Wozniacki has lofty hopes for 2010

HONG KONG (AP) -- Caroline Wozniacki hopes to build on the gains she made in the last two seasons and challenge for a major in 2010.

The 19-year-old Dane won three titles in 2008 and 2009, culminating in a run to the U.S. Open final in September, where she lost to Kim Clijsters.

Heading into the Australian Open, the first major of the year, the Dane is ranked a career-high No. 4, behind Serena Williams and Russians Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition, Wozniacki said Wednesday she's eager to build on the results of the past two years.

"I think there are a lot of good players out there. I know also a lot of us young players are playing well. I think the generation is changing a little bit," she told The Associated Press.

Wozniacki said she hopes to improve her ranking this year by at least one spot, but her biggest dream is to win Wimbledon, where she won the junior women's title in 2006.

"I like the grass. I like the tradition," said Wozniacki.

She has been particularly focused on a new fitness regime involving cardiovascular exercises, running and boxing, but she believes her game doesn't need any major tweaks.

"I think when you're at a high level, you just need to keep your game and improve small things. I just think it's important to keep the style of game I'm playing because it's been paying off," she said.

The world No. 4 had a somewhat injury-prone 2009, suffering from a lower-back strain, a viral illness, a hamstring injury and sore abdominal muscles, which forced her to pull out of her semifinal against Serena Williams at the WTA Tour's year-end championship in Doha in October.

The hamstring injury, which forced her to withdraw from a first-round match in Luxembourg in October even though she was just one game away from victory, prompted WTA officials to investigate a surge in online betting during the match. Wozniacki has denied wrongdoing and said Wednesday she simply couldn't play on.

"It's never nice to be accused of something like that especially because I was injured. There was nothing I could do. It's never fun, but I knew I didn't anything wrong."