Pre-Match Analysis
Day 4 - Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) {1} vs. Arantxa Rus (NED)
Head-to-head
| Wozniaki, in her 46th week as the world’s top player, has never played Rus. She is bidding to reach at least the third round for the 16th consecutive Grand Slam. | While Rus has never battled the world No. 1, she has had success against the game’s best. She beat then No. 2 ranked Kim Clijsters at this year’s French Open on her way to the third round, her best showing at a Grand Slam. |
Will win if...
| Wozniacki will simply have to utilize her baseline power and all-court game, the one that has led her to a WTA-leading 51 match victories so far in 2011. | A tall, rangy player who can rip her ground strokes, Rus will have to find a way to attack the ever-steady Wozniacki while keeping the errors down, no matter how many balls Wozniacki tracks down. Even if she manages this, it will be a tall task for the No. 82-ranked player in the world. |
Heading in...
| Wozniacki looked good in winning the New Haven title leading up to the Open. However, in her three events prior to that, she only won one match. Of late she has not looked like a particularly dominant world No. 1. | Rus looked very strong in taking out No. 43-ranked Elena Vesnina in the first round. However, she only played one hard court tournament this summer prior to the Open, a $100,000 ITF event in Kazakhstan, where she lost to 203-ranked Ekaterina Bychkova. |
Look out for...
| Wozniacki, who has yet to win a Slam, is in the unusual spot of being the long-standing No. 1 player who can’t seem to back it up in the Majors. The U.S. Open, where she reached the final in 2009, might be her best shot to change that little asterisk on her resume. | Rus has played strictly challenger level tournaments since failing to qualify at Wimbledon. Taking on the world No. 1 on the world’s biggest stage, Arthur Ashe Stadium, is one huge step up. |
Know this stat
| Wozniacki has won her last 30 completed matches vs. players ranked outside the top 80, excluding one loss to a just-returning-to-the-tour and unranked Kim Clijsters. | Rus has an impressive 18-8 hard court record in 2011, and is 62-41 over. her career. |
X-factor
| Wozniacki recently began dating U.S. Open golf Champ Rory McIlroy. Wozniacki fans have to hope that he might impart some wisdom to help her in tackling the biggest events in her sport. | Rus has the extra motivation that, if she beats Wozniacki she will become the first Dutch woman to ever defeat a world No. 1 ranked player. |
