London: Third seed Caroline Wozniacki defended her reliance on heavy baseline hitting after reaching the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday, saying one look at the lush grasscourts would reveal how women's tennis has changed.
The 19-year-old Dane moved steadily into the last 16 after a backcourt slugfest against Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, then said the slow courts and heavy balls made it difficult to play any other way.
"If you look where the grass has gone and it is at the baseline," Wozniacki told Reuters.
"The grass has got slower and the balls have got heavier and it is very difficult to come in to the net."
Wozniacki is one of only three teenagers in the women's top 50 as the tour's older players have tightened their vice-like grip on the sport.
The Dane, who reached the US Open final before being beaten by 27-year-old Kim Clijsters in September, said the raw power and sheer physical strength of the top players is making it difficult for youngsters to compete at the highest level.
"It is a very tough tour and it is not easy to be at the top of the women's game," she added. "Everyone is different. It is harder to become great as a teenager than it was just 15 years ago.
"The women's game is more physical now and also it takes more time to establish yourself. It is power tennis now and that makes it difficult to come in as a youngster and come up against girls who are hitting this hard."
Wimbledon's Court Two resembled the scene of a naval battle as both Wozniacki and Pavlyuchenkova traded heavy duty canon fire across the net.
The pair exchanged punishing forehands in the midday sun, but it was the Dane who showed the greater consistency and accuracy and eventually prevailed 7-5 6-4.
She will now face unseeded Czech Petra Kvitova who knocked out Victoria Azarenka on Saturday.
