With her
return to the Tour,
Caroline Wozniacki is also gearing up for exhibition
matches, and a confirmed showdown against
Eugenie Bouchard is set as a prelude
to the ATP 250 Dallas Open. The men's tournament will take place between
February 5-11, featuring a "Women's Tennis Classic" night on February
3 for an initial match on the Center Court.
The
exhibition date falls one week after the conclusion of the Australian Open and
one week before the WTA 1000 Qatar Open. While Wozniacki's participation in the
first Grand Slam of the year is confirmed, there is still uncertainty about the
rest of her schedule for the year.
“There is
an exhibition tennis match between Wozniacki and Bouchard in Dallas on Feb 3rd”
In their
head-to-head encounters, Bouchard and Wozniacki have only faced each other
twice in official matches. The first meeting took place in the semifinals of
the 2014 Wuhan Open, where Bouchard (6th seed) easily defeated Wozniacki (8th
seed) with a score of 6-2, 6-3. The Danish player took revenge in a subsequent
match in the first round of the 2017 Hong Kong Open, securing a convincing 6-1,
6-1 victory to even the series in their latest official clash.
Reflecting
on their careers:
Eugenie
Bouchard made one of the most explosive appearances on the WTA Tour in the last
decade. At the age of 19 in 2014, she consecutively reached the semifinals of
the Australian Open and French Open, followed by making it to the Wimbledon
final (where she was defeated by Petra Kvitova). Despite reaching a career-high
ranking of world No. 5, Bouchard couldn't replicate those early successes in
the subsequent seasons.
In
contrast, Caroline Wozniacki solidified herself as one of the most consistent
players of the past decades. The 2018 Australian Open champion and former world
No. 1, Wozniacki secured 30 trophies and reached 31 finals before her
retirement in 2020. Unexpectedly returning to the court at the end of the 2023
season after two pregnancies and three and a half years away, she made a
notable appearance at the US Open, reaching the fourth round before falling to
the eventual champion, Coco Gauff.