Wozniacki pokes fun at Nadal's leg cramps

Sure, it was late. And sure, she was very excited to have survived her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday night. But was there really any excuse for

Courtney Nguyen | Sep 6, 2011

Wozniacki pokes fun at Nadal's leg cramps /

Sure, it was late. And sure, she was very excited to have survived her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday night. But was there really any excuse for Caroline Wozniacki to poke fun at Rafael Nadal's leg-cramping situation? We already know that Nadal doesn't take to being imitated lightly, and doing this in public, particularly for members of the media, is a misguided attempt at getting some laughs. You're not Novak, Caro. Leave the impressions to him.

This is just one of a long line of Wozniacki's media stunts that have made her quite the polarizing figure among fans. There also was the crashing of Djokovic's Wimbledon press conference to ask him questions, the monologue and media/kangaroo moment in Australia, and making out with her boyfriend in front of cameras in New Haven, Conn.

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Is she just an ebullient young woman who is trying to express her free spirit, or a media-savvy athlete who is working overtime to get her share of the spotlight and make people like her? The truth, as usual, probably lies somewhere in between.

It's always skewed to the latter for me, as her antics often translate into a desperate pandering for attention. I don't doubt at all that Wozniacki is a genuinely nice person who means no harm. She seems universally liked in the locker room and that says quite a lot. I just wish her PR team would ... Calm. Her. Down. She's already dealing with enough criticism for her on-court deficiencies (did anyone else catch ESPN's Chris Evert absolutely tearing her game apart Monday?); there's no need to invite it for her off-court life as well.

Of course, if Nadal wants to make it even, he could always return the favor. Here's video of Wozniacki experiencing severe leg cramps in 2009 during the WTA year-end championships. Not a whole lot to laugh about.

Update: After video of the incident circulated, Wozniacki expressed her respect for Nadal in a response posted to her Twitter page:

Published Sep 6, 2011

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.