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PILOT PEN TENNIS PRESENTED BY SCHICK

August 23, 2008

Caroline Wozniacki

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

C. WOZNIACKI/A. Chakvetadze
3-6, 6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How does it compare to Stockholm?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, it's completely different, I think, because Stockholm was -- you know, in Scandinavia, it was my first tournament and it was smaller than this. Here, it's the tournament before the US Open, and it's a really big tournament. You know, I have beaten some really great players on my way to win this tournament.
You know, I'm just happy to have won both of the tournaments. Yeah, it's great.

Q. At the beginning of the second set you were up 2-1 and you fell. Did you hurt your hand?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No. I mean, a little bit. But it was just when I fell, you know, yeah, it hurt a little bit in the beginning, but afterward it was okay. I didn't feel it.

Q. Can you talk about you were down, one service game, down a break in the second set. What were you thinking at that point and what helped you get through that?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, I was just thinking, Anna was playing really well. She was playing her game, playing aggressive. I was just playing her game, you know. I was letting her play. So I was just thinking, okay, if I have to have a chance to win this tournament, I have to, you know, play my own game, make her do the things that I want her to do, you know.
I think I just said, Now, I'll lose anyways if I don't change something. I just tried to change. It worked.

Q. Were you feeling at all nervous at the beginning of the match?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, actually not really. Not so much. A little bit, but nothing special. Like it was worse in the end because I knew I was so close. So now I knew I had to serve it out, new balls and everything. I was a little bit nervous then.

Q. To what do you attribute all the breaks in the first set? Nobody seemed to be able to serve.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think, you know, Anna was returning really well. She was playing down at my feet all the time. Even though if I served a good serve, she replied back with a better return. I think that was the reason. Yeah, my second serve was easier for her. She just stepped in and smashed it down the line or cross-court, you know. So I knew that I had to have my first percentage up.

Q. You smile a lot on the court.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I don't know.

Q. It's not something you've been told?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I don't really think about it. It just comes naturally.

Q. You seem to be having fun.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I am having fun. I enjoy playing. I enjoy playing for a big crowd. You know, when you're in the finals, you don't have anything to lose. You can just win.
Yeah, I really enjoyed it.

Q. What lasting memories will you have of this week? What are some of the things that will come back in your memory about the week looking back?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, all the matches for sure. I mean, every match has been tough this week. Off the court, I mean, yesterday I had a tour in Yale, a Yale tour. It was really impressive. I almost wished I was going to Yale, you know (laughter).
Yeah, I mean, it's just a great tournament, you know, great atmosphere and everything. I like that it's men's and women's combined. You know, there's always something happening. You know, it just gives it a great atmosphere, I think.

Q. Did you sense at the beginning of the tournament you would do this well coming in?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: You know, actually during the draw, I never like doing the draw, because I always draw something bad for myself. And I drew Dominika Cibulkova in the first round. We played quite a few times before and it's always been a tough match against her. You know, she has had a great year. So I was like, you know, this is a tough one to get. If I get this one, you know, you never know what's gonna happen.
But I just tried to play my best every match.

Q. When you go down to New York, will you have a different feeling about yourself? Will you just feel differently about yourself?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: For sure I'll have some confidence going into the US Open. I've played a great tournament this week. I've had a good last couple of weeks. I feel like I'm playing some good tennis. Now hopefully I will play well at the Open, as well.
You always feel good when you win something. I'll feel good when I go into the US Open.

Q. Three weeks ago you hadn't won a tournament. Now you've won two. Are you surprised your success has come so fast?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I am actually. Just going so fast, you know. I'm just enjoying every second of it. You never know when it's going to end or if it's going to end soon or not.
You know, I think it's just about enjoying every second. Yeah, I really accomplished a lot these last couple weeks. It's been great.

