Wozniacki never lacked self-belief against the best

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Singapore as the eighth and bottom seed for the WTA Finals, but the Dane never doubted her ability to compete against the very best and goes into Saturday's semi-finals with a spotless record after round robin play.

Wozniacki never lacked self-belief against the best

(Reuters)





Wozniacki opened her tournament with a three-set win over Maria Sharapova and after brushing aside Agnieszka Radwanksa, she ensured she finished top of the White Group with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Friday.

"I believe in myself and I believe in my skills. I've been playing well, so I believed I could beat anyone," the 24-year-old Dane told reporters after she set up a last-four encounter against world number one Serena Williams.

"I obviously also knew that if I wasn't playing up to my best I could lose to all of them.

"So I'm really pleased about the way this week has gone so far. I played really well. Today was a really great match for me."

Wozniacki has enjoyed a resurgence in form in the second half of the season following poor displays in the first two grand slams, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and her second U.S. Open final last month, which she lost to Williams.

She won the Istanbul Cup in July and reached the final of Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last month to all but confirm her place in the elite eight-woman WTA Finals being held in Singapore for the first time.





GOOD PLACE

"It's been a really good six months. I've been playing really well and doing great results and things are going well," she added.

"So I'm happy and in a good place.

"Being here was always the goal from the start of the season. As I said before, I always believe in myself. Even though I had a little bit of a slow start to the season, I always believe."

That self-belief has helped her cruise into the semi-finals but Wozniacki is refusing to look beyond her match against Williams, who owns a 9-1 head-to-head record against the Dane, or even consider lifting the title on Sunday.

"Well, my match-up against her (Williams) so far hasn't been great. I won once and lost like 10 times, or nine, I don't know. I don't even count anymore," she added.

"But it's a new tournament. It's a new week. I've been playing well really. Again, I believe that if I play like I did today, doesn't matter who's on the other side. I can win.

"I have two things in mind right now: one is my next match, and two the (New York City) marathon that's getting closer and I'm getting a little nervous about," Wozniacki said of next month's race.

"So those are the two things in my head. I'm not really thinking about a trophy yet. There is still quite a long way to go."





(Editing by Toby Davis)


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