By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 4, 2016
"I think it just sucks for some of the other players who have to play me early," said Caroline Wozniacki after defeating Madison Keys.
Photo credit: AFP
NEW YORK—Labels can be limiting, but Caroline Wozniacki did some major rebranding on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Typecast as a counter-puncher against one of the game's bigger hitters, the former world No. 1 showed counter intelligence today.
Wozniacki delivered sting on her backhand and stiff resistance on serve knocking out No. 8-seeded Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-4, to race into the US Open quarterfinals.
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It is Wozniacki's first major quarterfinal since she was runner-up to Serena Williams in the 2014 US Open final and leaves the Flushing Meadows singles draw with just two Americans still standing: Venus and Serena Williams.
The woman nicknamed "Sunshine" for her positive disposition played the role of buzz kill today blunting Keys' superior power and using her quickness and consistency to drain 33 unforced errors while committing just seven errors of her own.
"I'm just working my way through," Wozniacki said. "The main thing is that when I'm on court I have to believe in myself. That's what I care about, that I know that I can do it. I know I can beat anyone. I think it just sucks for some of the other players who have to play me early."
It was 77 minutes of misery for Keys, who couldn't crack the defense of one the game's speediest players on the largest Grand Slam stage in the game.
"She's an amazing mover," said Keys, who was bidding for her first US Open quarterfinal. "She gets a million balls back. I think she does an amazing job keeping the balls deep in the court, so you feel like you can't dictate the point right away, which I think makes people go for things too soon."
Wozniacki whipped her best weapon, the two-handed backhand, crosscourt to keep Keys from commanding the court with her favored forehand.
The most surprising aspect of the match was that Wozniacki backed up her serve with more vigilance. She permitted just six points on her first serve and won a higher-percentage of both first and second-serve points against a more explosive server.
The two-time US Open finalist, who has used boxing work-outs for conditioning and has had the support of former heavyweight boxer Andrew Golota in her support box, said she tried to strike a balance between consistency and aggression.
"I think it was a very fine line between being patient, consistent, and also trying to be aggressive and not step too far behind the baseline," Wozniacki said. "Because when she's on fire, she's on fire, and there is not much you can do about it. Especially from the forehand side. I know my backhand is great and I can push her off the court from that, and that was my main focus. It's like, Okay, when I had the ball on the racquet I can do something about it.
"And my main thing was just like, Just go for your shots. Don't hold back. You know, just go for it. If you miss it's fine, but at least you tried and you did what you needed to do."
After a disappointing start the season, including missing the entire clay-court season with an ankle injury, the 74th-ranked Dane has found her footing in New York where she owns an apartment and ran the New York City Marathon. Wozniacki has surprised a pair of Top 10 seeds—Keys and ninth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in round two—and will face first-time quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastosa for a place in the final four.
"I had some tough matches against her in the past," Wozniacki said. "I think we played Fed Cup a couple of times, but also we played the Australian Open.
"She's a tough player. She's a tough opponent. She has a lot of grit and good hands. It's not going to be an easy one, but I'm excited just to have another shot."