Caroline Wozniacki has done it again. Hitting half as many winners as her opponent, the 3rd seed defeated 14th seed Flavia Pennetta 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. This match swung toward Pennetta so many times, but a combination of unforced errors, errors forced by Wozniacki, and what appeared to be discomfort/fatigue did the Italian in. She had two set points in the first set, but failed to convert them, which sent the set to a tiebreak. Wozniacki won that tiebreak, then Pennetta had three set points in the second set, but failed to convert them. She did win the set, in a tiebreak, on her fourth set point.
Both players saw the trainer. Wozniacki had her thigh re-taped, and Pennetta had something done to her foot. The commentators thought she was being treated for a blister, and perhaps she was, but Pennetta has a problematic foot, and I wondered whether it was giving her trouble again. At any rate, the third set was all Wozniacki, as Pennetta looked simply done in.
Wozniacki has taken defensive tennis to a new level. While Jelena Jankovic is known as an outstanding defensive player, Jankovic will also become aggressive when aggression is needed. But Wozniacki, with nerves of steel and rhythmic side-to-side movement, simply wears opponents--even very talented clay court opponents like Pennetta--down.
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