Tennis star Wozniacki wins press conference game, set and match
Caroline Wozniacki, the tennis star, has been accused by the media of being rather dull. Yesterday she sought to change all that taking a very interesting approach to a post match press conference. We publish the edited highlights here – but be careful: this is a high risk media relations strategy!
She opened her conference by referring to what the media were saying about her previous press conference: “They said that my press conferences were kind of boring, that I always gave the same answers.” Before getting reading for the serve: “I find it quite funny because I always get the same questions. So I'm just going to start. I know what you're going to ask me already. So I'm just going to start with the answer.
“I felt great out there today on the court. I think I played a pretty good match. I am happy I got the revenge since I lost to her in Sydney last week. It was not an easy match. She went out there, she was really on fire.
“I'm happy to be through to the next round. I don't know who I'm playing, so maybe you can ask me that afterwards. But I'm really looking forward to playing my fourth round. It's the second time in a row that that's happened.
“What I do need to do to win this tournament, if I feel like I played too defensively today. I feel like I had to do that. I had to run a lot of balls down today because she was playing really aggressively, trying to hit from the first point.
“But I felt, when I had the chance, I was really focused and tried to step it up, especially with my serve a bit. When she put the second serve in, I tried to take the advantage straightaway.
“If I deserve to be No1 – if this was another proof that I belong there: again, I don't feel any pressure to be No1. I really enjoy myself. I've had a great year and a great tournament so far. So I'm just happy to be in the next round, and hopefully I can pull a win through.
“My racquet feels really good (laughter). The racquet is really helping me out. I feel like there are no problems. I enjoy playing with it. So, I'm just happy to be here. Hopefully this was a little bit different than usual, and now you can maybe give me some questions that are a little bit more interesting, a little bit different than what I usually get."
So then the questions started. We publish a summary here but a full transcript can be found on The Guardian's website:
Question: So where did you hear that your press conferences were dull?
Wozniacki: I heard that the South American media said to the Danish media that they would like to get to know me better, but [that] I always answer the same questions. When I get the questions, I answer what I can answer. If they ask me about the match, I cannot really say that I like eating bananas. I try to do my best here.
Question: We don't need to ask you any questions now because you already answered them. Anything you want to ask us?
Wozniacki: What do you want to know about me? That would be more interesting.
Question: How did you go at the cricket yesterday?
Wozniacki: That was a lot of fun. I met two of the guys there, Finch and Peter Siddle. They're really great guys. They learned me how to throw and how to hit the ball, so that was quite fun.
Question: Maybe you could play baseball and then the Americans would be happy.
Wozniacki: Maybe. Maybe I should think about that for next time I change sports.
Question: Do you have any thoughts on the appointment of Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool?
Wozniacki: I'm hoping that that will give some positive energy into the guys, into the lads. I'm hoping things will turn and they'll start winning more matches. It's tough to be a supporter and see them having a hard time. But it's a sport, and I'm sure it will turn sooner or later.
Question: How should we solve global warming?
Wozniacki: Global warming? I'm flying quite a bit, so that doesn't really help (laughter). Uhm, go green. Make cars that don't use so much gas. Make them electric. That would already help. Use the buses, the trains, instead of taking the car. When you take a shower, don't stay there for half an hour. Two minutes is enough. Even the girls.
Question: When are you going to get married and how many kids are you going to have?
Wozniacki: First I have to find a guy.
Question: What do you expect in a guy?
Wozniacki: What do I expect? Honesty. Understanding what I'm doing. Maybe a sports person himself.
Question: You're not going to find it in here!
Wozniacki: Sometimes the media is too good-looking here, so I can't really focus on what I'm supposed to say (laughter).
Question: You have a big support team here. Can you talk a little bit about your entourage?
Wozniacki: I have my mom, my dad is here. My dad is my coach, so he's always there with me. My mom is my great supporter. It's always nice to have her around. She can cook. It's nice to have some home-cooked food sometimes. I like to bake, so sometimes I do the desserts. I don't eat too much desserts though, because I need to be able to move around on the court. The adidas team are here. Sven and Mats are here working out, like always. I have my agent here following my press conference. He was a bit nervous when I said I was going to do this in a different way today. But I think I'm safe, right?
Question: Yeah, you did all right.