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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 18, 2012Caroline WozniackiMELBOURNE, VICTORIA C. WOZNIACKI/A. Tatishvili THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I'm sorry I'm late. I lost my bag somewhere and I couldn't find it. Yeah, took me a while. I thought it would be inappropriate to dress in a towel, so it took me a while, but I found it in the end. Q. Where did you leave it? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I left it on the practice court. I went to hit a few minutes after the match, and I left it there. I didn't have any more clothes. So I took a shower, and I'm looking for my bag and I couldn't find it. Thankfully, one of the locker room ladies was nice enough to go out and look for it and it was there. Q. So your toe isn't too bad, then, so you could go out and practice afterwards? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I mean, it's just a small blister. It was good just to tape it up and make sure that it was okay. Q. How did you find it today? The first set was obviously very comfortable. The second was much more of a dig‑in fight. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I pulled through. I thought the first set I played pretty well. I stayed aggressive and made her run. Second set, she went a bit more for her shots, and I stepped back a little bit and she punished me for that. Q. Can you talk a little bit about what you're doing with your forehand? Seems like you were playing with a lot more spin on certain shots. Is that something you were working on in the off‑season with your dad and the coach? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I just think sometimes it's a good way to push the opponent off the court. And then if she plays it short, the next ball, then try to step in. So, yeah, I think it's a shot that maybe it's possible to use a little bit more of, because it's a good shot. It's understated. Can you say that? Q. Yeah, kind of. Or underrated? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, exactly. Q. Can be understated. So it's not something major you've been working on? Because you've been working on doing things with the forehand since the summer. This isn't something new that Sanchez is working on with you? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, not really. I just try to figure out what is the best shot at the given moment and try to play ball around and not just to play at one rhythm all the time. Q. You communicate a lot with the social media, Twitter or Facebook. Is it a new way you think to speak to the people? You don't need maybe the journalists anymore? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think it's a great way to communicate with the fans and to get so that the fans also get a little bit of a different look of you as a person. You can get your own words out there. Sometimes if you've been misquoted or something, it's a good way as well to just put it out and hear it straight from you. Q. You speak very often about your racquet. Is it a new part of the contract that you have to speak about adidas on Facebook? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, not at all. Q. The last few months you got a bit of a closer view of another sport. Is there anything you've seen that Rory does that you bring into the preparation for tennis? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's a completely different atmosphere. Over there when you're at a golf tournament, it's more relaxed and a gentlemen's sport, I think. People help out each other when they play with each other because they play against the course. It's up to them. They don't have really an opponent that they have to fight. Of course, you can learn a lot, because when you're leading or if you have a putt, you know, you make it nine out of ten times in practice, but it can be really difficult. If it's very important‑‑ it's just a good way to learn the mental state of things in their game as well, and in a way to also try to get some of it over to the tennis. Q. Rory has had his ups and downs. Has he ever spoken to you about his mental approach to the game? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, it's just about you can't really do anything about the past. You just need to look forward. You have a tournament now, and you want to do the best you can. That's it. Then if it goes well, it's great. If not, you have the next one. It's like tennis. So, you know, it's just important not to dwell too much in the past. Q. A lot of golf sometimes is about managing the course. Do you feel that way in matches, too, that it's not just one particular shot, about taking the long‑term view in the match and what you should be doing at a particular time and how that might affect you later? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah. I mean, for me, I always try to just think one point at a time and what's happening now. But obviously the way you play will affect the match later. I mean, if you have long rallies, you need to think, okay, am I fitter than my opponent? Can I stay out here and grind it out for three, four hours, or do I need finish it off quicker? Because you don't know if you can handle that. You need think about it, and it's also individual from player it player how you want to play and how you want to play it out. Of course, sometimes it depends on the opponent, as well, and on yourself. I mean, sometimes the opponents don't let you play the way you want to. Then you need to change to Plan B. Q. Can't be very often that you look across the net and think this person can outlast me. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I usually believe I can stay out there the longest. I believe that, yeah, I can be out there forever if I have to. Q. I think you said golf was a pretty new world to you and wasn't a sport you're very familiar with. Anything particularly surprised you about it so far learning about it? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Um, no. I mean, I watched golf a little bit when Thomas Bjørn was playing. I mean, he had a great year this year, but a few years back when he was having a really good few years, and I was looking a little bit. But, you know, you figure out that it's not only to‑‑ it's not so easy as it looks on TV. It's not just hitting a ball, standing still. It's a lot of mental. I think it's more mental than tennis actually. You do one wrong movement and the ball goes in the trees or somewhere and it's difficult. So definitely it has surprised me how mentally strong you need to be. Q. Do you play golf yourself? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Um, I try to. (Smiling.) Q. Have you taken it up recently? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I got my‑‑ Yonex sent me some golf clubs like four months ago. I can't remember exactly; three months ago maybe. Yeah, I've been out playing a little bit. It's good when you have someone there saying, Okay, remember these few key points. Then I can hit it far. Once I'm out there alone and have to start playing, it goes right and left and up and down. I get so frustrated. Feel like I just want to break the clubs and go home. Q. Do you get tips from Rory? Do you tell him how you're playing or whatever? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Um, a little bit. But he actually had a friend teaching me a little bit, because he's a pro at one of the golf courses in Dubai. I went there and his friend helped me out. Q. Does he play tennis? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, he does. Yeah. Q. Rory, I mean. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah. Q. So you can give each other a bit of a... CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, but I think both of us don't want to, I mean, be too serious in the other sport. It's just for fun. Yeah, have a bit of fun. Q. You read some, don't you, books? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah. Q. Have you read anything in the last couple months other than just kind of thriller stuff you want to talk about that really sparked your mind? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. Right now, like I said in the last interview, I'm just reading a thriller by‑‑ it's called Tick‑Tock by James Patterson. I started reading a bit of Rafa's book as well. I didn't finish it yet, though. Q. Boring? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, it's just‑‑ no, I don't think it's boring. Just he describes how it is to be‑‑ you know, I think it's very interesting for people who haven't played tennis on a high level and haven't experienced the court of Wimbledon and all these things. He opens up a lot about how he is as a person, and I think that's interesting. But for example... Q. In the beginning he talks about family and his upbringing. Could you relate to the struggles he had? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, you can always relate to some things. I remember he said he was devastated that he lost when he was ten years old. I remember when I was playing under‑10s or under‑12s I thought my world was going to break down if I didn't win this match. When I lost I was devastated and start crying. I was like, Oh, I never want to step on the court again, this hard work doesn't pay off, all these things. But I hung in there, and it paid off in the end. Q. Have you been reading any of Kenny Dalglish's quotes? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, I haven't actually. Actually quite a few people have tweeted me that I should read that. Is it good? Q. He's got some interesting things to say as they struggled along their way. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Okay. Q. A gambler in Melbourne has put $4,000 on a double: yourself and Federer. Do you think it's a bit of a gamble putting so much money on Roger to win? CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I don't bet, so I usually‑‑ I don't know. I think if people do it for fun, it's fine. I don't know. I think Federer has been playing great and he has a chance of winning. I mean, there are of course a couple of guys in the way always. But, um, I think he's very experienced now and he knows what he can and can't do. I think that'll go to his advantage. Q. Nine aces today in only two sets. We thought we were looking at Pete Sampras out there. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Felt a little bit like John Isner out there. Q. Looks a little flatter than it used to. CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I don't know. I felt pretty confident out there. The wind or sun didn't disturb, and I could throw it up and hit it. I went for it a few times and made a few aces, which was great. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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