
Set points: Caro tops seeding, not billing
Michael Beattie
Wozniacki will be the No.1 seed in New York in Serena Williams’ absence, but the bookies are backing Clijsters and Sharapova
If Energiser aren’t intent on joining Babolat and adidas in backing Caroline Wozniacki, they’ve missed a trick. While most of the single-figure seeds for this year’s US Open are rolling into New York for the main event this week, Little Miss Sunshine is a little further north, bidding to win the Pilot Pen Tennis title in New Haven for a third year running.
And she’s just been named that most single of single-figure seedings: No.1. In the wake of the news that Serena Williams hasn’t recovered from foot surgery in time to compete at this year’s US Open, the world No.2 has been installed as the tournament’s top seed.
Sam Stosur, seeded No.5 for the year’s last Slam, is in New Haven too, but the Australian is desperately seeking some court time after a summer schedule ruined by an arm injury. Wozniacki has no such agenda – and, after emerging from the sodden chaos of the Rogers Cup with the biggest title of her career to date, few would have held a late withdrawal against her.
Not a bit of it. Even as the rain washed out her semi-final against Svetlana Kuznetsova for the second day running on Sunday, Wozniacki was tweeting fans to tell them that she would still be in New Haven, even after playing both the semi and final in Montreal in the same day.
“I have a bye so I wouldn’t play there until Wednesday,” she told the world in 140-key form. There are matches to be played, and a title to be won, after all. And with a bit of diary re-jigging, she can pencil a few hours sleep in for late September.
![]() |
| Not just a pretty face: the face of Stella McCartney's collaboration with adidas, the world No.2 is a dream for the game's marketeers |
And yet: does anyone consider Caroline Wozniacki the top contender for the US Open title? Is last year’s runner-up, at a career-high ranking, with her biggest title to date in the bag and – in all probability – a potential $2.7 million in prize money waiting for her, set to go one better in 2010?
Not according to the bookies, it would seem. Ahead of Thursday’s draw, Wozniacki is available at 9/1 with some betting firms, behind defending champion and No.2 seed Kim Clijsters at a best price of 4/1 and former champ Maria Sharapova at 9/2. Victoria Azarenka is available at 10/1, with Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova at 16/1 after finding some hard-court form this summer.
![]() |
| Pop star: Wozniacki has added power and attacking verve to her game this summer |
In contrast, Caro looks fighting fit. We’re accustomed to the ‘burnout’ calls when players turn out in back-to-back tournaments – and doing so the week before a Grand Slam is virtually certifiable. But it’s Wozniacki’s way – the method that has seen her rise to No.2 in the world, no less – and seeing as she went the distance in 2009, who are we to say different?
Perhaps it’s her playing style. Moonballs, no matter how effective at keeping a point alive, are hardly crowd-pleasers or a statement of technical brilliance. They have become the caricature of Wozniacki’s game, the go-to gripe like Andy Murray’s ‘drop shot obsession’ a few years back.
But like Murray, Wozniacki has adopted a more attacking approach in America. She has ramped up the power, shortened the points and gone for more winners than we’ve seen before. Her first serve has more pop, and her ground strokes, particularly the forehand, have been more penetrative. She has even experimented with her volleys, though a couple of glances at the drawing board may be in order before that enters her repertoire on a regular basis.
So what’s not to like about Little Miss Sunshine heading to New York? The greatest threat at any Grand Slam is missing. The remaining big guns are nursing various ailments. She’s in fine form – and, of the pretenders to the throne that have found themselves in her position in the past – the Ivanovics, Jankovics and Safinas – she seems to have the head to deal with the spotlight, a trait that could prove crucial.
“It's a great honour to be the No.1 seed in a Grand Slam, but I don't think it changes much and it won't put any added pressure on me,” Wozniacki said when the news broke. “You still have to go out and play the matches. I go out every time trying to win.
The one remaining question mark is her record against the game’s top players. To date she has just one win against a current or former world No.1 – Amelie Mauresmo. But in her current form, and with her front-foot approach, Wozniacki fears no-one.
“A seed is just a number on the court,” she added. “I just want to beat all the girls along the way.”
The stage, it would seem, is set.

