Caroline Wozniacki admitted that she has “lost a little bit of respect” for some of the former players who are now commentators and constantly questioned the legitimacy of her former No.1 status.
The Dane, who is defending her title in Dubai this week, withstood lots of harsh criticism for not winning a Grand Slam title throughout her 67-week reign of the WTA rankings – some of which came from former players like Martina Navratilova, who said that ahe didn't deserve to be world No.1.
“I think I have lost a little bit of respect (for such players) to be honest, because I respect what they have achieved,” said Wozniacki at the Dubai Tennis Stadium lawns at the Aviation Club. “I know how hard it is to reach the top level of a sport like tennis.
"And I think I would never say ‘you know Martina (Navratilova) was No.1 when there was no one playing or she was the best because no one was playing’ I mean that would be disrespectful, she was unbelievable, and she won so many Grand Slams, she could play for so many years.
“Martina Hingis was unbelievable for me as well she was my favourite player. I think they should respect the players who are playing now as well, because they know how hard it is.
“You don’t just you wake up saying I want to win this tournament and it just happens like this. At that point you’re like you know they should maybe just think a little bit.
"I think if I was a commentator I would commentate on the specific game that is on, and not say ‘she’s not worth the No1 ranking’ because I know that if she’s there it’s because she deserves it and it’s because she’s been playing unbelievable for a period of time.
"Anyone who’s won a Grand Slam, it’s no luck, it’s no luck to be No1, or to be top-ten. It’s hard work and I think I would respect them.”
The 21-year-old has also come under-fire for her lack of a real weapon in her game, that mainly relies on counter-punching and defending, rather than going for winners,. But Wozniacki insists she doesn’t need to overhaul her game, nor is she in search of an extra element to add to her style.
“You shouldn’t repair something that’s not broken. And I’ve reached great success with the way that I’m playing,” she said. “I’ve been playing the way I have since I started and it comes natural to you. Everyone has their own game. If you ask Kvitova to start playing spin like Schiavone and start running, there would be no chance, or if you ask Schiavone to play like Kvitova that wouldn’t work either. Everyone just needs to build on their own game.”
Wozniacki, who fell in the first round last week in Doha to Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova, has dropped to No.4 in the world this week, but she assured she is ready for her title defence in Dubai and believes she could regain her spot at the top of the rankings. She said: “I don’t think it’s going to be easy (to return to No.1) but I believe that it’s possible.
“We’re a lot of young players playing very well at the moment and I think the generation as well is changing a little bit. You see the older players playing less, or getting injured. And you see the young ones, the hungry ones coming up. So I think it’s exciting times and I definitely believe that it’s possible for me to be No.1 again.
“I’m just going under the radar a bit, trying to improve my game all the time. I’m feeling good now. I actually don’t think that I played bad against Safarova last week, she just played really well. I was unlucky a bit as well having three match points and not taking them and then losing 7-6 in the third. It’s no disaster. I’m excited to be here, it’s a great feeling to be back after winning the tournament last year.”
