2 by Wozniacki.

The match was not without its drama, of course, as could be expected by its run time of three hours, 13 minutes. (It lasted just one minute shorter than the 1998 film Titanic.) Wozniacki contested a blown line call at a pivotal moment late in the second set.

Chair umpire Eva Asderaki refused to overrule a line judge's call, and Wozniacki approached her, frustrated and borderline furious (by her standards), even smacking her racquet face on the net cord thrice. Asderaki did not relent, though, and Wozniacki faced set point. She ultimately held that service game, forcing a tiebreak, which Sharapova won. That's when Woz became vintage Woz, proving herself the far fresher of the two in the deciding set and running away with it, 6-2.

Afterward, both players criticized the (lack of) lighting in the Singapore stadium.

Even so, being that this was a round-robin affair, each has an opportunity to burn quite brightly and take the title. If she turns around her campaign in this event, Sharapova may yet seize the No. 1 ranking from Serena—but this loss put an exhausting damper on that hope.

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