Wozniacki faces a new line of inquiry at Wimbledon
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki returns a forehand to France's Virginie Razzano during their match at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, Friday, June 24, 2011. AP
WIMBLEDON—Still waiting for her first Grand Slam title, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki is used to answering questions about whether she deserves her No. 1 ranking.
On Friday, after beating Virginie Razzano of France 6-1, 6-3 in the second round at Wimbledon, the Dane faced a new line of inquiry: Did she share Serena Williams’ sense of being snubbed by organizers for being put on Court 2?
Wozniacki is the third woman in the last three years to reach the top ranking without having won a major title — and she has been getting grilled about that fact for months.
“I think I deserve to be where I am. I won so many tournaments already, five this year,” said Wozniacki, who lost in the third round at the French Open. “I’m playing good tennis. I’m young. I’m competitive. My time will come.”
Even if she fails to win at Wimbledon, the Dane is guaranteed to stay as No. 1 until at least Aug. 1.
Against Razzano, Wozniacki finished the match with only one unforced error.
Some were left wondering if the All England Club made an error in scheduling her match on Court 2 instead of on Centre Court or Court 1 — a complaint lodged by four-time Wimbledon champion Williams after she played on Court 2 Thursday.
“Obviously I think I deserve to play on one of the bigger courts. Obviously, everyone wants to play in there,” said Wozniacki, the 2006 Wimbledon junior champion who has yet to even reach the quarterfinals in the main draw. “It’s up to the tournament to decide where we’re going to play.
I just go out there and I try to win. I’m a competitor, so it really doesn’t matter.”
Williams criticized officials for sticking her and older sister Venus, a five-time champion, on Court 2 for one match each this week. Tournament spokesman Johnny Perkins said there was no intentional snub, but Andy Roddick said it was a bit of a shock to see Serena placed in the smaller stadium.
“If it wasn’t a little surprising, we wouldn’t be talking about it,” said Roddick, who lost to Feliciano Lopez of Spain 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the third round Friday. “So there’s got to be something to it. … We were all pretty surprised about it, I’ve got to be honest, when we saw it.”
Venus played, and won, on Court 1 on Friday. She was asked about the Court 2 issue after beating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-0, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have played all of their matches this week in the two principal stadiums, and Venus was asked by a reporter about a “perception that it’s the women” who get short shrift by being sent to Court 2.
“Well, I think you made your own observations already,” Venus responded. “I think go ahead and write what you feel is the truth and what’s right.”
She made sure to note that she doesn’t have any problems with Court 2 itself.
“Court 2 is a solid court,” Venus said. “I mean, like I said before, I’m grateful that it didn’t rain when I played on Court 2. When I played on Centre, I was grateful to be able to play that match when it rained and I was under the roof. So it’s all worked out pretty well for me so far.”
Wozniacki fared well on the smaller court, too. She had two aces and watched her opponent make 14 unforced errors. But she saw also something not often seen during a Grand Slam tennis match — a ball seemingly falling from the sky.
Leading 5-2 in the second set, Wozniacki held her second match point when Razzano was about to hit a winner. But the Dane held up her hand as a stray ball landed on Court 2 — perhaps from a neighboring court — and disrupted her concentration.
The point was replayed and Razzano won it again, eventually holding serve.
“Well, I think that ball came from the other court. I saw it coming,” said Wozniacki, who held serve in the next game to win the match. “I saw it moving into the court. Then I asked for replaying the point.”
