AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2024

Caroline Wozniacki

Press Conference

C. WOZNIACKI/M. Linette

6-2, 2-0 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Caroline, not the way you probably wanted to win your first match back here, but what were you pleased about in the first set in terms of your form?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think all in all I played pretty consistent. I tried to stay aggressive, tried to get close to the lines, move the ball around. I feel like I did that pretty well.

We had some good, long rallies to start off. Yeah, it's definitely not the way you want to win. You want to see your opponent be healthy. But I saw she tweaked her leg at one point there late in the first set. I wasn't sure what was happening. Then I just tried to keep my head cool. Was expecting her to finish, but it obviously was bad enough where she felt like she couldn't.

THE MODERATOR: Who would like the first question?

Q. To matters back home. I think it's only a couple of hours away that the new king and queen of Denmark are going to take the throne, including Australia's Princess Mary, soon to be Queen Mary. You've met them, I believe. What are your thoughts on that?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think it's very exciting. I hope that I'll get to see it, somehow stream it or do something, because I think it's obviously not very often that this happens. It's such a historic moment.

I think they'll be great king and queen of Denmark. I think they'll represent our country in an amazing way. They already have as the crown prince and crown princess.

It's definitely a very special moment for our country happening at the moment.

Q. You've met them before, haven't you?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I have, yes.

Q. How does how you are now in an opening match here compare with when you were coming back to the court in August and playing those first matches at the US Open?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I think coming back the first couple of matches that I played, I felt like I knew where my level was at, but until you play a proper, full match in a real tournament, you don't really 100% know.

Now I feel like I came into this tournament, this year, knowing exactly where I was, where I need to be, and what I need to work on. It's a little bit different. At the same time I think I have nothing to lose and everything to win.

Q. I don't know if you would have remembered or not, but when you started to practice back on these courts, now playing a match, is everything playing the way that you're used to? Did you slide right back into it? Do you sense there's differences whether it's balls, conditions...

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think every year there's slight differences. That happens for various reasons. I think generally the court is medium fast. I don't know if it's slightly slower than normal, especially the main courts. I think it's pretty much the same.

The big difference is the ball. When I played with the Wilson, now we're playing with Dunlop, and it's definitely heavier. It's a heavier ball. It quickly kind of runs bigger, fluffs up.

Again, I feel very comfortable playing here. I feel comfortable with the ball. I feel very just thrilled to be here. Immediately when I stepped foot on these courts, in this area, I felt right at home. I think it's a special place for me and always will be.

Q. Has it all been harder or easier than you thought it was going to be or about what you signed up for?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I think about where I thought it was going to be. But obviously I'm no spring chicken anymore, so my body, I just need to be careful with it, treat it accordingly. I think that's what I've learned in the off-season, to be really diligent with everything that I do.

I think that's the main thing. I've played for so many years, been able to push my body to the brink almost every day for that whole time. Now just I really got to be more careful with what I do and how I do things.

Q. Careful in terms of recovery, stretching?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, recovery, stretching, warming up. I no longer can be just like, Okay, one minute I'm a little, that's fine, we'll just start playing. I really got to do my due diligence with the warm-ups and cool-downs.

Q. Can you remember early on back in teenage Wozniacki years, what was your warm-up like, cool-down?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Actually, when I was really young, I had a coach who made me show up 15 minutes early every time, had to do these special stretches, had to warm up. That was the routine every single time.

Kind of as I got a little older, probably in my 20s, is like, Oh, yeah, I'll warm up. Of course I don't want to get hurt. Sometimes it would be a little less, a little more.

Now I really need to go back to how I did when I was young, really be there early. I'm usually early, but just really do the warm-ups properly again and cool-downs especially.