Wozniacki to Again Attempt to Defend Her #1 Ranking

The 2012 tennis season is just around the corner. Top ranked Caroline Wozniacki will try to justify her #1 ranking beginning January 16, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The 21 year old Dane has held the #1 spot for over a year but still has no Grand Slam title and has been criticized for not being able to win on the big stage. That is in part because of her style as a counter-puncher. She has no power shots that she can use to roll over opponents but rather beats them by running down everything and getting more balls back than anyone else.

Wozniacki won 6 titles each in 2010 and 2011 and now holds a narrow 100 point lead over 2^nd ranked Petra Kvitova. Many analysts and experts are predicting that Wozniacki will lose the #1 spot after the Australian Open. Others think she will be able to retain the #1 ranking until March when she has to defend her titles in Dubai and at the BNP Paribas Open. Winning a Grand Slam is worth 2000 ranking points while 2nd place is worth 1400 and a 3/4 finish is 900 points so the 100 point margin is negligible.

Wozniacki lost in the first round of a warm-up tournament and then went out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open to Na Li while Kvitova won a warm-up tournament and made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian last year.

Personally, Wozniacki is one of my favorite athletes. She plays with such class and always has a smile on her face when talking with the media. And that Danish accent is so sexy. Never mind that she has trouble winning big-time matches - she is a champion and a great role model.

The Australian Open draw comes out Friday January 13. I assume Wozniacki will be the top seed. The Williams sisters are in doubt about being available for the tournament due to injuries so that should improve Wozniacki's chances of capturing a Slam title. Power players like Serena and Venus are the type of players she struggles with the most.