US OPEN

August 28, 2023

Caroline Wozniacki

Press Conference

C. WOZNIACKI/T. Prozorova

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Caroline, assess your performance tonight.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I'm just so happy to be through. I think there are some things I did very well, other things that I can do better.

All in all I'm going to be thrilled with a win today. Playing on Armstrong is special. Playing a night session. Obviously I was a little nervous going out there and finishing off the match.

Again, just thrilled to be through in an exciting match. Get another one out there.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously not your first match back, but your first slam match. How were the butterflies different?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It was a long time to wait for my match today, all day. You can think about it for a long time. Definitely not easy. Also very honored to play a night session, playing on a big court.

Again, just happy to be through the first round, get that out of the way. Obviously it only gets tougher from here. I'm playing Petra next, someone I know very well and have played many, many times. I kind of know what to expect.

I got to play better next match to beat her, but so does she. So I think it's going to be an exciting one. I think it's going to be a good match out there.

Q. Quite an outfit, cape. Your thoughts on your arrival?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I mean, it's the US Open. Why not? I think that's my motto at the moment. At this point we may as well make a statement. I think that's where I'm at.

Q. What part of the design process were you?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Actually, because I didn't let many people know for a long time, it was kind of a last-minute, All right, let's go for it, let's try this one. I think it's cool.

So, yeah, it was a last-minute thing from adidas. Yeah, I think it's nice.

Q. What were the things you were most pleased about? What do you want to do better against Petra?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think competitive-wise, as in match play-wise, I made some smart decisions today than I have in Cincinnati. I think leaving Cincinnati, I need to do better, I can do better. I think I got some good practice in.

Generally speaking, I think I saw the court much better today, which I'm happy with.

Obviously I think what I can do better? Everything a little bit better. At the same time you see an opponent taking a medical timeout, taking some time. She has nothing to lose out there. I could have done better just shutting her out immediately in the second set, going up 3-Love, instead of it was a little back and forth in the beginning of that second set.

Again, just thrilled to be through and get another match, hopefully on a big court.

Q. Have you had a chance to talk to Petra, the great bonds you've had with her?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Absolutely, yeah, I talked to Petra yesterday, the day before. I bumped into her in the city.

I actually didn't know that I had the potential of playing her in the second round. I don't think she knew it either. We were talking yesterday in the locker room. She was like, When are you playing?

Tomorrow night.

She is goes, Yeah, me too. I play tomorrow night.

We talked about each other's opponents. Yeah, she was like, It's so cool to see you back. Just kind of talking about family.

I think she didn't have any idea that she was potentially playing against me either.

I think we've been around for a long time. We've played each other many times. I think at the end of the day we're just out there to do our best and compete. Hopefully it's going to be a great match.

Q. It will be your 15th meeting against Petra, the first since the Finals in 2018. In your comeback you've been playing players that weren't fully contemporaries with you. Do you think there's a sense of you'd snap into it in a way, you remember the old times, that you have to elevate your game?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Obviously there's pluses and minuses. But, yeah, I know exactly what I need to do. I know where my game needs to be at to beat Petra. There's definitely a calmness to knowing that. At the same time I'm playing someone who obviously plays very well.

Could I have had maybe a little bit of an easier draw? Probably. But at the same time I'm also a wild card. We could have met in the first round.

At the same time I'm just out there to compete. I know myself, my competitiveness. I know if I'm playing my best tennis, then I believe that I can beat anyone in the draw.

We'll see. It could be anything out there in the next match, but I hope it's going to be a great match. That's why I'm here. I want to compete. I want to play against the best players.

Again, I'm just thrilled that I got to play on a big court today. Let's see where we're going to go in the next round. Hopefully another big one.

Q. On the 14 matches you've played with Petra in the past, is there one that stands out to you?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I'm really bad in my history of matches. I think I beat her in the year-end championships last time we played. Then we played a crazy match in Doha, as well, that I lost. I don't know. But we've had some tough battles. We've had some tough three-set matches.

There's a couple that stand out. One that I lost bad to her at Wimbledon where I think she won the tournament, but she was on fire. There was I think one that stands out is Beijing. I beat her to get my No. 1 ranking, which that was very special.

So, yeah, some back and forths, for sure. Again, it could be anything in the next round, but I'm so excited to play her.

Q. You mentioned waiting around all day for your match. Is it that much harder to play this kind of schedule when things are at night? Is it mentally taxing waiting around all day? Does the recovery change afterwards?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Honestly, I usually love a night session. For me I thrive playing in front of a big crowd, playing a night session, especially when you're playing first on. You know exactly when you're on. You can really prepare for that.

But I haven't played a night session in a very long time. For me it was like, Okay, I woke up this morning at 8, Olivia woke up at 8. I was like, Wait, I'm playing in 12 hours. Okay, what am I going to do?

I hung out with the kids a little bit, took a nap when they took a nap, hung out with them a little bit more, walked around outside. I had them kind of do their own thing. I really started to zone in on the match.

I think it was important for me not to think about the match all day because that's kind of nerve-wracking, too. It was really nice to be able to hang out with the kids for a little while and just think about that, do something. Then I really zoned in and started thinking about what I needed to do in the match today kind of after my nap.

Q. Do you find it easier or harder to get in the right mental space with the kids around?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: The same. I think once a competitor, always a competitor. I know what I need to do out there.

When I'm with the kids, I'm with the kids 100%. When I'm zoned in on the match, I'm there 100%. I gave the kids a big kiss. I said, Mommy's got to go work now. Olivia asked if she could join. I said, No, it's very late, you're going to be sleeping. She said, Okay, tomorrow we play tennis.

So I guess that's what we're doing tomorrow morning.