13 Sep 2009

Wozniacki sets up US Open final showdown with Clijsters

5:14 pm on 13 September 2009

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark has beaten error-prone Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 6-3 to reach the women's final of the U.S. Open against former champion Kim Clijsters.

The Ninth-seeded Wozniacki won the battle of 19-year-olds by steadily trading groundstrokes against big-hitting Wickmayer and waiting for her unseeded opponent to make mistakes.

In a match whose start was delayed more than seven hours from its scheduled afternoon launch because of wet conditions, the unseeded Wickmayer made 40 unforced errors, mainly from her forehand, against just 14 for the Dane.

Wozniacki fittingly claimed victory in the 96-minute match when Wickmayer belted a forehand wide and became the first Danish woman to reach a grand slam singles final since tennis turned professional in 1968.