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By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, April 24, 2015

 
Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki cruised past Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-0, 6-3, to set up a Stuttgart semifinal against Simona Halep.

Photo credit: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Energy and exuberance are assets Caroline Wozniacki exudes when playing her best tennis.

Now, the former No. 1 is adding some clay-court expertise to her game.

Video: Sharapova's Stuttgart Stumble

Hall of Famer Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario helped Wozniacki prepare for this clay-court season and the fourth-seeded Dane continues to make tracks through the Stuttgart field.

Reeling off seven straight games at the start, Wozniacki cruised past Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-0, 6-3, into the Stuttgart semifinals for the first time since 2011.

Wozniacki will play second-seeded Simona Halep for a spot in Sunday's final.

In a battle of former French Open finalists that featured an astounding 16 service breaks, Halep swept Sara Errani, 6-4, 6-4, in the day's first quarterfinal.

Bursting out of the blocks quickly, an eager Wozniacki quickly put distance between herself and a listless Suárez Navarro, who beat the Dane, 7-6 (6), 6-1, in her 2013 Stuttgart opener. Wozniacki won a long exchange on the first point of the match, setting the tone and sending a message she was willing to grind and test the eighth-seeded Spaniard's legs.

Wozniacki permitted just three points in streaking through the first three games. When Suárez Navarro dragged a forehand wide, Wozniacki scored her second straight break for a 4-0 advantage.

Serving with accuracy and authority at times, Wozniacki served 76 percent for the match. Sliding an ace down the middle for 40-0, Wozniacki launched herself up thumping a second straight ace out wide to hold at love for a 5-0 lead.


Perhaps weary from her 6-4, 7-6 (1) win over Belinda Bencic that concluded about 11:30 local time Thursday night, Suárez Navarro looked sluggish and a half-step late. When Wozniacki spun a forehand off the baseline for set point, the Spaniard gazed at the mark as if looking for some sign of hope. Suárez Navarro launched a forehand long, losing a lackluster set at love in just 22 minutes.


Wozniacki served 93 percent and committed just four unforced errors compared to 11 for her opponent in the opening set. Suárez Navarro took a coaching time-out before the second set began. The Miami finalist finally stopped a seven-game slide, holding for 1-1 in the second set.

Wozniacki broke again for 3-1. Suárez Navarro earned her first break point in the fifth game, but failed to put a return in play. On her third break point of the game, Suárez Navarro could not handle a high ball to her one-hander and missed the backhand wide as the game waged past the 11-minute mark. Flicking a short-angled winner crosscourt, the Spaniard earned her fourth break point. This time, she converted, knifing a backhand volley to end a 12-minute game with her first break.

The training Wozniacki has done with three-time French Open champion Sánchez-Vicario preparing for clay-court season is evident in her shot selection. When stretched on her forehand side, Wozniacki often threw up a high topspin forehand, giving herself time to recover to the center of the court and get back in position for her backhand. She used the high forehand followed by flat backhand down the line combination to earn a break point, breaking for 4-2 on a Suárez Navarro error to snuff out any hopes of a comeback.

Another ace down the middle brought Wozniacki to triple match point. She needed only one, punching a backhand winner down the line to wrap up a tidy 6-0, 6-3 victory in 66 minutes.

The degree of difficulty will rise substantially when Wozniacki faces Halep, who has won two of their three meetings, including a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the Dubai semifinals earlier this year.

Halep has won 19 of her last 21 clay-court matches with both defeats coming to Maria Sharapova, in the Madrid final and French Open final, last year.


 

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