Caroline Wozniacki Outlasts Cibulkova, Wind to Advance to Semis

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki braved the elements and defeated unseeded Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 during Wednesday's windy quarterfinal night match at the U.S. Open.

The 20-year-old Dane of Polish descent rattled off her 13th straight victory. She has won four tournament titles and 31 hard-court matches this year, both better than any woman on tour. Wozniacki advances into the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the second straight year, she finished runner-up to Kim Clijsters at the Open last year.

Wind played a contributing factor in the match. Play was halted on numerous occasions due to flying debris around the court. Both players were visibly frustrated with the wind throughout the match.

"It was really difficult to play today," Wozniacki said regarding the weather. "It was very windy, and from one side you barely hit it and the ball was flying, and from the other side you had to really hit through because the ball didn't go anywhere. So it was tough, but it was the same for both of us."

With gusts over 30 mph on Arthur Ashe Stadium, both players struggled with their tossing during their opening service games.

There was not a hold of serve until the fourth game of the first set when Wozniacki went up 3-1. Wozniacki went on to claim the first set convincingly, but the wind continued to throw off the tempo of the match.

To open the second set, Cibulkova continued to struggle with her ball toss and Wozniacki broke the Slovakian in the opening game. Cibulkova battled valiantly throughout the second set, but Wozniacki played steadier to eventually prevail. Wozniacki earned the commanding break in the 11th game of the second set to go up 6-5. The Dane then staved off break point to put her service game into deuce where she won a long rally on her first match point to seal the contest.

Wozniacki survived the wind much better than Cibulkova on Wednesday night. She finished with 25 fewer unforced errors, only committing 18 in the heavy winds. Wozniacki also broke Cibulkova five times, while only having her serve broken twice.

Wozniacki, who claimed the U.S. Open Series this summer, only needs two more wins to claim her first Grand Slam title and take home a record $2.7 million dollar purse. The women's singles champion will collect $1.7 million for winning the Open, and if Wozniacki wins, she would trigger a $1 million dollar bonus as a result of winning the U.S. Open Series -- a series of hard-court tournaments in the summer where players earn points leading up to Flushing Meadows. She would also surpass Serena Williams and catapult into the top-ranked spot on tour for the first time.

Wozniacki has two roadblocks left in the tournament and she's not looking too far ahead.

"I'm really competitive. I really don't like losing, and...when I'm on court I'm just thinking about the next point and the match that I want to win. I'm focused on that."

Next up for Wozniacki is Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva of Russia, who has a 2-2 career head-to-head record against the Dane.