Publications
Partners
London - Former No 1 Caroline Wozniacki was crestfallen after her she failed to clear the first hurdle at Wimbledon, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Her loss in the first round of the third grand slam of the year marks a disappointing end to her grass court season as her best performance on the surface came at the Aegon International in Eastbourne, where she reached the third round.
Wozniacki’s struggles go beyond the grass court season though as she has only managed to feature in the quarter-finals of two tournaments – the ASB Classic and Abierto Monterrey Afirme – this year.
“It kind of just sucks right now to be out of the tournament,” the 25-year-old told reporters. “I thought I played some really good tennis in Eastbourne (where she beat Sam Stosur before falling in the second round) and obviously was hoping I could step up from there and do more damage today. But it wasn't enough.
“It's been a tough year in general. It's been some injuries, it's been some bad draws. Yeah, it's been uphill. But it has to turn, it has to go the other way eventually. I'm just going to take the punches I'm getting and just try and learn from it and try and move forward.
“I know that by now I can't expect an easy draw. I just need to be ready and improve my game even more so that I can beat the top players in the earlier rounds, then it can kind of open up from there.”
Some have attributed Wozniacki’s poor performance to the fact that she has been more concentrated on her modelling career and attending red carpet events, but the Dane was quick to defend herself.
“Obviously everything I do, the main priority is to become a better tennis player, be fit and stay fit,” she said. “But if there's time left over, then I try and just have fun in life. We only live once. We don't get a mulligan. If I read everything that was written about me the last 15 years, by now I probably would have jumped over a cliff.”
Her loss in the first round of the third grand slam of the year marks a disappointing end to her grass court season as her best performance on the surface came at the Aegon International in Eastbourne, where she reached the third round.
Wozniacki’s struggles go beyond the grass court season though as she has only managed to feature in the quarter-finals of two tournaments – the ASB Classic and Abierto Monterrey Afirme – this year.
“It kind of just sucks right now to be out of the tournament,” the 25-year-old told reporters. “I thought I played some really good tennis in Eastbourne (where she beat Sam Stosur before falling in the second round) and obviously was hoping I could step up from there and do more damage today. But it wasn't enough.
“It's been a tough year in general. It's been some injuries, it's been some bad draws. Yeah, it's been uphill. But it has to turn, it has to go the other way eventually. I'm just going to take the punches I'm getting and just try and learn from it and try and move forward.
“I know that by now I can't expect an easy draw. I just need to be ready and improve my game even more so that I can beat the top players in the earlier rounds, then it can kind of open up from there.”
Some have attributed Wozniacki’s poor performance to the fact that she has been more concentrated on her modelling career and attending red carpet events, but the Dane was quick to defend herself.
“Obviously everything I do, the main priority is to become a better tennis player, be fit and stay fit,” she said. “But if there's time left over, then I try and just have fun in life. We only live once. We don't get a mulligan. If I read everything that was written about me the last 15 years, by now I probably would have jumped over a cliff.”
