	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 22, 2017

Caroline Wozniacki

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

C. WOZNIACKI/K. Bondarenko

3-6, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Nice to come through that, isn't it?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, it was an up-and-down match. I thought she played well, especially in the first set. I was really just trying to stay positive and trying to stay in there. I was making more errors than usual. Not that I didn't feel the ball. I was kind of feeling the ball well, but I think a little bit of fatigue was playing in there, as well. I just wasn't getting to the balls as fast as I normally would.

And kind of in the second set I just told myself you need to step into the court a little bit and then just go for it. There's nothing else now. Otherwise you're going to lose either way if you don't try.

So I did that, and I started winning. Then in the third set she got the rhythm and started playing really well. I thought that I needed to mix up the pace a little bit to break her rhythm.

Q. Tomorrow you're getting someone who is getting a lot of balls back, as well.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah. That's fine, though. I'm ready for that. I think she obviously tries to dictate with the forehand. You know, it's a player with a lot of energy. I just need to be out there and just show my presence and try and stay aggressive.

Q. Is that very satisfying to win a match like that?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It is, for sure. Yeah, I dug deep. You know, I hope today was my day of crisis and tomorrow is going to be better (smiling).

Q. You took that offcourt medical timeout. Can you just tell us what the problem was?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I started to feel the groin just a little bit. You know, I have played a lot of matches, and I think I just strained it a little bit. It's not a big deal, but I definitely feel it.

Q. In the past you have obviously played a lot of matches and got a lot of wins and you're playing back-to-back tournaments and things like that. You must be kind of used to it from the past, but right now how much are you running on fumes? What are you kind of telling yourself to kind of get yourself, you know, ready and amped for each match right now?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Honestly, I'm just thinking that it's the last tournament before I have a little break.

I'm just thinking, keep going, I'm playing really well, so I have a lot of confidence, obviously, and I just tell myself to keep going, push through this, try and win this tournament. Then I can enjoy a little bit of rest after.

Q. Can you talk about CiCi? She had this big win today. What do you know about her?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, you know, she's had a couple of good wins against top players. She beat Cibulkova at the US Open a few years back. Today, Aga.

She's a young player. You know, she moves pretty well, but I think her strength is the forehand. She tries to take it early and really step into the court. I need to push her back, for sure.

Q. She may have embellishing a little bit, but she says she's been watching you and Aga since she was five. Reaction?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: That makes me feel really old (laughter). Wow. I guess it could be true. How old is she, 17?

Q. 17.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Oh, maybe that is a bit -- yeah.

Q. I was going to say, it's a bit of an exaggeration. But is it weird to hear that from these younger players, you were going maybe from one that was idolizing a few years ago to being an idol?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, definitely. I mean, obviously we have been on tour for so long and played so many matches and been on TV for a lot of years. I think sometimes you just don't realize how young these girls are that are coming up.

But we were one of them, too. Aga and I were both really young when we broke through. You know, it's my 12th year on tour now, so, you know, we have been here for a while, although I still feel young at heart.

Q. I was talking to Aga, and she was remembering her early days on tour and who was kind of nice to her. She said that for some reason Jelena Jankovic, a top player, was really nice to her. Do you remember the first friends you kind of made?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think we were a big group of juniors that played really well from the start. We kind of pushed each other. So I think at one point we were like 13 girls in our little age group that were in the top 50 or the top 100. So that was big for us.

And I think someone like Kim Clijsters was always nice. Venus was one of the first ones, as well. She asked me to play doubles with her in Qatar, actually, when I was 17. So that was huge for me. And then Serena was really nice.

I'm not saying everybody, but I think the older players back in the day really appreciated us having that respect towards them. Not on the court, obviously. We wanted to win. But we were always very respectful of them and their achievements at the same time we were fighters and competitors.

But I think they really appreciated that, you know. So I think that's why they really took good care of us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297