Michael Laudrup Pays Tribute to Fellow Danish Sporting Hero Caroline Wozniacki
Denmark's footballing legend Michael Laudrup has paid tribute to former World No. 1 tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, saying that she will surely be remembered 15-20 years down the line as a great sportswoman.
Former World No. 1 Wozniacki has announced that she would retire at the end of the Australian Open in January - calling time on her career which saw her win 30 WTA titles, including the 2018 Australian Open in Melbourne and become the World No. 1 for 71 weeks in total.
Laudrup is a Danish professional football coach and former player and is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. During his playing career, Laudrup won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, playing mainly as an attacking midfielder He also captained Denmark for a total of 28 matches including the victorious 1995 Confederations Cup tournament. He was officially named the best Danish footballer of all time by the Danish Football Association (DBU) in November 2006 and was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players at a FIFA awards ceremony in 2004.
Speaking to EkstraBladet, Laudrup says the two athletes have crossed paths - his sons are friends of the Dane and their family also attended the Wozniacki wedding to David lee earlier this year. And that he admires the mental toughness of the tennis player, who has to play alone on the court as compared to team sports where you can lean on your teammates.
Laudrup says, "I've always had the impression (of Wozniacki) of someone who was very focused and focused on their sport. And with a really good psyche, which in my opinion is one of the most important in an individual sport. In team sports, you can' lean 'against each other - especially in difficult times - but you can't do that in sports like tennis, golf and more. I've also seen some of Caroline's tournaments on TV, and of course the triumph of the Australian Open, but otherwise I haven't seen so much tennis in the last many years. At least not as in my young years in the mid-70s and up through the 80s, where it was Bjørn Borg and McEnroe on the men's side as well as Navratilova and Steffi Graf on the ladies side who dominated the event. I'm always impressed by people who, like Caroline, can stay on top for a long time. And even more so in a time like now, where there are plenty of night flies in every possible sport. I am sure that in 15-20 years Caroline will still be remembered in many places in the world and she will certainly be a reference for all tennis-loving Danes.'
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/348UEaV
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