The gap between the good and great players is slim and difficult to define, yet it is said to be the hardest gap to bridge. Former players like Mary Pierce and Amelie Mauresmo, despite winning multiple majors, failed to cement themselves among the true legends of women’s tennis, and not many can give a distinct reason as to why.

Considering this, it is not surprising that 23-year-old Dane Caroline Wozniacki finds herself in a type of limbo, sitting at world No. 9 in the rankings. After suffering in the headlines this week over off-court rumours, the top seed in Luxembourg must feel that the time is now for her to produce her best tennis and rejoin the WTA elite, where she arguably belongs.

At this time two years ago, Wozniacki finished the season at world No. 1 for a second straight year despite a poor showing at the 2011 WTA year-end championships and failing to win a major. Those shortcomings notwithstanding, many observers noted her excellent results outside those five key tournaments and believed that major glory would come soon enough for the then-21-year-old. Since falling out of the top spot at the start of 2012, however, Wozniacki has lost the self-belief and the killer instinct in her game to consistently go deep into the tournaments that matter most.

Since her slip out of the top spot, Wozniacki’s best performance at a major came with a fourth-round appearance at this year’s Australian Open, while she has lost n the first or second round at four of seven majors. At her peak, Wozniacki always was a steady, high-percentage player who could outlast the ordinary journeywomen of the WTA with patience, fitness, and morvement.  Thus, her recent inability to survive the first week at majors raises red flags. So does her failure to win a tournament in 2013 so far, which extends the longest title drought of her career since her first title in 2008.  To be sure, Wozniacki has produced encouraging results this year at Premier Mandatory and Premier Five tournaments in Indian Wells, Cincinnati, Tokyo, and Beijing, which have kept her at the fringes of the top 10. And yet resounding losses to Maria Sharapova in Indian Wells and Serena Williams in Beijing showed how far short she falls of joining the elite circle of champions.

Doubts about Wozniacki’s team also plague the 23-year-old.  Earlier this year, her father and coach Piotr suggested that he may take a step back from coaching his daughter in order to get away from the “circus” that is the WTA Tour. Adding to the instability in her personal life are the endless rumors regarding her relationship with golfer Rory McIlroy, which flustered her again this week as she prepared for Luxembourg.  With so much uncertainty surrounding her, it would not surprise if she cannot focus on the weekly grind of the Tour with the same determination that once made her one of its most consistent performers.

Wozniacki still has time on her side, however, and the off-season could offer her an opportunity to reset her mind and priorities. But if she is going to vault from being a good player to a great one, like her idols Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf, she needs to rediscover the resilience on court that carried her to the top in 2010-11 and allowed her to dominate all but a handful of opponents.

And there is no better place to start doing so than at the International tournament in Luxembourg, filled with players a notch or two below her talents.  By winning that title, Wozniacki can qualify for the Tournament of Champions in Sofia and earn herself the chance to end 2013 on a surge of momentum that would boost her spirits for the start of 2014.