Dane starting to hit top form after up-and-down season and breakup

Caroline Wozniacki trusts her stamina so much that she plans to return to New York in two months to run a marathon.

Maria Sharapova, usually the one wearing down opponents in the third set, sure could not keep up on a steamy Sunday at the US Open. Wozniacki won 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in two hours, 37 minutes to get back to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in more than two years - and return to the headlines for reasons other than her personal life.

"The season for me has been a little bit up and down," she said in quite an understatement, "and it's so nice to kind of start feeling like I'm playing the way I want to."

Because of the heat, the players received a 10-minute break before the final set; Sharapova returned to the court late, arguing with the chair umpire after receiving a time violation warning. Perhaps sensing she was fresher than the five-time major champion, Wozniacki later complained Sharapova was dawdling between points.

Her tardiness seemed to swing the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd's support squarely in Wozniacki's favor.

When the 10th-seeded Dane broke Sharapova at love to go up 3-1 in the final set, she got a standing ovation from the fans and waved her arms to egg them on. Sharapova had appeared to hit a winner three times on that game's final point only for Wozniacki to somehow chase down the ball. Finally, Sharapova put a volley into the net.

Wozniacki's defensive style is claimed to be the reason the former top-ranked player has made only one major final. She mixed in just enough aggression in the final set on Sunday to keep the pressure on Sharapova.

"She's very good at getting a lot of balls back and making you hit another one," Shara-pova said. "In the end, I went for a little too much."

She insisted the conditions did not bother her. Sharapova had been 17-6 in three-set matches this year, including her come-from-behind second-round victory here.

The fifth-seeded Sharapova's loss leaves No 1 Serena Williams as the only woman remaining of the top six.

After a sloppy first set with 21 unforced errors, Sharapova was painting the lines in the second. Wozniacki seemed to spend most of the time watching in dismay as Sharapova's 22 winners whizzed by.

Wozniacki said she told herself before the third set to go for her shots.

"If I'm going to lose," she recalled thinking, "at least I'm going to do it with dignity."

She closed out the match by breaking Sharapova's serve again with a backhand winner.

Unlike the women's draw, the men's side didn't lose a top-10 player until Sunday, when fourth-seeded David Ferrer was upset by Gilles Simon in the third round, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych swept 62nd-ranked Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Wozniacki will next face 13th-seeded Sara Errani, who ended the run of qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 victory.

As a 19-year-old, Wozniacki made the 2009 US Open final, losing to Kim Clijsters, and reached No 1 in the world the next year. But she had not been back to a Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2012 Australian Open.

In the meantime, she was best known for getting engaged to star golfer Rory McIlroy - then getting dumped in late May after wedding invitations had gone out.

Wozniacki lost in the first round at the French Open soon thereafter and was upset in the fourth round at Wimbledon. She had been playing much better since, though, winning her first title in nine months at Istanbul then dropping a pair of three-set matches to Williams.

Wozniacki also announced a month ago she planned to run the New York City Marathon on Nov 2 for charity, somehow squeezing in training during a busy fall season. Seems to be working out well mentally and physically on the tennis court.

"Kind of clears my head," she said of the extra running. "I feel more free when I go on court."

Wozniacki plans to stick around New York after the US Open to attend Fashion Week - including her pal Williams' show.

Caroline Wozniacki celebrates match point against Maria Sharapova after their fourth-round match on Sunday at the US Open. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images / AFP

(China Daily 09/02/2014 page24)