Caroline Wozniacki says she is not setting any deadlines to win her first Grand Slam tournament as the top-ranked Dane gears up for the Australian Open later this month.
There are high hopes for a 20-year-old player who burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning three WTA Tour titles. A year later, she matched that feat and reached her first major final at the U.S. Open. In 2010, she bagged a tour-best six titles, a result that helped her overtake an injured Serena Williams as the top-ranked female player in October.
Now all eyes are on whether she can back up her No. 1 ranking with a win at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, especially given the open field missing Williams.
Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament, Wozniacki said Monday she is trying not to let the pressure overwhelm her.
''Of course I would like to win a Grand Slam title. Is it going to be this year? No one knows if it's going to happen. But definitely I'm going to try. I'm going to be fighting hard for it. We're going to have to see,'' she said. ''I'm not very picky. If I win a Grand Slam in my career, I'll be happy. I don't set any deadlines.''
One thing that Wozniacki is certain about is that she deserves the No. 1 spot.
Unlike the men's game, where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have controlled the top two spots in recent years, women's tennis has seen a series of new No. 1s since 2008, including Williams, Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, Belgium's Justine Henin, as well as Russians Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina.
''I feel pressure is when you are put in a spot where you don't feel like you belong. I feel like I belong where I am. I've had a great year,'' she said.
Wozniacki added she has no plans to drastically change her defensive style of play to boost her chances of winning a Slam.
''Like they say in the U.S., don't repair something that is not broken. So if something is working for me, I think I can play an all-around game. I can play aggressively if I want to. I can run. I can serve, return. I can do pretty much what I have to do to win,'' Wozniacki said.
The Hong Kong team exhibition, which pairs active women's players with retired men's stars, also features Americans Venus Williams and Melanie Oudin, second-ranked Vera Zvonareva, fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko, France's Aravane Rezai and China's Li Na.
After Hong Kong, Wozniacki, who lost to Belgian Kim Clijsters in an exhibition match in Thailand on Saturday, will compete in the WTA tournament in Sydney that starts next Monday.
