Saturday 10 September 2011

U.S. Open: Williams-Wozniacki, by the numbers

It's not the final, just the match we've been waiting for, one so meaningful to the narrative of women's tennis right now.
It's a narrative that pits young stars who have been up and coming, forever it seems, against veterans who have been playing and winning, forever it seems. A narrative that pits Serena Williams, widely considered the best player of the decade no matter what the rankings say, against Caroline Wozniacki, who the rankings say is No. 1.

MORE: Kerber-Stosur out of the spotlight
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PHOTOS: U.S. Open in pictures

Many consider this the unofficial final, and they give the winner of the other semifinal, between Samantha Stosur and Angelique Kerber, little chance of winning this tournament. Here's a look at this popcorn match in numbers. (Most are from the WTA.)

1

Wozniacki's ranking. (In case you haven't heard!) She's been No. 1 for 47 weeks (and will be at least through Oct. 3, no matter what happens). That's longer than more than half the women who've ever been No. 1. Longer than Tracy Austin, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and others. Not, however, longer than Serena Williams, who held the top ranking for 123 weeks. Williams, who is ranked a laughable No. 27, hasn't played a No. 1 player since 2008; she's 11-11 against them.

2

Number of times they've played before. It was 2009, and Serena won both matches. The first was a three-setter in the Sydney quarterfinals, and Williams won, but not before overcoming match points. The second was in the WTA Championships, where Williams won the first set and an injured Wozniacki retired soon after.
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.asportsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Caroline-Wozniacki-3.jpg">Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki

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