Wozniacki into U.S. Open final after one very bizarre ending
Caroline Wozniacki made it back to the U.S. Open final on Friday, but the lasting memory from the match will be the way it ended -- with opponent Shuai Peng crumpled in an injured heap after a controversial delay.
Wozniacki had won the first set and was serving with a 4-3 lead in the second when the incident happened.
At 30-40, with a break point chance in front of her, Peng grabbed her leg in pain and slumped against the back wall of the court.
A trainer and tournament official rushed to check on her, giving her fluids on court. Tournament referee Brian Earley also got into the mix. After a lengthy discussion, Peng was carried off the court.
That left a confused Wozniacki alone on the court hitting warm-up serves. Wozniacki talked with Earley and the chair umpire and was told to wait.
After a delay of over nine minutes, Peng returned to the court under her own power and -- though still in visible pain -- attemped to play. She was not given any kind of penalty. Wozniacki, to her credit, crushed her first serve following the delay to get the game to deuce. But Peng hung tough, forcing another break chance despite being in obvious pain during and between points.
But again, Peng was unable to play the break point. She slumped back on the court, was attended to again and covered with a towel. Wozniacki even came across to Peng's side of the court to check on her.
Eventually, the seemingly inevitable retirement announcement came through. Peng was placed on a wheelchair and taken off the court.
Here are some photos of the incident. First, the initial injury that sent Peng to the back wall:
Here, she gets set to be carried off as Earley looks on:
After returning to the court and playing six more points, Peng slumped over again:
Wozniacki was among those who came to her aid after the second incident:
The wheelchair takes her off:
Emotions pour out in the bowels of Arthur Ashe Stadium:
It was an extremely humid day in New York, and the injury was eventually described as "heat illness."
The fact that Wozniacki shrugged off the distraction and still advanced will mitigate some of the controversy here, but CBS commentators Mary Carrillo and John McEnroe were both critical of the decisions to allow the obviously injured Peng to play and also to not penalize her for the delay. Pauses of that magnitude in the middle of a game are often met with point penalties.
Tournament director David Brewer explained in an interview with CBS later that heat illness injuries, by rule, allow for a longer delay than an injury like cramping. Brewer said the ruling would've been the same for Wozniacki had it happened to her.
At any rate, it will go down as the latest win in what has been a memorable tournament for Wozniacki. The 7-6 (1), 4-3 win puts her back in the championship match in New York -- the site of her only other Grand Slam final appearance, in 2009. Prior to this U.S. Open, she hadn't even made the quarterfinal at any Grand Slam since the 2012 Australian Open.
Wozniacki will face No. 1 Serena Williams in Sunday's title match.
