Sports

Caroline Wozniacki’s in her happy place — is US Open title next?

Caroline Wozniacki came off the practice court Thursday, did numerous interviews with foreign press, and then stopped for a few questions in English. Rarely did the ear-to-ear smile leave her ebullient face, and for good reason.

It’s been a long and tumultuous road for Wozniacki to regain the spotlight here in the US Open, where she is set to take on the unseeded Shuai Peng of China on Friday in the semifinals. If Wozniacki were to win, it likely would place the Dane in the finals against the mainstay of women’s tennis, Serena Williams, who will take on No. 17 seed Ekaterina Makarova in the other semifinal.

Yet Wozniacki says the personal and professional strife she endured over the past couple years is behind her, and life as a 24-year-old playing tennis for a living can be enjoyed one day – and one match – at a time.

“I just see it as another match,” Wozniacki said, not looking forward to her possible collision with Williams. “I’m just going to go out there and do my best, and that’s really it. I don’t want to think too much about it, I’m just going to go out there and enjoy every moment of it.”

It was only back in early May when Wozniacki was sending out invitations to her wedding with golf star Rory McIlroy. Yet days after they went out, McIlroy called off the engagement, leaving Wozniacki to wallow in his harsh departure.

“Every month is better for Caroline,” said her father, Piotr. “But first period was not easy, which is normal for this situation. But this is life, yeah?”

Wozniacki serving in her win over Maria Sharapova.Reuters

What has made things easier is Wozniacki’s game has made a major turn for the better, this being the first time she has advanced passed the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since the 2012 Australian Open. In July – right near her birthday and after her breakup with McIlroy – she won a WTA event in Istanbul, and from there her confidence has only gone up.

“I just feel like everything is going well at the moment,” Wozniacki said. “Hopefully, I can have two more good matches in me. That’s what I’m aiming for.”

Peng hasn’t beaten anyone seeded better than No. 14 in this tournament, so she should have her hands full against the defensively sound Wozniacki. Yet according to Wozniacki’s father, the biggest difference in The Great Dane’s game has not been any technical improvement, but just the maturity that has occurred since she became a New York sensation in making US Open final as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in 2009.

“This experience, Caroline is now maybe more free, no big stress,” Piotr said. “She is funny again, looking [at] tennis again as more fun and no money, or [not] seeing it as a business. So the small details [improve], and the results can come.”

Piotr also has only the best of intentions for the personal life of his only daughter.

“Caroline is young, happy, nice girl,” he said. “I hope coming one day: one guy.”

Williams might have a bit of a tough task on her hands in Makarova, a hard-hitting lefty who beat her at the 2012 Australian Open.

“It’s always tough to play against her,” said Makarova, who has career record of 1-3 against Williams and who is also in the doubles final with fellow Russian Elena Vesnina. “I just need to play my game, to believe in myself that I can beat her.”

If Williams is the final blockade en route to Wozniacki’s first Grand Slam title, it will be a title well-earned. The 17-time major winner is arguably the best in history, trying to make it to 18 with her third in a row at Flushing Meadows.

“There is a big difference [between if] you take the trophy here or make the final,” Piotr said. “At this place, they don’t see the final, they only see the trophy.”