Wozniacki: I really believed in myself

Caroline Wozniacki was all smiles as she posed with her shiny trophy during a photoshoot at The Clifford Pier yesterday.

A day earlier, she had just pulled off the biggest triumph of her career.

Against the odds, the 27-year-old Dane defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In seven previous meetings, she had taken just one set off the 37-year-old American.

Despite that, Wozniacki went into the match brimming with confidence.

Recalling how she felt before the match, Wozniacki told The New Paper: "I was really excited to play Venus, and I felt like I've had a great week at the WTA Finals so I was excited for the challenge.

"I went in there and really believed in myself. The fact that I managed to beat her on Sunday was such a huge accomplishment for me, because it's something that I've never done before in my career."

The Dane was dominant in the first set, but Williams threatened to stage a dramatic comeback in the next.

Down 5-0 in the second set, Williams rallied to win four consecutive games.

The fact that I managed to beat her on Sunday was such a huge accomplishment for me, because it’s something that I’ve never done before in my career. Caroline Wozniacki

At that point, Wozniacki's battle against the powerful American became as much psychological as it was physical.

But, Wozniacki dug deep, regained her composure, and scored the winning point by catching Williams off-guard as she was approaching the net.

Said Wozniacki: "When Venus caught up, that was tough. I had to mentally step up, and winning that last game was a huge relief."

En route to winning her first WTA Finals title, she also beat Simona Halep (world No. 1), Karolina Pliskova (world No. 3 last week) and Elina Svitolina (world No. 4 last week).

Her triumph propelled her three places up the WTA world rankings to third spot - the highest that she has climbed since January 2012.

A former world No. 1, Wozniacki has yet to win a Grand Slam title, but her success in Singapore puts her in good stead to end her barren Major run.

Asked about her targets for next season, she said: "Right now, I'm just going to focus on this and really take it in.

"Hopefully, this is going to be a good start to the next year.

"I think that every year I learn something from the matches I play, and do what I can to improve from there.

"I haven't thought much about next season, so for now I'm just going to live in the moment and see how things go."