At 2-1 and 30-15 in the first set, Caroline Wozniacki cracked a cross-court backhand and then nailed a backhand down the line winner against Australian Kimberly Birrell. Immediately, old memories of Wozniacki’s powerful backhand gushed forth. Wozniacki also made a fairy tale return to the tennis court, by winning that match against Birrell.
Although she lost in the second round of the Canadian Open to reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, there was a sense of nostalgia watching Wozniacki hit a few of those backhands, alongside her trademark retrieving skills. The mother of two put on a gritty show after missing from action for three years and eight months.
Time flies. It doesn’t feel like more than five years have gone by since she won her only Grand Slam at the Australian Open. Her golden run included a titanic battle in the final against Simona Halep — a match she eventually won 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. On a hot and humid day, when both struggled to keep their energy levels up, it was yet again her backhand that stood out.
There is a school of thought in tennis that says the forehand is a weapon, while the backhand is the shield. But on that day, and also right through the tournament, Wozniacki’s backhand did the work of the shield as well as the sword. To excavate more evidence, in that tournament, Wozniacki made just 3.9 per cent errors on the backhand side, and a mere six unforced errors in the summit clash versus Halep. In the crucial game, when Wozniacki was 3-4 down, she hit 11 backhands, with only one of them turning out to be an unforced error. No wonder, she broke back to make it 4-4.
When she overcame Halep, a few tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. After all, she had to wait for 13 years on the pro tour to taste the sweet moment of winning a major. She also had to overcome innumerable critics, who labelled her as one of the most defensive players to be ranked No 1 in women’s singles. Although the backhand has acted like a shield right through her career, it it quite evident that counterpunching and stamina are her main strengths.
Fast forward to the present and Wozniacki needs all of her mental resolve to make a successful comeback. Even that may not be enough to emerge victorious against some of the younger players. Just to illustrate the point further, in the match against Vondrousova, she seemed to be struggling a touch with court coverage. At the highest level, if your body slows down a bit, it could mean the end of the road.
Perhaps a few more matches would help her find the rhythm back. As Wozniacki pointed out before the start of the Canadian Open, “Realistically when you haven’t been on tour and haven’t played a match in so long, no matter how much you practise, how many practice sets you’ve done, you can never replicate being on a match court.”
For a minute or two, it also makes you wonder why would a player who has scaled the top of the rankings and won a major try to go through the grind of playing professional tennis. At 33, her body may not be able to carry out the commands sent out by the mind. She has also been suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis.
Maybe Wozniacki reminisced about her early journey of reaching a couple of finals in Grade 5 ITF events at the age of 13, and once again found her love for the sport. As she told the media, “I’m here because I love to compete. I love the sport, and I feel like I still have a lot to give to the sport. And doing it with the family just makes it so much more enjoyable.”
In 2018, when Wozniacki won the Australian Open, she was down 1-5 and two match points in the final set against Jana Fett in Round 2. However, the gutsy player won six games in a row to register a famous victory. Wozniacki saw an imaginary door opening for her when it seemed to be completely shut. Five years on, logic says the chances of a fairy tale return are not high. But for Wozniacki, it is more than just winning or losing. It is more about playing a sport she loves.