Q. Your father said after the match your greatest achievement before today was the first time you really beat your brother when you played tennis. Can you talk about not starting to play until like seven or eight years old, the road you've been on since?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I mean, I'm born in a really competitive family. Myself, I'm really competitive. I hate losing. So, you know, it was just from the beginning, everything I did. You know, if it was playing tennis, playing soccer, whatever, I really wanted to win against especially my brother. I mean, if I lost, he was teasing me. If I was winning, I was teasing him. So, you know, it was kind of a game for us.
We had fun and we really have a good relationship to each other. He supports me back home, as well. You know, then I just started to play bigger and bigger tournaments, you know, first in Denmark, and then afterwards under-12s, under-14s internationally. Then I started under-18s, played a little bit, made better and better results. And then now on the main tour. Yeah, it's going quite well step-by-step.

Q. You were born in Denmark.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yes.

Q. Your parents are both born in Poland?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yes.

Q. What was the reason they went to Denmark?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Because my dad was a professional soccer player. First he was playing for Poland. Then he was sold to Germany. Then he was sold to Denmark. And he took my mother with him (laughter).

Q. Did you play any other sports as a child?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I played so many different kinds of sports. I played handball. I've been swimming. I've played soccer. I've played piano. I've sang in the choir. You know, I've done so many different things. Playing badminton. Yeah, really a lot of different sports. But tennis was the thing that I liked the most.

Q. Did you ever think you might go the soccer route, or were you not as good?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I had to choose. But I actually didn't like soccer too much because it was only the guys. And, you know, it wasn't really fun. None of my friends were playing or anything. So, you know, it kind of took me away from that. So that's the reason, yeah.

Q. It sounds like you had a normal childhood. You weren't one of these kids taken off to a tennis academy, has their childhood taken away. Do you feel like you grew up normally?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I really feel that I've grown up normally. I mean, I've never -- I could never imagine myself practicing in an academy away from my family, away from my friends. That's not the way I would like to do it. For sure for some people that's the way.
But for me it was just, you know, being with my friends, having a good time off the court. You know, I enjoyed playing every day. I took my friends. We're having like, you know, a grill party or whatever on the courts, then went and playing a little bit, then went off again. That's the way I liked it to be. You know, we were playing for ice cream every day.
So, I mean, yeah, I think I've had a pretty normal childhood, but just traveling a bit more than the rest of my friends.

Q. You didn't have to buy ice cream very much, did you?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think actually our parents were buying.

Q. You said today you felt the match was being taken to you early, and you had to change things. What did you do? Were you a little bit more aggressive later on in the points?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I tried to be more aggressive, not letting her push me away from the baseline. At one point, I was standing two, three meters behind the baseline. She was just going in the court and, you know, hitting the balls. So I thought, okay, I have to step closer to the baseline and just try to play my game that way.

Q. You said you liked Yale. Have you thought about college, at least doing something online to get a degree, or just tennis now?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I mean, I still have the last year of high school now, and then afterwards, yeah, for sure I would like to do some college. I mean, for sure it's going to be difficult for me if I go to Yale and I stay on campus. I think that would not be possible at the moment. But I'm sure, online, if that's possible.
Yeah, I'd really like to continue with school.

Q. Is that what you're doing with high school or do you actually go to school and not play as much?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Before, one year ago, I was going to regular school. But then from this year that has been, I started to go to online, yeah.

Q. You have one more year?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: One more year.

Q. Obviously you go to New York now. Are you going to have a chance to celebrate this?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: For sure. I mean, I'm going to celebrate it today for sure, tonight. You know, just enjoying that I won. I think that's important, you know, that you celebrate and that you enjoy that you won. I mean, could be pretty sad if you just practice hard and don't really realize how big an effort, what you've accomplished. I think that's important, an important thing.

Q. What do you think the reaction is going to be back home?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think it's going to be huge actually. Everyone is writing about me that I've been in the finals. You know, everyone is talking. All my friends are like writing me, great job. I think some of my friends are going to go celebrate, as well.

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