Wozniacki still No. 1 in women's tennis

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Caroline Wozniacki, who has been No. 1 in women's tennis for nearly a full year, takes the top ranking into the draw for the 2011 Australian Open.

Wozniacki, still trying to shake the onus of being ranked No. 1 despite not winning a major title, has been on top of the WTA rankings since Feb. 21. That 49-week string goes with a previous 18-week stint at No. 1 and she's been on top of the rankings for 67 of the last 68 weeks.

She will undoubtedly be given the No. 1 seeding at the Australian Open later this week. The 2012 Open begins Jan. 16 and the women's singles final is scheduled for Jan. 28.

Wozniacki has a tenuous hold on the top spot. Rising star Petra Kvitova has 7,190 ranking points -- just 295 behind Wozniacki -- while Victoria Azarenka is in third with 6,520 and fourth-ranked Maria Sharapova has 6,440.

Li Na, the 2011 Australian Open runner-up, is fifth at 5,720 followed by No. 6 Samantha Stosur (5,585) and Vera Zvonareva (5,435) in seventh.

Agnieszka Radwanska (5,250) enters the year's first major with the No. 8 ranking, with Marion Bartoli (4,710) and Andrea Petkovic (4,500) completing the Top 10.

Defending Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters is ranked 12th after a 2011 season in which her play was curtailed by a series of injuries. She was ranked No. 1 in the only week in the last 68 that Wozniacki wasn't.