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U.S. OPEN

August 28, 2018

Caroline Wozniacki

New York, NY, USA

C. WOZNIACKI/S. Stosur

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Sam is obviously a dangerous opponent, especially in the first round. Just talk about prevailing out there today. It had to be very difficult conditions.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, it was very hot conditions, for sure. You know, I just tried to stay cool. We got a little lucky. Normally I'm like, Oh, the shade, I'm not sure. But today the shade was really helpful to be able to just cool down a little bit, was definitely much cooler on the side with the shade, so that helped.

Other than that, it was just about trying to think cool thoughts and drink a lot of water and be well prepared.

Q. Early in the tournament, I know you have a lot of other things on your mind. Simona making an early exit. She's still No. 1 at the end of this tournament, but do you think about the fact you could gain points on her and get back to the No. 1 position?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Not really. Honestly, I'm just thinking about myself. I'm more focused on just trying to play well. And I never look at the draw. Obviously, I saw Simona lost yesterday. But, you know, Kanepi can play really well, as well. She was here in the quarterfinals here last year. Definitely wasn't an easy draw.

Honestly, I'm here just to try and focus on myself, and whatever happens happens.

I'm definitely going to give it my all and my best. You know, just one match at a time.

Q. How content are you with the way you're playing?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I'm feeling pretty good. Didn't have the ideal leadup to the tournament, but, you know, body-wise, I'm feeling great right now. It was a good test today, obviously, with the heat and then playing Sam.

I'm pleased with how I'm feeling. I'm just hoping that step by step, I can play better and better as the tournament progresses.

Q. Beyond just the weather, what were you happy with tactically today? How you handled the match today?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, she came out and served a bunch of aces to start off with, and I said, Okay, this is going to be a long day, a day where I really have to focus.

I think what I was happiest with was just I held serve almost -- I think I got broken once, but then I held serve the whole match. You know, just staying focused. It's a match where you can't just give up easy points, because with her serve, you know, it can be a long day.

I was happy with just staying focused, trying to stay cool. Got a lot of returns back when I needed to.

Q. You mentioned leading up to the tournament you didn't get that many matches in. You have played New Haven for years, obviously. You're the all-time fan favorite in New Haven. Do you plan on taking the week off before all majors or are you going to consider playing the week before majors?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I played the week before Wimbledon. Then, yeah, that's basically it.

I don't know. I think it really depends from year to year, from week to week, how I'm feeling and everything. You know, I make a decision based on that. So I can't really say.

This year I chose to do it this way. Next year, I may choose to do it a different way.

Q. I know, as a famous person, there is always charities who come to people like yourself and want your assistance or whatever. How important is it to you to do that? Do you have a particular charity you like? How do you decide yes or no or...
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think, first of all, you do your research and really make sure that, you know, whatever charity you feel good about or whatever charity you want to help, that, you know, everything is done properly and it really can help whatever the cause may be.

You know, I think for me, I'm very passionate about kids and sports, kids and getting active and being active. That's something I have done a lot with.

And then one of my best friends runs this huge charity in Haiti, so I went to Haiti a couple of times and helped out, and just saw what she was doing. So that was really cool.

You know, you realize, especially when I was in Haiti, how little they have, but how extremely happy the kids are. We would see kids getting out of school, and they haven't had any food all day, but they're waiting for dinner to get a little bit of rice, a little food, and they are still happy, holding hands, singing and dancing. It just puts things in perspective.

Q. What is that charity?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's called Medishare.

Q. You play Tsurenko next. You played her in Australia about five years ago. Do you remember anything from that match and how you'll prepare for your next round?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, she's a tricky opponent. She's beaten some good players. She moves around well, better backhand, tries to stay aggressive with that.

Honestly, I haven't thought too much about the match yet. I'm just excited to have won today. I'm going to use the rest of the day to just fuel up and stay cool.

Other than that, tomorrow I'm going to go in and think about the next match when I go on the practice court.

Q. How do you feel mentally and physically if you compare these moments with your last several finals and the Australian Open?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I feel good. I feel like my body is doing good. When that feels good, so, you know, I'm happy and I'm excited to play. I feel like my game is finding its way, and I feel like I'm playing pretty well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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