TENNIS US OPEN – 31st of August 2014. C. Wozniacki d. M. Sharapova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. An interview with Caroline Wozniacki
Q. What do you think got you this victory today? What does it mean to you?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, it means a lot to me. You know, the season for me has been a little bit up and down, and it’s so nice to kind of start feeling like I’m playing the way I want to. You know, this hard court season has been amazing for me. I actually started already feeling really good on court since Eastbourne. I have just been building on my game since then. You know, today I just kept thinking to myself, Just stay in there. Try and take the initiative. It was really hard. The wind was blowing a lot from one side of the court. So you kind of had to, you know, adapt a lot.
Q. What do you think you’re doing especially well that has enabled you to have this hot streak?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I’m serving well, I’m running well, I’m staying aggressive when I have to, and I make the right decisions at the right moment. And I enjoy playing.
Q. Can you compare this to three years ago when you were rolling along at No. 1 and coming in here and playing well? Is there any comparison at all?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don’t know. You know, it’s a new year and I’ve gotten older – and hopefully a little wiser (smiling.) You know, I feel good. I feel comfortable when I play out there. The crowd was amazing today. It’s just so much fun to play out there again on the big court.
Q. How would your marathon training, if any, help your tennis game?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think it will help me a lot. Today was a tough battle out there. It was humid; it was hot; I had to change my dress. That rarely happens. It was just soaked. Definitely it’s helping, because I felt fresh out there and I felt like I could keep going.
Q. How were you able to turn around the match in that third set? It was pretty remarkable after what we saw in the second set. Was it a mental thing? Was it what you were doing physically? Explain what happened there.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think a bit of everything. I think the first two sets both of us maybe didn’t play to our best. Well, she played really well in the second set. She went in and started attacking me, and I came a little bit too far behind the baseline. Even when I was standing with the wind I was a little bit more hesitant. By the end of the second set I just thought to myself, Try to hit through the ball. Just go for your shots. You know, prepare yourself for the third set. You know, when we had that break and I went — I said, Okay, win or lose, I’m going to go for my shots. I’m going to go for it. This is the only chance I have to win. If I’m going to lose, at least I’m going to do it with dignity, you know, (laughter).
Q. How does this victory rank in your career? Is it up there among the victories that you have had? Of course you have been a finalist here back in 2009.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, definitely it ranks up there. Maria obviously is a tough competitor. She’s won here before. She won the French Open this year. You know, it was a really good win for me. Beating her here at the US Open, you know, it’s a tough task. I’m really happy to be through and have another chance to play in the next round.
Q. What’s the charity you’re running for?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I’m running for Team For Kids, which is a charity to get kids into sports. We start running groups for them so that they can get a healthy lifestyle and set goals for themselves and kind of get together and get sports into their lives.
Q. Setting aside the stage of it being a major, you’ve played a great summer. Did it feel like with this win over Maria, was this what you needed to maybe show yourself, show others, whatever, where you are and how well you’re playing right now?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I have had a great summer. And I told Serena I’m pretty tired of her. Twice she beat me in three sets. I said, Can you just get out of my way? We just laugh about it. This one was a great win for me. Maria, again, is a good player. For me, I think mentally as well to get that in my pocket is kind of nice. You know, I still have hopefully a few good matches in me here in this tournament. It’s just exciting to be in the quarters once more.
Q. Have you been training for the marathon here? How long was your last long run?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: You know, I have to say that I feel really guilty because the last few days I have told myself I better just cut down on my running. I have a pretty big tournament here that I kind of want to try and win (laughter). So I actually haven’t been running that much. But I’m staying here, staying in New York after the tournament. I’m going to go to the New York Fashion Week, and I’m definitely going to run quite a bit in Central Park after the tournament and keep up my running. I feel the marathon breathing down my neck, and it’s like I know that I need to keep preparing. I felt like I ran quite a bit out there in my match, so I think that’s decent preparation.
Q. Maria said that you built on the strength that you have always had in your game as a retriever, but now perhaps you’re more consistent at that. What’s your evaluation of your greatest strengths right now and how you built on them?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think my greatest strength is I can go from defense to offense and offense to defense. You know, I think I have done a good job these last few months, you know, finding that balance between those two. I think I have served really well and returned well. So I think that’s my biggest strength. And I never give up. You know, even when it looks impossible for me to get to a ball, I’m still gonna try.
Q. What do you think will be the key against Sara Errani?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It’s going to be a completely different opponent. She’s not going to miss very much. I will need to stay aggressive and try and, you know, just go for my shots.
