Foot Fault!

Every time a player comes out firing against Caroline Wozniacki, bulldozing their way through the first set, the commentators never fail bring up this line;

And it never happens. I touched on it after Andrea Petkovic’s win against Wozniacki in Miami, but clearly it needs further addressing. The bottom line is that it’s almost impossible to keep that level up for two whole sets, and at some point in the match the nerves and errors will come. Karolina will love and devour them, before quickly grinding her way to the win. After the match, the commentators won’t hesitate to describe the win as ‘incredible’, ‘magnificent’ and ‘unbelievable’, but it’s neither. It’s just how she rolls.

That said, she hasn’t looked particularly good this week. The clay really doesn’t suit her game because while the hardcourt bounce giving her shots more weight and power, her strokes tend to sit up on the clay stuff, making it so much easier for her opponents to execute. That coupled with the fact that she moves even worse on clay than she does on hardcourts, and we have a problem.

Up next for her is Jelena Jankovic. This really should be one match to far for Wozniacki, as though there have been various hiccups along the way, Jelena really is improving her form with every tournament. Her controlled aggression should be too good for Wozniacki, particularly on the clay. However, this is the WTA, and I for one won’t be counting any chickens before they hatch.

The other semifinal will be between Shuai Peng and Elena Vesnina. It’s quite a shock – though Shuai has been in top 10 form all year, I don’t think anyone expected her form to continue on clay, even green clay. But here she is. Meanwhile, Elena has been in pretty dire form since her brilliant 2009 season. Sextape or not, it’s great to see her playing well again.