Australian Open: Wozniacki dispatched and dethroned

The Dane’s reign at the top attracted a lot of criticism as she tried to justify her ranking while searching for the elusive grand slam. Meanwhile, Federer was in great form registering a convincing win in his 1,000th match. PHOTOS: AFP/REUTERS

Clijsters held off a determined fightback from the 21-year-old Dane to win 6-3, 7-6 and set up a semi-final against third-seed Victoria Azarenka, who beat Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7, 6-0, 6-2.

Wozniacki is guaranteed to lose her number-one ranking to Azarenka, Petra Kvitova or Maria Sharapova when the new standings are released next Monday. Clijsters played much better than in her fourth-round win over China’s Li Na, showing no ill-effects from the ankle injury she suffered in that match but believed Wozniacki had given her a tough time.

“It didn’t feel like being up a set and 5-2,” said Clijsters. “I had to work at it. Caroline changed her tactics in the second set and became more aggressive.

“With regards to the injury, I refused to have a scan. I already had a scan on my neck a couple of days ago. I’ve seen more hospitals the last six months than anything, so no more for me.”

Wozniacki remains defiant

Wozniacki had faced constant questions over her right to be considered the best player because she had never won a major title, but the defiant Dane backed herself to bounce back by the end of the year.

“To be honest, I don’t really think about it,” said Wozniacki. “I’ve been there for a long time already. I finished number one two years in a row. We’re just in January. By the end of the year you’ll see who has played the best, most consistently all year round. I’ll get it back eventually, so I’m not worried.”

Federer joins 1,000 club in style

Meanwhile, Federer celebrated his 1,000th match by brushing aside the challenge posed by del Potro, with the Swiss easing to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win.

Federer becomes one of just eight male players to have played at least 1,000 tour-level matches, which he described as a ‘big milestone’.

“It’s nice to win this one,” said Federer. “Eventually, I’ll forget which one was my 1,000th and someone will remind me again. I didn’t remember my 500th, and that was the US Open final against Andre Agassi in 2005. It’s a big milestone. Either I’ve been around for a long time or I’m extremely fit.”

A fired-up Nadal survived a huge scare from big-hitting Czech Berdych to prevail 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a semi-final clash with Federer.

“I tried my best in every moment,” said Nadal. “Berdych played very well almost the whole match.”

Matches played

Jimmy Connors              1,427

Ivan Lendl                       1,310

Guillermo Vilas               1,226

Andre Agassi                   1,144

John McEnroe                1,079

Stefan Edberg                 1,076

Ilie Nastase                     1,026

Roger Federer                 1,000

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2012.