"It was very special to play tonight the final match against a great friend" - Caroline Wozniacki after last dance against Angelique Kerber in Denmark
Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki formally bid farewell to tennis after beating kerber" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-4 in an exhibition match in front of her home crowd in Copenhagen on Tuesday night.
Dubbed "The Final One," the event was supposed to pit the Dane against her best friend Serena Williams in May 2020, but it did not take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wozniacki ended up rescheduling the match and also changing her opponent, locking horns with close friend Angelique Kerber instead of Williams.
"It was a fun match. It was very special to play tonight the final match against a great friend," said Caroline Wozniacki during the on-court interview.
In the final game of the match, the 31-year-old Wozniacki raced to a 40-0 love lead after a backhand winner and two forehand errors from Kerber. The Dane raised her hands, smiling and urging the crowd to get to their feet. Although she committed two errors to allow Kerber back into the game, a netted forehand by the German handed Wozniacki the win.
Her own two errors, however, gave breathing room for Kerber before the Dane sealed it on a netted forehand by the German.
Earlier in the fifth game of the second set, Wozniacki and Kerber engaged in a seemingly endless rally that featured net exchanges, lobs and tweeners that ended with a wayward lob from the German.
"It was a lot of fun. I think we've run a lot as I was expecting. It was a fun match," said Caroline Wozniacki. "We've known each other since maybe we were seven or nine. It's been a long time and obviously, we've known each other so well so to have her here in front of my home crowd, on my home court means a lot."
Kerber, also a former No. 1, held a slight edge over Wozniacki in their head-to-head (8-7), but it was the Dane who won their last two matches in Doha and Eastbourne in 2018.
Asked in the post-match interview if she went easy on Wozniacki, Kerber said that the 2018 Australian Open champion played really well despite being off the tour for two years. She also praised Wozniacki's attitude on and off the court.
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"She was really good today. She is two years off retiring right now," said Kerber. "We played so many tough battles in the past. We grew up on the tour. I know her very well. She achieved so much. She won Grand Slam, she's been the best player in the world, she won so many WTA titles, and I think she's such a champion. But I think the most important thing is she's a great person. On-court, off-court, she's always smiling. She's always nice to everyone," she added.
An overview of Caroline Wozniacki's illustrious career
Wozniacki won her first and only Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2018. She spent 71 weeks at No. 1, first reaching the coveted spot in October 2010. She briefly regained the top spot after beating Simona Halep in the Australian Open final to win her first Major.
She won a total of 30 WTA titles in an 11-year span, taking home at least one trophy every year between 2008 and 2018.
She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to mistakenly attack healthy cells in one's body, before the 2018 US Open. She retired from tennis after the 2020 Australian Open.
She said that her health condition was not the reason for her retirement. She married former NBA player David Lee in June 2019. They now have a nine-month old daughter, Olivia.
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