Top seed Caroline Wozniacki won her 14th career title and her second Premier Mandatory by defeating Marion Bartoli in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, 6-1 2-6 6-3. Interestingly, the Dane, known for her defensive game, won the $4.5-million tournament without hitting a single ace.
The 15th-seeded Bartoli, finalist at Wimbledon four years ago, took the second set and approached Wozniacki from 1-4 to 3-4 in the third set, when the 20-year-old world No.1 regrouped and won the match.
Besides Bartoli, Wozniacki defeated Sloane Stephens, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Alisa Kleybanova, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova at Indian Wells this year.
Wozniacki, who finished runner-up to Jelena Jankovic last time at the BNP Paribas Open, is now 14-9 in WTA finals and this is her second title of the year, following Dubai. France’s Bartoli will, despite losing today, return to the Top 10 from her current ranking of No.17.
The winner’s check amounts to $700,000, while Bartoli received $350,000 as a runner-up.
today watching caroline’s match I realize that if kim and serena will not play wta events..caroline is a real number one! she has the head of a number one..and she also plays great! it’s very difficult to win a point against her..and she doesn’t make a lot of errors..she has a great defends!
I think that if she continues like this she will win a slam this year..not roland garros..but she has a lot of chances to win the us open
Congrats for nole’s tittle today! I’m a fan of rafa..but my 3rd favourite tennis player is novak..after rafa and delpo!
kisses 🙂
The article states that Bartoli had a 4-1 lead in the third set, that is not correct, as it was Wozzy that had that lead 🙂
Kaz666, yes, I apologize, I corrected it. Thanks for noting! 🙂
Novak rocks! 🙂
Caro was complitely lost in second set, things could get dangerous for her in the third but Bartoli just didn’t have any energy left.So, congrats for her.It’s nice to see a world number one that does not struggle-after Ivanovic,Jankovic and Safina a little bit,who reached world number one spot and then let it go. She really,really has to improve that serve- even Jankovic hits aces! I’m not quite sure about her Roland Garros chances, I think there are players who are just better than her on clay. I give her more chances at US open. And, gotta say, great job, Novak! 😀
Caroline is not afraid of her No.1 spot, she’s mentally strong.
Marija on March 21st, 2011
Caroline is not afraid of her No.1 spot, she’s mentally strong.
TOTTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT THAT
Why isn’t anybody for Marion? She played a very good tournament and a great final. I think it’s wrong, just to congratulate Caro, even if she played her best.
I think Marion found a key to victory in 2nd set, but she just couldn’t continue that way in the 3rd. As for Caro-I think she doesn’t have a slamless number 1 complex, but what I mind is I don’t see that I-want-a-Slam-fire in her. I mean, it’s great to have 14 titles and to win a lot of matches, but now for her it’s I’d say crucial to be the best at one of the 4 tournaments that last 2 weeks. I think right now she should skip some tournaments and concentrate her form on Slams. We get it- you can win tournaments, but can you win the Slam? (Similiar thing like Murray, I’d say)
I just don’t get the point of people who speculate about whether Caroline can win a Grand Slam – of course she can. Give the Girl a break – she is only 20 years old and still has 5-10 years of good tennis ahead of her. But I’m sure that when (when – not if) Caroline Wozniacki wins her first Grand Slam, there will still be plenty of nay-sayers who will find plenty of reasons to belittle her achievement. It seems to be a favorite sport on tennis blogs.
Marion played Caro perfectly in the second set – a pity for her that Caro had worked her over so much in the first (a Caro specialty – get the opponent running a lot) that she was too tired to keep it up in the final set. Still, she should feel encouraged – if she can find that kind of form again on a regular basis, she will go on to big things this year.
I think Caroline will beat Kim or Serena one day. She’s improved a lot compared to her GS final in 2009 and pushed Clijsters in all their matches so I see it as a question of time. I saw the final and I have to say that I have a lot of respect for Bartoli now. She’s not the one with a very athletic look but she has a lot of determination and in that match she was amazing. Caroline won thanks to keeping her head cool although at times she had to work incredibly hard to keep it together. I think this season can be a new breakthrough for Bartoli, she’s got what it takes to get a lot higher in the top 10.
I think Wozniacki DEFINITELY has a change to win a Slam. She is young and very talented.
Personally I think she plays very well on hard court but her game can run well on clay also. What do you think?
Brad
Three main ways a player wins a point. You win a point if:
1) you hit a shot that lands “in” which your opponent cannot reach, called a winner (Caroline only had one in the first set against Marion).
2) you hit a serve that lands “in” which your opponent can’t reach, called an “ace (Caroline didn’t have any during the entire 3 set match). 3) your opponent makes an “error”, meaning that they are unable to return one of your shots back into play (Caroline got plenty of these type points by keeping the ball in play until the opponent finally is unable to return it successfully), but is this the type of tennis that the majority of fans NOW want to see?
A big consistent well-placed serve gives a player a powerful attacking weapon — cheap easy points via aces and it’s disruptive to the opponent’s game. Caroline’s game is winning for now but is hardly sometime new– we saw the same thing before the power hitters like Lindsey Davenport, williams sisters etc blew them off the court. I like Caroline, she’s a good player and role model but POWER trumps baseline returners. Even the talented clever Hingus couldn’t handled the power hitters (big serves and returns) when they came on the scene.
Brad, I think she can win a slam as long as she doesn’t lose her nerve. She was very close to beating Na Li in the AO but I think nervosity cost her the match.
As for her tennis,I have no problem with watching a defensive player like her. Those who play offensively can be pretty boring and error-prone.
That was a great match, but the men’s final was really something to watch. Seeing Novak make Rafa look so confused and off his game was something to behold. I’m a huge Nadal fan, and I don’t ever recall seeing him look so out of it, especially after winning the first set.
Novak is finally pulling all aspects of his game together. He looked like he was going to be able to do that a couple of years ago, but now it looks like he’s finally hitting on all cylinders