After years of burnouts and comebacks, the former world No 1 has seized the chance to leave joyfully on her own termsUntil as recently as two years ago, one of the defining moments of Caroline Wozniacki’s career was the one she spent years trying to forget. Wozniacki was ranked No 1 when she stared down Li Na in the semi-final of the
Australian Open in 2011 and it had all the makings of a typical Wozniacki win: she chased down every last ball and gave nothing away, flitting to within a point of her second grand slam final at 20 years old.
On match point Wozniacki changed nothing, but across the net adrenaline coursed through Li’s veins as she made her last stand. She stepped inside the court and seized the moment, bulldozing a down‑the-line forehand winner to scupper her opponent before turning the match around in three sets.