Wozniacki must back up statistics with majors

ISTANBUL,  (Reuters) – Statistically Caroline  Wozniacki remains the best female tennis player in the world but  the controversy over her number one status showed no signs of  abating after her season ended in disappointment at the WTA  Championships.      
 
True, the 21-year-old Dane won six titles, amassed more  victories (63) than any of her rivals and topped the end-of-year  rankings for a second consecutive year.  
 
However, when asked who was the stand-out player of 2011,  none of the seven other women who qualified for the  season-ending finale in Istanbul named Wozniacki.   

Caroline Wozniacki

Former world number one Maria Sharapova, who battled back to  the top four from injury, was mentioned, as was the player of  the moment Petra Kvitova, who capped a remarkable season by  winning the Championships undefeated on Sunday.  
 
Czech Kvitova has emerged as the new force in women’s tennis  and there is an air of inevitability about her rise to the top  of tree after she beat another challenger to Wozniacki, Victoria  Azarenka, to win the prestigious title on her debut.  
 
The 21-year-old is not there yet — she still lags 100 or so  points behind Wozniacki — but with a grand slam title to her  name already and a destructive game that, when working, is  almost unstoppable, the Wimbledon champion appears to be the  number one in waiting.   
But what of Wozniacki?   

Despite spending all but a week as number one since last  October, she failed to reach a single grand slam final this year  and her lack of a major among her 18 career titles is beginning  to weigh heavily on her shoulders.  
 
While the WTA Tour points to the fact that the rankings  system rewards consistency, the fact that Wozniacki has so far  failed to shine on the biggest stages gives plenty of ammunition  to those who say she is there by default.
  
Wozniacki, the theory goes, has benefited from injuries to  the likes of Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters and from the fact  that some of her peers are still developing their games.  
 
Williams, and before her the likes of Martina Navratilova,  Steffi Graf and Monica Seles, used to provide the ultimate  benchmark for women’s tennis in various spells of domination but  Wozniacki, despite racking up victories, points and dollars,  lacks that authority.
 
She may still be just 21, but both Serena and Venus  Williams, Seles, Graf, Martina Hingis and Sharapova all had a  clutch of grand slam titles in the bag at the same age.
  
All of those, with the exception of Hingis whose brain was  possibly her greatest strength, could also dominate opponents in  a way that Wozniacki’s solid percentage game cannot.  
 
When it gets down to the later stages of a major, the  chances are Woznaicki will run into a player with the weapons to  break down her barricades.
  
“She’s certainly not the best player in the world at her  best, but at her worst she’s probably the best player in the  world compared to the others,” former men’s world number one  Mats Wilander said this week.  
 
 MAJOR STRENGTH   
It is a recipe for the kind of consistency in results which  U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur believes is Wozniacki’s major  strength.
  
“Kvitova’s got a lot more visible weapons than what Caroline  has,” the Australian told Reuters after losing to Kvitova in the  semi-finals at the Championships.