PARIS — On a spare wooden bench in a wide subterranean corridor far below Court Suzanne Lenglen, a man in a green warm-up leans down to counsel his daughter. Isn't that what dads do? After rough experiences, billions of pops have counseled their 20-year-olds. But Caroline Wozniacki is no ordinary coming-of-age kid trying to figure it all out.
For starters, she’s the No. 1 player in the world and the pretty clear favorite to win her first Slam. But disaster has hit. Like another bright Euro blonde before her — Kim Clijsters — Wozniacki has suffered an improbable loss — a 6-1, 6-3 schooling by the slim-and-streaky Slovokian vet Daniela Hantuchova, ranked No, 27.
So daddy and daughter gather in a back corridor at Roland Garros for a serious heart-to-heart. For almost 25 minutes, Piotr Wozniacki counsels his daughter. Never mind that Vera Zvonereva, toting her green Prince bag, and Richard Gasquet, his game face in place, are striding by. Huddling close, the Danish duo is oblivious to young ballgirls, TV crews, groundskeepers and maintenance men who do double takes when they spot the Wozniackis. The tennis world may pass by, but father and daughter are engrossed. Caroline fusses with a stray piece of tape. Her sad gaze dances between the cold gray floor and a huge minimalist Eiffel Tower photo-mural. Papa Piotra does virtually all the talking in his Polish mother tongue. Some say he’s been too pushy, too overpowering. But today his gestures are calm, measured, expressive. There’s no sign of rage. Upset is absent.
Still, the sense of sorrow is clear. It was a golden opportunity. Yes, she’s No. 1, but the tennis universe knows she’s faltered in the 16 Slams she’s played in her still-young career. At a time when the women's game is more than weak, dominance is there for the taking.
After enduring a false controversy and a narrow escape in her second-round match against Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak, “Sunshine” (a Wozniacki nickname) is under a cloud. Hantuchova is on fire, blasting flat winners to all corners. The Slovakian sprints to a shocking 6-1, 4-0 lead, before the Dane mounts a short-lived counter-attack. But to no avail. Hantuchova's 6-1, 6-3 win means that, for the first time in the Open Era, neither the No. 1 or No. 2 seed will reach the fourth round of a women's Slam.
Back on the bench, the daddy-daughter duo at last departs and Piotr tells Inside Tennis that he’s reassured Caroline. “This is just sport. There are 128 players in the draw. Only one can win,” he says. Like Clijsters before her, Wozniacki may evolve from a defensive-minded scrambler into a player with a punishing offensive arsenal and a commanding belief. “Her time will come,” Piotr tells IT.
Wozniacki herself is defensive at all points. “I don't feel the pressure,” she says. “The only one I feel pressure from is myself…I don't like losing…Right now, I can't do anything about the loss other than just get back on the practice court and improve and be better for next time…It's a tough loss…We know what we can improve, we know what we can do. I mean, the world still goes on and we still have the next tournament next week…Don't beat yourself up too much.”
As for the almost unimaginable lack of depth and excellence in the women's game, Wozniaki contends, “Everyone has to write a story, but tennis is a sport where only one can win. There are no ties. You cannot go off the court and both of the players are happy…There are a lot of great players out there. Kim had a tough loss yesterday. I had a tough loss today. That's what happens…[But] since we're No. 1 and 2…we must be doing something right.”
But we live in an era of No. 1 women who haven't won a Slam (think Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina) and others who have faltered big time. But Wozniacki bristles. “To be honest, I don't read the newspapers, first of all. Second of all, you know, everyone always has an opinion.. When I was younger, people told me, ‘Yeah, yeah, right, you'll never be a top player. You're from Denmark. We don't have the mentality. Blah, blah, blah.’…I know what I'm capable of. I know I'm a great player.”
But here's a question that — while counseling his daughter — Papa Piotr probably DIDN’T ask his daughter. Do great players lose in straight sets in the third round of Slams to foes who they’ve beaten three times previously without a loss and who are ranked 26 slots below them?
ROLAND GARROS BUZZ: DAY 6
LET THEM EAT CAKE: When the compelling Novak Djokovic–Juan Martin Del Potro match was moved from Court Centrale to the smaller Court Suzanne Lenglen, hundreds of enraged fans who couldn't get a seat started to chant, “LET US IN! LET US IN!”
JUST WONDERING: Had the Caroline Wozniacki match been a college hoops game, would fans have started chanting: “OVERATED!”?
CURIOUS QUESTION: After her loss to Daniela Hantuchova, Wozniacki was asked, “Do you think that is a demonstration of the fact that the women's game is in a good situation now because anyone can beat anyone, or is it lacking someone with a bit of gravitas like a Nadal or a Federer?”
BIG PICTURE: Men's tennis has gone from focusing on how Roger Federer was the best player of all time, to Rafael Nadal's stunning multi-surface excellence to the outbreak season of Djokovic, which some claim is the best five-month performance in tennis history.
YES, DJOK IS HUMAN: Djokovic double faulted in the second set of his match against Del Potro.
WEATHER REPORT: Commenting on the blustery conditions he had to deal with while beating Robin Haase in the second round, Floridian Mardy Fish said, “That's a pretty nice day in Vero Beach.”
HOW 'BOUT THAT GISELA DULKO?: Veteran Gisela Dulko not only dismissed ’10 runner-up Sam Stosur in the third round, her sister-in-law gave birth to twins the day before and the slim Argentine, who has dated many an ATP player, is slated to get married in July.
LONG LIVE THE KING!: Kudos to Vania King for reaching the third round with a tough three-set win over Brit Elena Baltacha. The Long Beach native will now face the big-hitting Czech Petra Kvitova. King attributed her recent success to re-tooling her game, playing tennis for herself (not her father) and experiencing the joy of tennis.
OBVIOUSLY: With his gluten-free diet, Djokovic may not be eating a lot of bread, but with all his wins these days, he's certainly making a lot.
