Evenin', mornin', whatever...the Australian Open is underway, and Caroline Wozniacki has dodged one of the first but potentially most lethal bullets she's expected to face in her attempt to justify that world No. 1 ranking by becoming a Grand Slam singles champion.
Wozniacki just beat Gisela Dulko, 6-3, 6-4, to open her tournament. It's hard to overstate the degree to which any but the most secure of No. 1 players, especially on the WTA side of the fence, is apt to get nervous when she plays her first-rounder to kick off an event—especially when that first battle is no gimme. Dulko, while ranked just No. 52 in singles, is the top-ranked women's doubles player. And she's managed to sprinkle an impressive number of upsets throughout her resume, having been to the third round—or better—in five of her last eight majors. In that spell, she toppled former champion Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon, Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros and Justine Henin at Indian Wells. She's what they call, in draw patois, the "dangerous floater."
Wozniacki, who was crushed by No. 2 Vera Zvonareva in an exhibition in Hong Kong, and lost the only official WTA match she played in Australia before this tournament, has been downplaying her apparent lack of form, greeting her losses philosophically—almost to the point of seeming cavalier. But top players trust their games, and in winning today Wozniacki demonstrated the nerve and confidence of a player who's comfortable with her status, as well as a critically important ability to step it up when it counts.
This win will leave her feeling very good about herself as she begins her drive to what she hopes will be her first major title, and a stamp of credibility on her No. 1 ranking.
Feel free to comment on the matches underway here once you've exhausted the previous thread; I'll be swinging into tournament mode starting tomorrow evening.
BTW, are y'all checking out IBM's "PointStream" live-scoring module at the official tournament website? Pretty slick, from what I see so far, even though it's the Beta version.
-- Pete