By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Caroline Wozniacki attributes her torrid start to a sense of off-court calm.
On court, Wozniacki continues to create chaos for opponents.
Watch: Pliskova Powers Into Semifinals
Grinding with unerring consistency and stinging some timely big serves, Wozniacki swept Lucie Safarova, 6-4, 6-3, rolling into the Miami Open semifinals for the second time in 10 appearances.
The world No. 14 has not dropped a set en route to her third semifinal in her last four tournaments. Wozniacki raised her record to 22-6, including a 16-3 mark since the Australian Open.
“That was a great win for me today,” Wozniacki told Andrew Krasny afterward. “Lucie is such a strong competitor. She had a tough year last year with illness and injuries. She’s one of those players you don’t want to play because she’s so good.
“It’s a tough match and I’m pleased to be through. I’m playing really well, just everything around me is really good and I think that transfers onto the court. I’m just pleased to be here in the semifinals once again.”
The last time Wozniacki made the final four at Crandon Park she defeated Serena Williams6-4, 6-4, in the 2012 quarterfinals before bowing to Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.
The 12th-seeded Wozniacki will play Karolina Pliskova in a semifinal rematch of last month’s Doha final. Pliskova prevailed in Doha, 6-3, 6-4, to earn her first win in four career encounters with Wozniacki.
In 2013, Wozniacki warded off then then 92nd-ranked Pliskova, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, in the Miami second round.
Exuding energy after going down a break, Wozniacki showed Safarova it was going to take several aggressive shots to win a point.
The former No. 1 converted her fourth break point to get back on serve at 2-all.
Australian Open doubles champion Safarova twisted an ace out wide holding for 4-all in a game that saw her save break point.
Scoreboard pressure and Wozniacki’s freakishly high shot tolerance took a toll on Safarova in the 10th game. She scattered a shot to face two set points.
In the ensuing 14-shot rally, Wozniacki opened the court and cracked a backhand crosscourt collecting a one-set lead.
Pushed backhand behind the baseline in the second set, Wozniacki whipped a winner from a defensive position wrapping a hard-fought hold for 4-3.
The 26-year-old Dane’s defense and depth helped her stretch the court and extend points drawing a shanked error for break point in the eighth game. Safarova, who had been hitting the slider wide on the ad side, switched it up and stung a serve winner down the T. Safarova saved a second break point with another slice serve.
Spinning a timid second serve into net, the 30-year-old Czech faced a third break point. This time, Wozniacki read the wide slice, hit a sharp crosscourt return and used the heavy high topspin to neutralize Safarova. When the left-hander slapped a forehand into net Wozniacki had the crucial break and a 5-3 second-set lead.
Wozniacki exploited successive errors to wrap up a confident win. She’s dropped just 22 games reaching the final four.