World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is still looking for her first Grand Slam title, but recent form suggest that it may not come at the Australian Open, which begins this weekend in Melbourne.
Wozniacki was upset by Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 6-3 in her opening match at the Sydney International on Tuesday. The defeat follows two straight-sets losses by Wozniacki to No. 2-ranked Vera Zvonareva and U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters in exhibition events in Singapore and Hong Kong last week.
“At the start of the new season you need to get into match play. I didn’t feel I was playing great tennis out there,” the 20-year-old Wozniacki said. “Now I just need to get some training matches, head to Melbourne and get ready for the Australian Open. Last year I had the same start, so hopefully slow start, good finish.”
In 2010 Wozniacki lost in the fourth round at the Aussie Open. She is the first top-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the Sydney International since 2003.
Wozniacki ascended to the top spot after six tournament victories last season, but without winning a Grand Slam title, a position that has proved to be a poisoned chalice in recent years. Both Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic experienced dramatic slumps after reaching No. 1 in similar circumstances. Wozniacki has only even reached one Slam final, that coming at the 2009 U.S. Open. She hasn’t won a tournament since getting to No. 1 in October.
“(I just need) to get everything together, all the puzzles together that I’ve been working on, and to make everything function and not just one thing and then the other thing isn’t working. I want everything to just click,” she said.
Wozniacki is the second-favorite on Bodog for the year’s first major at 9/2. Clijsters is the favorite at 5/2. Last year’s runner-up, Justine Henin, is next at 6/1.
Remember the world No. 4 and reigning Australian Open champion Serena Williams won’t be in the tournament this year as she recovers from a foot injury.
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