US OPEN

September 1, 2023

Caroline Wozniacki

Press Conference

C. WOZNIACKI/J. Brady

4-6, 6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Caroline, three sets, come from behind. Your thoughts on your performance today.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I thought it was a great match. I think it's as the match progressed, I played better and better. She came out and played really well and aggressive, went for her forehand. I missed a few kind of lay-up backhands, that was a little frustrating for me. But then when I was down 2-Love in the second, I just decided I'm not going to miss any more, I'm going to start moving my feet even better, go for my shots.

Slowly I started chipping away, it started going my way. I felt like the momentum kind of shifted a little bit, then I could see she was starting to get a little tired as well when we had the long rallies. I was excited for that (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Jennifer mentioned you broke her down physically when she talked to us. Your depth of the shot on the forehand, as well as your placement on the serve, when you have those aspects working, you're still very difficult to beat.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think so. I always have the belief in myself. I think both my forehand and backhand are good shots. My serve, I feel like I've won some free points, but also the placement is more important than power for me.

I think I felt physically great. It's my first three-set match in the comeback. I feel great about it. My body feels perfect, knock on wood. That's a big step for me, as well, because you never know how your body's going to react after so many years away from the game, then playing a long match.

I felt good. I felt like I could be out there for another few sets, if I had to.

Q. You started the tournament 636. You've moved up to about 230 or so. You've been in this situation before in your previous life. In one sense, has it surprised you what you've already achieved?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Honestly, not really (smiling). I guess I always had the belief in myself. It takes a little time just to get back into the match rhythm. I was practicing really well. I felt like I had a great rhythm. I was working on my fitness to get back into good shape.

All of that I knew, knowing what I've experienced throughout my career, I knew where I was at. Obviously day by day I feel like I'm getting a little bit better.

Would I have been surprised had I lost in the first round? No. Would I be surprised if I keep winning? Also no.

I think it was just kind of a go out there, give it your best, fight your heart out. If I play my best tennis, I know I'm tough to beat. Someone really has to play well.

At this point I'm just happy to be in the fourth round, and anything can happen from now on, as well.

Q. As you've been going through these last few weeks, are there things you're seeing or experiencing that pop up that make you think, I really missed that? Obviously you missed playing in big stadiums. By the same token, are there headaches that come along, Well, that was kind of a pain in the neck. I forgot about that. What is the balance there?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. It's a different perspective for me, as well. I have the kids here. I have so much happening off the court. It's really exciting to see cities from different perspectives, as well. The kids kind of force you to get out and do something, even taking a walk or going to a museum or doing a few of those things.

That's nice on the days off, which I probably wouldn't have done much of in the past. I think that also does well for me where I can recharge my batteries. Really when I'm here, I'm 100% here, I'm focused, I'm ready to go.

I love playing in front of a big crowd. I love playing on the big stadiums. That's exciting to me. That's why I'm still playing.

It's a great feeling. You can always find things that you may not enjoy as much, but at the end of the day it's pretty cool that I get to live my passion and be a mom and kind of wear many hats. I'm very proud of that.

Q. You talked on the court about making the decision to switch to hitting backhand cross-courts, mixing until you find the rhythm. Problem solving, making decisions, is that something that is still kind of growing, as well?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I feel pretty sharp. Obviously when I wasn't playing myself, I was doing some commentating. It's much easier to see everything from the outside than it is when you're on the court.

I think I learned a lot from that, as well. I think I'm seeing things pretty clearly. Sometimes the execution is not perfect. But you do your best and you try your hardest. That's really all you can do.

I think the main thing is that I know where I need to be, I know what I need to do. We'll just see if I can keep the execution up.

Q. I remember seeing you here last year out on the practice courts watching Serena. You've said the decision to come back was obviously months after that. Did that do anything for you about making you realize how much you missed playing? Have you talked to her at all over the last couple of weeks?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I talk to her all the time. She's obviously busy now, as well. But we talk all the time. She watched my match today.

But last year I was pregnant. I was heavily pregnant, I want to say - what, are we in September - I was eight months pregnant. I was just here to support my friend. Obviously I worked with ESPN. I was doing a lot of commentating and studio stuff.

I really wanted to support her in her last tournament. That was something very special. I wasn't really thinking about my own comeback at that point. I was trying to figure out how I'm going to handle two kids (smiling).

It's been cool that after James was born and I went on court, all of a sudden I go, Okay, well, let's give it a try. Now we're here, and that's pretty special.

Q. In terms of your matches in Montreal and Cincinnati, even your first round here, it seemed like you came off of the court a little bit scratchier in terms of the play. What has been different about the last two matches? Seems clarity has set in.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's hard to expect perfection when you haven't played for a long time. That wasn't what I was expecting coming into the first two tournaments, and the reason why I wanted to play two tournaments leading into this. I wanted to hit my peak and feel comfortable coming here.

Having two matches in Montreal, I was very pleased with that. I didn't play well in Cincinnati. I went back on the practice court the next day and I said, I need to find what I'm looking for out there, just grinding and grinding.

One day I was like, Wow, okay, I found that something. Now I just need to repeat that over and over again. There's something about coming back to New York, I felt at home, at ease. I practiced with the girls and played points when I got here, just kind of found my rhythm and found the little adjustments that I did technically, just kind of the overview.

As I was progressing to play points, win or lose, didn't really matter, I just wanted to feel more comfortable. I did so. Obviously in the first round, playing someone I'd never met before, and playing a first round, you're a little nervous, you kind of just want to get through it.

Yeah, I played a lot better against Petra. I feel like I played well today again.

Q. You've now advanced this far in three different decades at the US Open.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Oh, that makes me feel a little old (smiling).

Q. What is your perspective as having done that as a teenager, a top player, and now as a mom?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think that's pretty cool. I think if you'd asked me as a kid growing up and said that I would have done this, I would have said, No way. To have the longevity, to be able to come back after having children, also to get far into this tournament so young, it's just something I'm very proud of and something that I don't take for granted.

I think when you're young, you always look into the future. You have hopes and dreams for what your career is going to look like.

For me, coming back now, I don't know how long I'm going to play. I get that question all the time. Am I going to play one year? Am I going to play five years? I have no idea.

All I know right now is that I'm really enjoying this moment. To be able to play on these big courts in front of a big crowd, it's something very special and something that I will never take for granted, something I'll always appreciate.