Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki claimed the world no.1 ranking yesterday when she breezed into the quarter-finals of the China Open, dethroning Serena Williams.

Wozniacki, 20, beat Czech player Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 in a third-round clash under the floodlights at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre in Beijing.

Wozniacki – the first from her country to reign supreme in the tennis world – will replace Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam winner, atop the WTA rankings when a new list is issued on Monday.

She came into the tournament ranked second.

Williams was forced to withdraw from the China Open due to a nagging foot injury suffered shortly after she won her fourth Wimbledon crown in July.

The blonde Dane showed some early jitters, trading two breaks with Kvitova before finally taking the first set when the Czech dumped a forehand into the net.

In the second set, Wozniacki hit her stride, running the left-handed Kvitova from side to side and battering her with heavy topspin groundstrokes off both wings.

She raised her arms in triumph after serving out the match, as Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” thundered out of the stadium sound system.

Wozniacki is the 20th player in WTA history to earn the top spot – and the 10th to do so before her 21st birthday.