Caroline Wozniacki won a couple of titles in late 2016, specifically at WTA Tokyo and at WTA Hong Kong. Entering the 2017 season she seemed to be a key player on tour and, in a way, she has lived up to some expectations as she is currently the World No. 6. However, the Dane has fallen flat in several finals this season and through July she remains without a title in 2017.
Wozniacki lost the Bastad final
Wozniacki fell in the Bastad final on Sunday, a low-tiered clay-court event that was played in Sweden. She lost to Katerina Siniakova, a Czech player that looks as though she will be back in the top 40 on Monday.
When Wozniacki commented on the final from Bastad she gave credit to her opponent but made no mention of her poor results in other finals this season. She also lost in the 2017 Doha final, the 2017 Dubai final, the 2017 Miami final, and the 2017 Eastbourne final. Those tournament results are in fact helping to keep her ranking high, but it's clear that she isn't closing tournaments at this point in her career.
"I’m looking forward to the US Open Series and the US Open," Wozniacki claimed after the match. "It’s one of the tournaments where I’ve done my best, and it’s one of my favorite tournaments of the year. I’m excited to go back, see how I can do on the hard courts and hopefully finish the year strongly" (qtd.
by the WTA).
The US Open is Wozniacki's best Grand Slam tournament historically. Two times she has made the final and lost in each, the first in 2009 to Kim Clijsters and the most recent in 2014 to Serena Williams. Next up for the Dane is the Western & Southern Open (WTA Cincinnati 2017). She is on the players' list for that event, an important one for WTA players to do well in.
Unlike the low-tiered tournament in Bastad this year, Cincinnati has the potential to shake up the rankings at the very top. If Wozniacki has an exceptional run of form in Cincinnati, Toronto, and then New York the World No. 1 ranking is not out of the question for her despite the missing titles this season.
Siniakova ends slump
For Siniakova, the title in Bastad represents a break in bad form. Heading into the tournament she did not appear to have much momentum with early-round losses in every event post-Prague. But the victory over Wozniacki brought the Czech player her second title of the 2017 season. Previously she won in Shenzhen, defeating Simona Halep and Johanna Konta en route. Siniakova, at the age of 21, appears to have a bright future on tour.
"It’s really amazing for me," Siniakova claimed after the match. "Last year was really good, and so I’m so happy that I came back because I couldn’t imagine a better week" (qtd. by the WTA).
