Yet, it’s tough to see Caroline Wozniacki in that position. She looks so nice on the outside that it’s hard to see the tiger raging within.

Actually, though, look closely on the court and there’s a bit of Ali’s technician and Tyson’s fire in that’s beautiful blonde body. And maybe that’s why she feels as comfortable in the boxing ring, as she does on the tennis court.

“Boxing, it’s just a different way for me to work out,” Wozniacki said. “It’s fun, it’s interesting, and it’s great because I have this great coach who knows how to get me in good shape and what I need for my tennis, as well.

“Yeah, I wanted to try something different, something that was not the usual things.  I just love the training.  It’s great.  It’s really hard not only physically, but also the conditioning.”

Dominika Cibulkova learned that the hard way today as she was swept out of the Open by Wozniacki, 6-2 7-5. It was the No. 1 seeds 20^th win since Wimbledon as she improved her record to 20-1.

Although this may have been her toughest match to date in Flushing Meadows, the 20 year-old still seemed to have a pretty easy time. That is of course with the exception of this year’s Open nemesis, the heavy swirling winds of Arthur Ashe.

“It was really difficult to play today,” she said. “It was very windy, and from one side you barely hit it and the ball was flying, and from the other side you had to really hit through because the ball didn’t go anywhere. “So it was tough, but it was the same for both of us.”

Much like every good fighter, Wozniacki endured and even fought for the tough points. In fact, the chair umpire saw some of the toughness come out as the tournament’s top player gave her an earful on a replayed point.

“I’m really competitive,” she said.  “I really don’t like losing, and, you know, when I’m on court I’m just thinking about the next point and the match that I want to win.  I’m focused on that.”

So now Wozniacki will move onto the Semifinals against Vera Zvonareva, someone the rising star knows very well and calls it “definitely a tough match. I mean, she’s a really good ‑‑ she’s playing really well at the moment.  She’s playing aggressively, hitting through the ball.”

That will be on Friday. So maybe with tomorrow off, Wozniacki will go back into the squared and score a boxing knockout.

Or maybe not.

“I’m a good girl,” she said. “I don’t do those things.”

No, only on the court. Look out Vera.

Although Safarova took the first set, the Hungarian hung tough and then broke the Russian in the fourth game of the second set to tie the match. She then traded breaks with her opponent in the third and tightest set to take the championship.

“It feels great. I haven’t really processed it yet but I will,” Czink said. “I went match by match this week. This was the toughest match this week. I had to take some risks on her serve today – sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. We really pushed each other, and I’m happy I could come out the winner.”

“We both played a good match. I think it just came down to a few balls and she did it better,” Safarova said. “The whole week I was trying to be very aggressive and move forward, but she did the same today and I had trouble dealing with it. I didn’t feel I did anything wrong today. It could have gone either way.

“I hope to come back next year and do better. Unless you win, you can always do better!”

This was Czink’s first final of the Tour and she beat the higher seeds in Quebec this week to win, including Nadia Petrova and Aleksandra Wozniak in the proceeding two rounds.

With Rafael Nadal finishing off German Nicolas Kiefer in four sets, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 it means for the first time in any Grand Slam during the Open Era, all 16 seeds made it past the second round. Hard to believe it’s true, but as Casey Stengel once said, “You can look it up.”

“Yeah, happened something similar in Montréal,” said Nadal after he won his match “Top eight in quarterfinals; top seeds are doing well.

“There very good players right now in the top. The best players are winning and they are regular and normal, they don’t have strange loses. I think that’s good for tennis.”

It also means next week will be a whale of an Open finish. Match after match will have tough draws and no one will be immune, including Roger Federer, who faces Lleyton Hewitt in this morning’s first matchup.

So with the best tennis in front of us, this Open is shaping up to be one of the best. Can Federer win his sixth straight. Will Nadal finally win in Flushing Meadows? Or will Andy Roddick win his second? What about Andy Murray? Can he take the silver back to Scotland?

All will be answered soon.

More importantly though, the US Open continues to prove that it’s the location of the best matches in the world. Federer said earlier in the week, the hardcourts level the playing field. If that’s the case, then look out.

Also, this Open seems to be restarting American tennis. Six American singles players will go with five matches later today (John Isner plays Andy Roddick). With that type of American spirit in New York, maybe there will be more interest American tennis, a good thing no matter how you slice it.

Serena Williams knows this and took a special interest in Melanie Oudin, who is an up and coming star  on the circuit.

“I did watch her match [against Elena Dementieva] a little bit,” Williams said. “She played great. She did wonderful, and, you know, she’s a real fighter. It’s great for the United States and great for women’s tennis.”

As this Open is shaping up to be. While the men have held server, upsets have abounded on the women’s side. Will this continue? And does this mean there will be a new name or two there at the end.

We should soon find out, but as we saw already this week, anything is possible.