THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL — After two days of waiting out the rain, Caroline Wozniacki decided it was time to take care of business.
With the semifinals and the final both held Monday, the 20-year-old Dane dispatched Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-3 in the semis. About two hours later, she downed another Russian, Vera Zvonareva, 6-3, 6-2 in the final to win the US$2-million Rogers Cup.
"I did what I had to do," said Wozniacki, a first-time Rogers Cup champion.
With world No. 1 Serena Williams out with an injury, second-ranked Wozniacki will go into the U.S. Open beginning Aug. 31 as the favourite and as one of the hottest players on the WTA Tour. However, she will first play a small event in New Haven, Conn., this week, with her first match on Wednesday night.
"I hope I keep the winning streak going," she said.
Wozniacki posted her ninth career tournament victory, but is still seeking her first Grand Slam title.
"I never think about that — I just try to win every match," she said. "We’ll have to see what happens.
"Right now, I want to enjoy winning this tournament. It gives me a lot of confidence to win a tournament like this — it’s a huge tournament."
Wozniacki took the $350,000 winner’s prize while Zvonareva got $175,000.
It was her third title of the year, after wins at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and at her home tournament in Copenhagen.
The tournament went into an extra day after nearly all action was washed out by rain on Saturday and Sunday.
Competitors spent the weekend resting or watching movies in the players lounge, warming up every now and then when it looked like there would be a break in the weather, only to see more rain fall.
"It was tough for all of us," said Zvonareva, the Wimbledon finalist who was clearly off her game in the final.
While Wozniacki’s groundstrokes were hitting the lines with their usual sharpness, Zvonareva struggled, at times letting out shrieks after misfiring routine shots.
A key game came with Wozniacki leading 5-3 in the first set, as the Dane fell behind 0-40 and then won five straight points to close the set.
After breaking serve for a 5-2 lead in the second, Wozniacki wrapped it up with four straight points on her serve. She gave a little fist pump and walked up to shake hands with her opponent.
Zvonareva had played her semifinal on the National Bank Court, a smaller venue adjacent to Centre Court, and led 7-6, 1-0 when her opponent Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a blister on her left foot.
"It was a different court, different conditions," the 25-year-old said of her troubles in the final. "It was difficult to keep my concentration.
"I was preparing to play Victoria for two days and they have absolutely different styles. In the final, I was still playing shots I would use in the semifinals. My head was not in the final."
The tournament was ill-fated from the start. With Serena Williams and Justine Henin already out with long-term injuries, two more stars, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova, pulled out at the last minute with injuries.
Star power was further diminished when top-seeded Jelena Jankovic lost her first match and the popular Kim Clijsters lost in the third round after injuring her hip.
Then came the rains.
But tournament director Eugene Lapierre was bouyed by the turnout on a weekday for the final. The 11,000-seat Uniprix Stadium looked two-thirds full, but he announced a crowd of 9,500.
Total attendance for the tournament was announced as 172,119, not far off the record of 174,706 set in 2006, although the tally included ticket sales for the rained-out weekend sessions.
Lapierre said fans who held tickets for either of the two semifinal sessions on the weekend can exchange them for equal tickets for the 2012 Rogers Cup, when the women will return to Montreal, or for the women’s event next year in Toronto.
Only a smattering of fans watched the semifinals. There wasn’t a lot to see as the 21-year-old Azarenka called for the trainers early in the second set. They worked on her foot for several minutes before she got up and tried to walk, but then immediately sat back down.
She said the injury was not severe enough to keep her out of the U.S. Open.
"I don’t see how I got a blister after sitting on my (rear end) for two days," said Azarenka, who was in tears as she spoke to reporters after the match. "I tried to deal with it, but I couldn’t continue."
Wozniacki and Kuznetsova completed a semifinal that began on Saturday and stopped due to rain with Wozniacki leading 2-0, 0-15.
The doubles final was played indoors on Sunday night, with Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia taking the title.