Caroline Wozniacki moving quickly beyond trivia question

It is possibly the best tennis trivia question from 2009: Name the player Kim Clijsters beat to win the US Open?

If you said "Serena Williams", you were wrong. That was a semi-final.

Want another clue?

Name the player who held three match points against Williams in Sydney last year and couldn't convert them?

If you answered "Sam Stosur", you are only partly right. Stosur indeed held match points against the world No 1, but so did our mystery player.

Last clue. Which small European country, not known for its tennis history, has a player currently ranked in the world top five?

If you said "Belgium", you've struck out.

The answer is Denmark.

And our mystery player is Caroline Wozniacki.

If you haven't seen or heard much of her yet, that is about to change.

As a 16-year-old in 2006, Wozniacki, who grew up in Denmark the daughter of Polish parents, finished her first full year on the WTA professional tour at No 237. But in just three years has advanced to No 4.

The fuel igniting her engine as she rocketed up the world rankings last year was winning three titles and appearing in her maiden Grand Slam final barely two months after her 19th birthday.

But in New York in September, Wozniacki's achievement to get to the final was well and truly overshadowed by the storm swirling around Williams and her verbal abuse of a lineswoman in the semi-final against Clijsters.

Such was the impact of that astonishing moment, when Williams's rage after a call of foot fault cost her a penalty point and the match, Wozniacki's five minutes of fame was reduced to mere seconds.

She has every right to feel robbed, but she bares no ill will towards anyone. In fact, she still feels as proud today as she did back in September of walking out on to Arthur Ashe Stadium to play Clijsters in the final.

"I do not play to be in the spotlight," Wozniacki told The Australian from her home in Monte Carlo. "I play because I love playing.

"The whole Kim-Serena situation does not, and cannot, take away the Grand Slam final from me. I was there, I played, I fought, I didn't win, but I played my first Slam final. This is it."

It was the highlight of an outstanding year. The Dane played 26 tournaments, reached the quarter-finals of 15 and appeared in eight finals, winning three titles: Bastad, Eastbourne and Ponte Vedra Beach. She won $US2.3 million of her career total of $US3.2m prizemoney in the one year.

"It was a pretty amazing ride. I enjoyed every minute of it," she said.

"I did not plan to be No 4, I just wanted to crack the top 10. But after making it, I felt that rising even higher is possible."

Having gone so close to beating Williams in Sydney a year ago could have been enough to crush a teen's confidence. And losing to wild-card Jelena Dokic in the third round of the Australian Open a week later should have dragged her down further.

But the daughter of parents who represented Poland in soccer and volleyball has always been taught to keep aiming high.

When asked for her first recollection of her summer in Australia a year ago, she says quite simply: "It was very hot."

"But I played one of the best matches of my career against Serena there. But I still was a little inexperienced and could not deal with the pressure that well.

"Then Jelena also played incredible tennis. I learned a lot from those matches. And next time I will be more prepared."

She is a quick learner as less than three months later she took the first of her three singles titles of 2009 at Ponte Vedra. Ironically she beat another woman also of Polish roots with a strikingly similar name -- Aleksandra Wozniack, of Canada.

The pair have struck up a strong friendship.

"It is always funny when I play her. We call each other `sisters'," Wozniacki said. "When it comes to representing Denmark, there is always pride. But I know that a lot of people support me from both Denmark and Poland, which makes me perform even better.

"I can feel all the attention and support: I am incredibly thankful for this."

She is keen to attract as many Australian fans as possible too. It shouldn't be hard. Not only does she love the fact her Crown Princess is from Tasmania, but she lists her favourite food on her website as "steak and potatoes".

"Australia is such a wonderful country. Aussies are very friendly, and they are very welcoming as well. I love it there."

Wozniacki arrives next week to play in the Sydney International (January 10-17) before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open (January 18-31).

From the last eight Grand Slams, she has finished no worse than the third round, with her best result being the final in New York last year, along with three other final 16 appearances.

"My good luck and belief," Wozniacki says, when asked why she is consistent on the big stage. "I do not prepare any differently -- all points, opponents, matches or tournaments should be treated the same, with respect."