US Open: Caroline Wozniacki finally turning things around after most challenging year of her career

Wozniacki saw off Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4 to book a place in the third round

Wozniacki has reversed a slide down the world rankings with the win (Getty)

New York is Caroline Wozniacki’s favourite city. The 26-year-old Dane has an apartment here, ran her only marathon in the city two years ago, loves attending New York Fashion Week and has enjoyed her finest sporting moments at the US Open. She reached her only Grand Slam finals here, when she lost to Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

It should have been no surprise, therefore, that the former world No 1 would finally turn around the most challenging year of her career on the court she loves the most. After losing the first four games against a resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova, Wozniacki dug deep to win 6-4, 6-4 and earn a third-round meeting with Romania’s Monica Niculescu.

Even if she fails to go any further, Wozniacki will at least have reversed a slide down the world rankings which had left some observers wondering whether she might even consider it was time to pursue other interests.

Having already fallen to No 74 in the world rankings, just a year after occupying a place in the top five, Wozniacki was even facing the prospect of dropping out of the world’s top 100 by the end of the year for the first time since she broke into it in the summer of 2007.

Until her edgy victory over Taylor Townsend, the world No 146, in the first round here earlier this week, this had been a miserable Grand Slam year for Wozniacki, who fell at the first hurdle at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon and missed the French Open through injury.

She has dropped 57 places from her position at No 17 in the world rankings at the start of this year, had won back-to-back matches only three times since the first week of the season and spent nearly three months off the court after suffering an ankle injury in the spring.

Wozniacki sustained the injury shortly after recruiting David Kotyza, Petra Kvitova’s former coach, to her entourage. By the summer Kotyza had thought better of the arrangement and Wozniacki went back to working with her father, as she has done a number of other times in her career.

I stopped looking at the rankings once I fell out of the top 10

&#13; <p>Caroline Wozniacki</p>&#13;

Speculation about Wozniacki’s future has been inevitable, especially as she has clearly been enjoying life away from the court. The Dane was becoming a celebrity even before her engagement to the golfer Rory McIlroy, who called off their wedding two years ago just after the invitations had been sent out.

At the time Wozniacki was devastated - “It feels like someone close to you has died,” she told The Independent in an exclusive interview – but her positive response drew widespread admiration.

Wozniacki returning a shot against Kuznetsova (Getty)

Earlier this year Wozniacki appeared for the second time in Sports Illustrated’s celebrated annual swimsuit edition, this time wearing nothing but body paint. She has tried her hand at acting, playing a part in the American TV comedy series “Ballers”, and makes regular appearances on red carpets across the world. Fashion is a particular interest and she has had her own tennis collection with Adidas and Stella McCartney since 2009.

There was a hint this week that she might be considering other options when she wrote a “Letter to My Younger Self” on The Players’ Tribune website. “Tennis won’t last for ever, Caroline,” she told her 11-year-old self. “Plan for your future. Think about what you’d like to do next and take steps to set yourself up for a successful life after you play your last pro match.

“You love fashion, so learn as much as you can about that field. If you can combine your passion for clothing design with all the business knowledge Dad will pass along over the years, you’ll be in great shape for a second career.”

After the victory over Kuznetsova, nevertheless, Wozniacki talked positively about her tennis future. “I stopped looking at the rankings once I fell out of the top 10,” she said. “I want to get back up there and once I do I’ll start looking at the rankings again.

“It’s been a tough year. I’ve had a lot of injuries. I feel like I belong at the top and today I beat someone who’s been playing really well this year. That’s definitely going to build my confidence. I’m just excited to play here once more. It’s my favourite court in front of my favourite fans.”

Wozniacki insists that her off-court interests have not been to the detriment of her tennis. “I’m going to take the opportunities that I can get,” she said. “The main priority for me is to become a better tennis player, be fit and stay fit. If there’s time left over, then I try and just have fun in life. We only live once.”

The win over Kuznetsova, the world No 10, proved Wozniacki’s resilience and determination. Outrallied and outhit as she went within a point of going 5-0 down, the Dane played her way back into the match by chasing down every ball and taking the game to her opponent.

Wozniacki said: “At one point I was like: ‘We’ve been playing for 30 minutes now and it’s 4-0 to her. It’s not looking good for me, but I’d like the crowd to have a little bit more to watch today.’ I just kept fighting for every point.

“I’ve been in this situation before. I was down 6-1, 4-1 to her once before on this court but thought: ‘I can do this. I can pull this through.’ I won last time and I won today. I’m really proud of that.”