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U.S. OPEN

September 5, 2011

Caroline Wozniacki

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

C. WOZNIACKI/S. Kuznetsova
6-7, 7-5, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What were the conditions like with the wind? Did it feel like you played for three hours?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, the wind was pretty strong out there today. It came from the back and just went that way, one side. Yeah, I mean, from one side you really had to hit through the ball to get it going, and from the other side you had to watch out not to play too deep.
Yeah, I mean, it was a tough match, a good battle out there. Yeah, we've had a few of those before, and here two years ago at the US Open.

Q. Could you hear Roger and Juan saying bad words because your match kept going on?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't think I could hear that while I was out on court.

Q. How hard do you think it is for those two to be playing right now?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, last year I played second night match after Rafa where the night session started late. I came on at around 12:00 and finished at 1:00, so I've been there.

Q. Does that give you momentum to get it done fast?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, Roger is doing a pretty good job out there now. But it's always tough to start that late. But, you know, for me I was just focusing on myself. I was just trying to win.

Q. At what point were you confident you had this match won?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't think you know for sure. I mean, I was down 4-1 in the second and I came back, so I just kept fighting, I kept going for every point.

Q. Could you sense her getting tired when she took a long break at the end of the second set?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, she took a long break. I think she wanted to regroup and try to just stay positive. I knew I had to try to get a good start, and I did. You know, I started stepping closer to the baseline and tried to dictate the game more.

Q. What happened in the tiebreaker?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I think I was standing against the wind at that point. Suddenly we changed sides and I made a double-fault. You know, it was just about timing.
You know, she also went a little bit more for my second serve when I served a second serve. She went for the shot. I think it also put a bit more pressure on me to try to keep it deep.
Yeah, you know, tennis, it's a funny game. You never know what's gonna happen. You know, I was just happy that I could turn it around in the second set and close the match.

Q. Did you really feel like you had to turn it around, or did you feel that you played her before and she was going to start missing?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I knew that I had to do something. I had to do something different. I had to step into the court because she had the momentum going. She was stepping into the court. I was standing too far behind so I knew I had to change something. She was playing very well.
I was like, Okay, she still needs to win eight more points to win the match and it's not easy to close it out.

Q. It didn't seem at any point that you got down on yourself. There wasn't negative body language. You seemed very positive. Your internal thoughts, do you ever get down on yourself?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's important to stay positive. If I would have been negative on myself, I definitely would not have turned the match around.
You know, I'm a fighter. I fight for every point no matter what the score is. It paid off today. Tennis, again, it's a funny sport. You have to just keep going.

Q. Would you classify this as a momentum type of win for you, confidence builder?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, it definitely gives you confidence to pull this match out. I felt like I played some good tennis out there. We had some unbelievable rallies at some points. I was moving very well.
I think I handled the wind pretty well, as well. So, you know, I'm just happy to be through to the quarterfinals. I could have been sitting here and been out already. But I'm very proud of what I've achieved today.

Q. How much of this victory do you attribute to your mental toughness?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, a lot. Mental and physical. Definitely those two were key today.

Q. How do you develop that mental fortitude?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think first it's something that you -- it's just your personality and also you get the experience when you play a lot of matches. Once you've been on tour for a long time, you get the experience.
But, you know, I mean, it's not going to be the first or the last time that I'm gonna come back after a match like this. But it's not gonna be a first or last time that you're gonna lose a match like that.
It's sports. You know, today I'm happy I was the one on top and hopefully next match I can play well and we'll see what happens.

Q. You had tough losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Talk about how actually getting the big win today really feels to you.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, you know, Wimbledon and the French Open is in the past already. I'm just looking forward. I still think I've had a great year. You know, I'm playing good tennis. Again, I'm happy. I love playing here in New York. It's a great tournament for me. I love playing out there in the night session, Arthur Ashe, it's a really great feeling.
So definitely a boost to be out there again.

Q. When you were talking about the physical part, when you get into these things where it looks like it's going to take a long time to win a match, in your mind do you feel you have a physical edge on pretty much whoever is standing over there?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I know I'm in great shape. I'm working so hard off the court, as well. I know I can be out there for hours and hours. It's great to know that, and it's great to know that it doesn't matter how long the match takes. I mean, I will not lose because I'm not physically well.

Q. Do you notice when the opponent is breathing heavily, seems to be suffering?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, you do, and you try to use it for your own advantage.

Q. The last time you played Petkovic was Miami, right?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Stuttgart.

Q. Talk about the matchup a little bit. She's in pretty good form.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: She's in a good form. She's a good competitor. She's hitting hard from both sides, having a good serve. She's having a good two weeks here, as well. It's not going to be an easy match.
The quarterfinals is never easy. I'm just excited to be out there again, get another match.

Q. I asked you last week about playing doubles. There are a lot of men's players that would like to play mixed doubles with you. If you had to pick a player to play mixed doubles with, who would you pick?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Bob Bryan.

Q. Why would you pick him and not his brother?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, first, first of all, Bob is staying on the forehand side and I would be staying on the backhand side. Bob is a fun guy. You know, I'm sure we could play some good doubles together. Well, definitely he would be playing well. I would just be having to put a few balls in, serve well. It would be fine.

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