For the first time in her career, Caroline Wozniacki will be the top seed at a major WTA tournament – and it’s none other than this year’s US Open, one of the tour’s four Grand Slams.
But few experts believe the 20-year-old Dane has any chance of winning the tournament – even if she wins her third consecutive Pilot Pen title this week in New Haven, Connecticut.
Defending champion Kim Clijsters, who defeated Wozniacki in last year’s final, is the favourite to win (best price 4/1, www.oddschecker.com) and seeded second.
While Maria Sharapova (9/2), who has returned to form after a long injury absence, is second favourite.
Wozniacki, who notched up her ninth WTA tour win in Montreal on Monday, is the tournament’s top seed due to an injury to world number one Serena Williams.
Two-time US Open champion Justine Henin has also withdrawn from the tournament due to injury. But unlike the French Open, which seeds players according to their Grand Slam strengths or their performances on a particular surface, the US Open seeds players strictly according to their WTA rankings.
Wozniacki is currently ranked number two in the world, while Clijsters is number three. Sharapova is seeded 14 due to her inactivity on the tour over the past year.
Two other players who are given roughly the same odds as Wozniacki (9/1) to win are two-time champion Venus Williams (12/1) and rising Belarusian talent Victoria Azarenka (10/1). The tournament begins on Monday 30 August.
The Copenhagen Post
