US OPEN

September 3, 2023

Caroline Wozniacki

Press Conference

C. GAUFF/C. Wozniacki

6-3, 3-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Caroline, obviously not the result that you expected or wanted, but as you reflect back, can you talk about not only the match but your run in the tournament, as well.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, well, obviously I'm disappointed now. I wanted to make it further into the tournament. But, you know, all in all, I think I put up a good display this week in general. I think I played pretty well throughout consistently.

I think there's a lot of things that I can take away with me from playing this slam, and obviously I beat some great players along the way. Today Coco just played a little bit better than me. You can see why she's been playing so consistently well the last couple of months. I think she really stepped up when it mattered.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What have you learned about yourself from this US Open ride?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: That's a good question.

Well, I wanted to see with these three events that I came back and played this year, I wanted to see kind of where I was tennis-wise, where I was physically and everything else. I think I've learned a lot from that.

I think I'm exactly where I want to be. There's still a few things that I want to work on and I can do better. But in general I think it's very positive. I think every event that I played, I played a little better. Every match I played here, I played a little bit better each time. A lot of positives I can bring with me.

Obviously I think my experience makes me believe that even if I'm not playing week in, week out, that I can still go out there and play my best tennis when I'm out there on court.

Q. This is the first time you got to play Coco, but you probably watched her. How different was it to play her? What, if anything, surprised you?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Nothing really surprised me, to be honest. Coco obviously has been playing a lot of matches on the big courts. You see her on TV quite often. There wasn't really a surprise out there.

I think Coco over the last month and a half, ever since after I think Wimbledon, I think she's not scared to hit through her forehand, which she has been in the past. I think she's getting more depth on it and a little bit more rotation. I think that's why she's obviously winning more on a consistent basis.

I think she's always been a great athlete, she's always had the backhand, the serve, the fighting spirit. I feel like right now it's all kind of coming together for her, yeah.

Q. Does it feel different for you in the sense that do you notice you're embraced more than ever as a role model, inspiration? If you do feel that, that does motivate you, what does it mean to you?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think it's different. Obviously I had two kids. I want to be a good role model for them especially. I obviously want to be a good role model for the kids out there.

But I'm also a competitor and I'm just out there to fight my hardest and play my hardest. I think I've always done that. Trying to do that with respect to my opponent and everything else.

So I just try and I wear many hats, but I just try and do my best wherever I am.

Q. How encouraged are you with what you already achieved? What are the next steps you need to take?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, yeah, I am encouraged. I think my game is pretty good. I think that I can beat anyone on any given day. I also believe if I'm not playing my best, I can also lose today.

My serve in the first and third sets let me down a little bit. I don't feel like I had the same pop as I had some of the other days. So that's something I'm going to work on.

Maybe the ball here is a little bit heavier, so it sticks in your racquet a little bit more. I think for the more explosive players maybe that's not a big deal. I think it's easier for them to hit through that ball.

For me, I had to just kind of find my targets and try not to overhit on the serves especially. But today I just didn't hit enough first serves, especially in that first set, and that got me kind of on my heel immediately.

There's a lot of positives to take with me going forward. I'm on the right track. I'm finding my form, I'm finding my feet. I know what I'm doing on the practice court is the right thing.

So I'm excited to take on more events, more players out there.

Q. It was a high-standard match, especially with the long rallies. Do you feel those dynamic moments in a match against Coco, is it just going to take playing more of those matches to be acclimated all the way back to winning?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Again, I think she played well. You can't take away from her playing very well. Obviously she has a lot of confidence, as well, as she's been winning a lot lately. You got to give her credit.

For me, you win some, you lose some. But I'm going to definitely learn from this match. I'm going to go back and just kind of look through what I could have done better and try to do that next time.

So, yeah, that's kind of the plan. That's usually the plan for me.

Q. It seemed like at some point you were wishing for the lights to be turned on. How difficult was it to see?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, I asked for lights because I thought it was easier to see with the lights on. It was the same for both. I asked for it in my last match, as well, just because it just gets a little darker in there. Yeah, there are lights, so...

Q. I know you talked about this many times before. With some perspective on your career, how do you feel like the early success in your career, obviously having to wait to get your Grand Slam, influenced you in any way?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: How the first part of my career shaped me as a person or a tennis player?

Q. Having to wait to get the Grand Slam after having so many titles as a young player, if that shaped you or affected you in any way?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I don't know any better, I guess. I've always been a competitor. I've always been a hard worker. Regardless if I've been winning a lot or not, I've been working extremely hard to just try and become a better tennis player.

That doesn't change now. I may be older, but at the same time I'm still a competitor and I want to work really hard so that I can be the best possible version of me as a tennis player when I go out an court.

Q. I don't think I asked that correctly. I wanted to ask you, because a lot of people are waiting for Coco to win a Grand Slam, I think she's won five titles as a teenager, what do you feel like you learned in getting the Grand Slam later in your career?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think just like in life, everyone goes through their journey in different ways and different timings. Just because your first tournament win is a Grand Slam doesn't mean that you're going to have an absolutely all-star career later on, or just because you win quickly or you win late, it doesn't really define who you are.

At the end of the day everyone has their own path. Obviously Coco is doing well. She came on tour very young. There were a lot of eyes on her immediately. With that comes expectation, everything else.

But she has a great team around her. She is a hard worker. She's a great athlete. When her time comes, it's going to come.

One thing we know about Coco and what we've seen, especially in the last month and a half, is that she wants to get better and she wants to push forward. That's great to see. That's what you want to see in a young player.

I think most importantly, it's always just having great people around you.