CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.

Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.

In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.  

But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.

It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.

Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.

She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.

It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.

“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.

“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”