Caroline Wozniacki rolled up her sleeves and battled back from a set down to defeat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 at the WTA Championships on Thursday to reach the semi-finals and sew up the year-end world No. 1 ranking.
Also in the Maroon Group, Australia’s Samantha Stosur lost 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to Elena Dementieva of Russia, but by winning the first set booked her place in the last four.
Belgium’s Kim Clijsters beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals from the White Group along with Russia’s Vera Zvonareva.
Photo: EPA
Wozniacki needed two wins in the Qatari capital to ensure she could not be caught at the top of the rankings by Zvonareva.
After blowing away Dementieva in her group opener, the Dane suffered a shock defeat to Stosur on Wednesday to give Zvonareva hope, but the 20-year-old made no mistake against Schiavone.
“Francesca was playing really good in the first set and I didn’t have too many chances to break her,” Wozniacki said in a court-side interview. “I just hung in there and kept my focus, tried to get a little more aggressive and not let her dictate the game in the second and third.”
Wozniacki was delighted to finish the year as the world’s top player.
“That’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl,” she said. “I’m really happy and proud of what I’ve achieved this year.”
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