C. WOZNIACKI/A. Wozniak
6 3, 7 6
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
Q. It was a tough battle for you today on the court. Happy to end it in two sets, I guess?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Definitely. It was a tough match. I started off really well, and everything was going the way I wanted it to. Second set she played better. I started to play a little bit worse.
Thankfully I finished it in two sets. It could easily have been three.
Q. Regarding your game and clay, do you think it's maybe the most challenging surface for you?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Definitely. I think, you know, I'm more comfortable on hard courts, but at the same time I think I play well on clay, and I've showed that with the results I've done on clay so far this season.
Q. You just said it's not your favorite surface, so you're still waiting for your first Grand Slam title. How do you rank your chances to achieve this in Paris?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I just take one match at a time. We have to see how it's gonna happen.
You know, I think I've done great results on clay so far this year. I'm feeling comfortable and confident on the clay. We will just see. Next match will be a tough one. Hopefully I can pull through.
Q. Can you talk about, is the leg wrap preventive or did you really hurt it last weekend?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's preventative. I felt it a little bit last week and I didn't want to make it worse, so I just do it for protection, because, I mean, there is no reason to make it worse.
I mean, it's not bothering me while I'm playing or anything, so it's okay.
Q. Did you talk about the tiebreaker when you were arguing the call? You did?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: If I...
Q. Just before I got in here, did you
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Oh, no, I did not talk about it. No, no, I didn't.
Q. Well, you argued it a long time. Did you clearly see the ball going back there, or was Aleksandra's back to you so you weren't really sure where it landed, your lob?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Obviously it's tough when I'm standing on the other side to see exactly where it was, but I just thought it was you know, the ball was not fast. It was very slow. So if both the linesman and the main umpire didn't see it when it was going like this, then I was just wondering if it was, you know, that mark I wanted just the linesman just to confirm there was that mark that was shown.
But she didn't want to go down.
Q. So you think the umpires in that kind of situation really should have the linesperson show where the mark is? Or do you think it should be at the umpire's discretion to say, Okay, Caroline, I really saw where the ball was; I don't have to check it again?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I just think if the linesman just could show where the mark I don't think it's such a big problem if he just says, Okay, it's that mark. Fine, fair enough.
But, I mean, maybe he saw another mark. I don't know. I just think it would be nice to have him check, like the Hawk Eye, you know. It's the same thing.
Q. I heard that you are a Liverpool supporter. Which team do you think is going to win the UEFA Champions League final Saturday?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: I think it's a tough one to call. It's two great teams, but at the same time I like Barcelona. So, yeah, I hope a little bit that they will win.
Q. Again today you showed incredible defensive skills. Could you talk about defense and tennis? Is anticipation the key? Is it just determination, never giving up? What is the key to great defensive play?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, first of all, you need to be able to play aggressively, as well. You need to be able to do both.
Defense, it's about being able to see where the opponent wants to hit the next shot. If you hit it somewhere, you know, you know what you can expect from the opponent.
At the same time, you wait for the right chance to go for your shots, and go for the winner, as well, because, I mean, we're playing at such a high level at the moment, so if you were not able to transform and do both, then you're not gonna win matches.
Q. And that anticipation, is that something that you just have inside yourself, or you can really work on that and improve that?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: It's both. Can you improve obviously everything. You can improve the way to play aggressive. You can improve the way to be able to get out of trouble when you're in trouble, and you're in defense you work on getting back into the offensive position.
But at the same time, you know, I think some players are just able to they're faster, and some players are stronger. Some players are it depends on the player. It's individual from player to player, how they play.
Q. You've had a long year, and you played a lot on the clay this season and you haven't had a week off. I know you've discussed it physically. I know you like to practice. You feel like your body is strong. Talk a little bit about how you keep yourself mentally fresh going week to week to week and not just saying, Oh, I'm just so sick of playing tennis. I'm practicing, I'm working out, I'm playing matches.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I had a week off after Charleston and after Stuttgart, as well. So those were two weeks. Stuttgart I used more for practice, as well, which was I was doing a lot of things off the court.
For me, I like the competition, I like to be in there. I don't get tired of that.
You know, when you're practicing and you have a long period of practice, I feel like, Okay, I'm working on something, working on something, but I want to use it, as well. And in that situation for me it's harder mentally to go out there and play four hours of tennis and two hours of fitness in a training period. I think that's more mentally tiring, and also physically tiring, than playing just one match and then warmup before the match.
Q. You were doing two to three hours of fitness in the mornings, what, Stuttgart and Madrid? Also Rome?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: No, no, I was doing the week before Stuttgart and Stuttgart and the week after Stuttgart I was the half of the week after Stuttgart I was doing, yeah, pretty much one hour, 15 minutes running in the morning. Then I was doing a bit of strengthening. Then I did some tennis, my match. Then I went back to the gym after. So it was quite a bit.
But at the same time, I have my priorities where I wanted to play really well and I wanted to do well in obviously Madrid and Rome and here.
So it's important to know where you can take that training period and really feel like you can work on some things.
Q. So here things have changed? You're not doing...
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Here it's different. Here it's important for me to be fresh for my matches and be able to give 100%.
I'm a competitor, so no matter if I'm doing a hard practice period and playing a tournament, I still want to win when I'm on court. No doubt about it.
Here it's important for me that I'm fresh, I'm feeling good, and that every time I go on the court that, you know, I feel like I can give 100%, that I don't have heavy legs, you know, I don't have any problems. That's the most important thing.
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