Checking in at the Wozniacki - Wickmayer presser

One of the neat things about this being a smaller tournament, is the fact that you can be assured to get some questions in at the post-match press conferences.
Shortly after the conclusion of the match, I headed over to the media tent and readied myself for the chance to ask both players about the match. Wozniacki appeared first with a big smile on her face. Honestly, after seeing her in person, i don’t know why people do not like her.



Here is a sample of their answers:

World of Tennis: Caroline, what changes did you make in your game to turn things in your favor in that third set?
Wozniacki: Well, I just kept focused, and you know, i knew that I was going to get one chance, and i had to take that one. And I did, and it turned out in my favor, so I’m very happy.
World of Tennis: You injured yourself here last year, rolling your ankle in the clay. Is that in the back of your mind?
Wozniacki: No, I mean I’m taped up you know. It happens. Injuries happen, and that’s it. I just need the match play and the confidence to slide on clay, get that back, and i feel like I’m getting there.


World of Tennis: Yanina, reaching the quarters here and barely losing to the number 1 player in the world, does this build your confidence going into the clay court season?
Wickmayer: Yeah, for sure. I have Fed Cup on hard first which is going to be a little bit strange going back, but i am definitely going back to clay. So it’s going to be a little difficult going back to hard and then going back to clay. I mean this was a good week for me and a good first week on clay.
I think I never played that well the first week on clay, so that’s really good, and i adapted really fast, which is good. So i hope that one week on hard is not going to change anything and the day i get back out on clay I’ll feel like i do today. A lot of clay tournaments are coming, I have Brussels before French which is at home, so I’m really excited about that.

Wozniacki through to Family Circle Cup Semis

Caroline Wozniacki defeated Yanina Wickmayer 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a near full capacity main stadium at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.
Things did not start well for Caro, as she dropped the first set 6-4 to the more aggressive Belgian player. In the second set, Yanina kept up dictating the points, and had an early break, but a slight drop in her game allowed Wozniacki to get back in the match.
At 2-3 in the 2nd set, Caroline broke Yanina to even things out and get back in serve. With the crowd in her side, Wozniacki was able to get a key break at 5-4 to push the game into a 2nd set.
In the first three games of the deciding set, Yanina regained her intensity, getting a break of serve along the way. Her aggressive style of play was giving Wozniacki all sorts of trouble.
Wickmayer was being the aggressor both in her service and return game and all signs seemed to point to a looming upset. Wozniacki however, had other plans.
With Wickmayer serving at 4-3, Caroline showed her fighting spirit, broke Yanina and leveled the match at 4-4. She would then go on to hold serve and in a very anti-climatic end to the match, win by breaking Wickmayer to settle the final score.
Yanina had the game in the bag late in that third set but lost her focus just long enough for the #1 player in the world to overtake her. Wozniacki on the other hand displayed the fighting spirit that by now characterizes her.