US Open Tennis Results: Caroline Wozniacki Clears Mental Hurdle in Marathon Win

Nothing like a three-hour tennis match to really put the “labor” in Labor Day.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was two games away from getting beat in two sets by 15th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.

It looked like yet another disappointing ending in a Grand Slam event for the top-ranked player in the world. The tension was building with her every miscue. A key double-fault on a serve gave Kuznetsova the first set and left her opponent a bit shell-shocked.

But something was different on Monday, as Wozniacki broke Kuznetsova’s serve four times over the next set and swung the momentum back in her favor to secure a nail-biting 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 win that took over three hours to complete. The match didn’t end until almost midnight on the East Coast.

The big difference was in conditioning, as Wozniacki ran circles around her fatigued opponent. While Kuznetsova was seen huffing and puffing after every shot in the third set, it looked as if Wozniacki had barely broken a sweat.

After the match, Wozniacki joked with reporters that she could have played another set or two.

This win is going to be remembered as a landmark victory in her career.

The mental block she just lifted is enormous moving forward. Monday’s match is the type she would normally give in to. Now, after battling back in an instant classic of a match, Wozniacki knows that her unparalleled conditioning will always keep her in it.

Next up is Germany's Andrea Petkovic, a 6-1, 6-4 winner against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in her fourth-round match.

With Wozniacki’s confidence now at an all-time high, expect Petkovic to get steamrolled by a supremely talented player who finally has her head on straight.

With Serena Williams looming as the only major threat, conditioning comes back into play. If Wozniacki can turn the match into a track meet that lasts over two hours, I think we have a first-time US Open winner.

This tournament just got a lot more interesting.