2009 SUMMARY
Titles Won: Ponte Vedra Beach, Eastbourne, New Haven
Best Grand Slam Result: Runner-up: US Open
Win/Loss Record: 65-22
Record Against Top 10: 4-4
SEC History: Making tournament debut
Wozniacki's Sony Ericsson WTA Tour bio
Has any player worked as hard for her spot at the Sony Ericsson Championships - Doha 2009 as Caroline Wozniacki has? Possibly not, if playing more matches, and indeed winning more matches, is an appropriate test. The 19-year-old Dane arrives with a win-loss record of 65-22 for the season - which means she's won 10 matches more than any other player. Her three tournament wins is also a benchmark shared with an elite group: Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva and Victoria Azarenka.
But tournament wins were actually nothing new for the youngster, who was voted Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Newcomer of the Year for 2008 after lifting three trophies in the second half of the season. So far the real breakthrough in 2009 has been her run to the final at the US Open - an especially important achievement for the fact Wozniacki had never previously been past the fourth round in 10 Grand Slam main draws, and was the highest ranked player never to have reached the last eight at one of the majors.
After the US Open, Wozniacki, who first hit the Top10 in May after her runner-up finish to Safina at Madrid, made her Top 5 debut, confirming her status as the preeminent new star on the Tour. What has set her apart from her youthful peers is her upward trajectory and consistency through the year, while others have surged and stalled. Azarenka had a far better first half of the season, while Agnieszka Radwanska only retrieved her Top 10 ranking in recent weeks. Meantime Dominika Cibulkova has been struck by injury; Alizé Cornet a crisis of confidence and form.
Photo Gallery: Wozniacki's 2009 season
Adding to her reputation in 2009, Wozniacki's three titles, two of them at the Premier level, have come on three different surfaces: the green clay of Ponte Vedra Beach; the grass at Eastbourne and the hardcourts at New Haven. And she was runner-up five times - at Memphis, Charleston and Bastad, as well as Madrid and the US Open; no other player reached eight finals this season. Earlier this month she advanced to the semis at Osaka, and also made the quarters six times through the year.
Wozniacki arrives in Doha with a 4-4 record against the Top 10 this year, with two wins over Dementieva, one over Kuznetsova and the other over Flavia Pennetta. Fast and powerful, it is obvious she can match it with the big girls; but with 25 tournaments under her belt this season, her results this week may depend on how much gas is left in the tank.
Given that Wozniacki has retired hurt during her first match at two of her last four tournaments (Tokyo and Luxembourg) and was beaten by María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round of another (Beijing) by the telling scoreline of 67(5) 76(2) 60, it may be asking too much to expect her to make much of an impression in her SEC debut. Whatever happens, it will be a valuable learning experience.
Highlights: Eastbourne Final Features: Caroline Meets Beckham
