2011 SUMMARY
Titles Won (6): Dubai, Indian Wells, Charleston, Brussels, Copenhagen, New Haven (6-2 in finals)
Best Grand Slam Result: SF (2): Australian Open, US Open
Win/Loss Record: 62-15
Record Against Top 10: 7-2 (includes Azarenka ret. at Indian Wells)
SEC History: Third appearance; finalist in 2010
As the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships kick off, Caroline Wozniacki will be spending her 54th week at No.1 - the ninth-longest reign since computerized rankings were introduced to women's tennis in 1975. But, having overtaken the likes of Amélie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and Venus Williams, the 21-year-old Dane is at a crossroads. With contemporaries like Petra Kvitova snapping up Slams, pressure is mounting on Wozniacki to do the same.
In the past, prodigiously hard-working Wozniacki has been accused of wearing herself out by playing too much before the biggest events, so it will be interesting to see how she fares this time around. While she boasts a WTA-leading six titles in 2011, she has played just six matches since the US Open, falling early at Tokyo to Kaia Kanepi and Beijing to Flavia Pennetta - both big tournaments she won last year on her rise to the top.
Even so, Wozniacki arrives in Istanbul with a better win-loss match record than this time 12 months ago, when she was 59-15. And while she hasn't quite made it to a Grand Slam final this season, it took players of the caliber of Clijsters and Serena Williams to end her runs in Melbourne and New York.
Indeed, Wozniacki has a proven capacity to bounce back. After dropping back-to-back openers at Toronto and Cincinnati in the summer she won New Haven for the fourth year in a row and then posted quality wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova and Andrea Petkovic on route to the semis at Flushing Meadows.
One stat she'll be looking to address at the Championships is her record against Top 10 opponents, though: all six completed match wins against such rivals this year have been against Francesca Schiavone or Jelena Jankovic (three apiece), both of whom have since dropped from the elite and didn't make it to Turkey. Still, it's worth remembering Wozniacki has scored career wins over the rest of the field, including then-No.18 Maria Sharapova in the semis at Indian Wells this year.
Making her third consecutive appearance at the Championships, Wozniacki suddenly finds herself one of the more experienced contenders. So far she hasn't failed to win through the round robin, reaching the semis on her debut and the final last year, falling to Clijsters in three sets. With increased aggression added to her remarkable defensive skills, fitness and sheer determination to win, she has what it takes to go one better this time around.
