Caroline Wozniacki had been sharing the top position of 2010 WTA titles with Kim Clijsters, but with the victory over Elena Dementieva in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open the Dane became the only leader with five WTA titles this season. Prior to this year, Wozniacki had never won a match at the Tokyo tournament.

The top-seeded Wozniacki lost only seven games en route to the semifinals in Tokyo, but her last two matches were three-setters – a close 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4 victory over Victoria Azarenka in the semis and a survival of the tough first set loss to defeat Dementieva 1-6 6-2 6-3 in the final. The win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open added $350,000 to the $2,115,988 Wozniacki has earned in 2010.

Not only is world No.2 Wozniacki the Tour leader in the number of titles this season, she’s also the leader in both the number of finals played (she played six finals and lost only one at Indian Wells) and the number of matches won (54 matches). (photos via Toray Pan Pacific Open)

Caroline Wozniacki is closing in on the No.1 ranking by reaching the final of the $2 million Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo where she will face Elena Dementieva.

The top-seeded Wozniacki advanced to the final with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4 victory over Victoria Azarenka, No.8 seed. Wozniacki stormed through the first set, before losing the second set which featured eight breaks of serve. In the final set, the second-ranked Dane won five straight games for a 5-0 lead, but Azarenka managed to take the score to 5-4, winning 16 of 19 points. However, Wozniacki held serve in the sixth game and won the match of the young stars.

The other semifinal was seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva vs. fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone. Dementieva won the match 6-4 7-5 even though she started it by winning only two of the first ten points.

Wozniacki and Dementieva are tied at 3-3 in their head-to-head record. However, Wozniacki won three of their last four meetings, including a close semifinal this year en route to New Haven title. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki had a very short quarterfinal as sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska retired with left foot injury after 29 minutes at 5-0 down. Wozniacki was trailing by the same score against Aleksandra Wozniak last year in the second round of Tokyo and had to retire with a viral infection.

The 20-year-old Wozniacki could rise from No.2 to No.1 in the rankings for the first time if she wins the Toray Pan Pacific Open and reaches the quarterfinals of the next week’s China Open in Beijing.

The Dane's opponent in the semifinals will be No.8 seed Victoria Azarenka, who ended the successful run of qualifier Coco Vandeweghe 6-2 6-1.

The other semifinal pair includes fifth seed Francesca Schiavone and seventh seed Elena Dementieva. The Italian defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-5 4-6 7-5 in the quarters, the Russian beat compatriot and No.2 seed Vera Zvonareva 7-5 6-2. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 6-2 in one hour and ten minutes in the third round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and the victory ensured the Dane to become the first player to qualify for the singles competition at the 2010 season-ending Doha championships.

Wozniacki’s continued good results during the season enabled her to become the first of only eight singles players to qualify for the Sony Ericsson Championships. Those good results include four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles (Ponte Vedra Beach, Copenhagen, Montreal, New Haven), winning the US Open Series and reaching career high ranking of No.2 in March. Wozniacki qualified for Doha last year as well, but retired against Serena Williams in the semifinals.

Let’s get back to Tokyo now. Wozniacki’s quarterfinal opponent there will be No.6 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-3 in the third round. Coco Vandeweghe, that we yesteryday dedicated one extensive article to, keeps on winning and her last victim was Julia Goerges, 6-3 6-0. Bad news for tournament host Japan, as their star Kimiko Date Krumm eventually fell to Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-3. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Tennis fan John Bolan from the United States wanted to share with you his thoughts about Coco Vandeweghe, who could be the next big thing his country has been awaiting so much. The 18-year old Vandeweghe keeps advancing at the current $2,000,000 Tokyo tournament, having defeated Klara Zakopalova in the first round and seed No.14 Aravane Rezai today in the second round.

For years, America has been wondering which young player would rise up to replace the aging Williams sisters on the WTA Tour. Coco Vandeweghe may be the answer. The first hint came in San Diego this year where she reached the quarterfinals defeating Vera Zvonareva along the way before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova, the tournament winner. She had a new coach, Tom Gullickson, and was supported by many fans since her home is not far from the tournament site at La Costa. San Diego was where she first played in a WTA tournament after being granted a wildcard at age 14 in 2006. At age 16 in 2008 she played Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the US Open on Arthur Ashe Court. Although she lost, it was an amazing experience for her to play there against such a great player. She went on that year to win the US Open Girl's Championship. Read more »