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Sweet Caroline eyes final win

New York - Caroline Wozniacki has already stamped her authority on the US Open, but she how wants to live up to her top seeding by going on to win the title on Sunday.

In the way stands Vera Zvonareva in Friday's semi-finals and then the winner of the match between the woman who beat her in last year's final, Kim Clijsters, and twice former champion Venus Williams.

If the Clijsters-Williams tie will get star billing, Wozniacki's star is burning ever brighter in New York, where her blonde good looks and sunny disposition have won her a stack of admirers.

The Dane has yet to drop a set and her fourth-round demolition of Maria Sharapova showed that for a player just out of her teens she has a wise head on her young shoulders.

Her training regimen, too, shows that she has left no stone unturned in her drive to become the world number one, which she will achieve if she wins the title on Sunday, knocking US queen Serena Williams off her perch.

Boxing sessions, it seems, help her with her footwork and her overall fitness.

"It's fun, it's interesting, and it's great because I have this great coach who knows how to get me in good shape and what I need for my tennis, as well," she said of her pugilistic pursuits.

"I wanted to try something different, something that was not the usual things. I just love the training. It's great.

"It's really hard not only physically, but also the conditioning.

"There's a lot of similarities between boxing and tennis. You have to have a knock out punch, fast feet. Yeah, definitely. Fast arms, fast feet."

Wozniacki will be hoping to land a knock-out punch on Zvonareva, but knows that she may have to go the distance in what is likely to be her toughest test yet in New York.

The two have played four times and the honors are shared 2-2.

Zvonareva also has taken giant strides this year in containing her tendency to throw tantrums when things start to go wrong.

In the fourth round here last year, she threw a spectacular wobbly after letting slip six match points against Flavia Pennetta of Italy, smashing her racquet, tearing at protective tapes around her knees and sobbing on court.

But learning from that lesson, she has quietened things down and has reaped the rewards, notably with her run into the Wimbledon final in July where she lost to Serena Williams.

Zvonareva will need to keep her emotions fully in check in her semi-final against the naggingly accurate groundstrokes of Wozniacki.

"You cannot get frustrated if you are playing against anyone. If you get frustrated, well, you will probably lose the match," she said.

"Doesn't matter if it's Caroline or someone else on the other side of the net.

"You should get sometimes angry with yourself. Sometimes you should pump yourself. But you have to always be out there and trying not to get frustrated against anybody."

Zvonareva, who is studying for a degree in international economic relations in her spare time, has another reason for doing well at Flushing Meadows.

She has pledged to donate her prize money to a Russian foundation working to increase understanding of Retts Syndrome, a complex neurological disorder predominantly affecting girls. The daughter of a close friend is affected by it.

Collated results of Wednesday's women's matches at the US Open tennis championships (x denotes seed):

Quarter-finals

Vera Zvonareva (RUS x7) bt Kaia Kanepi (EST x31) 6-3, 7-5
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x1) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-2, 7-5

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