Melbourne (AFP)
Caroline Wozniacki cries on the court of the Melbourne Arena, she cries and makes people cry at the Australian Open where she was eliminated on Friday in the 3rd round: the friend of the locker rooms left the professional tennis circuit definitively.
"I was told there were handkerchiefs here. Ah, I see them, this is in case I need it. I've already cried so much that it should be fine ... but we don't know never". This is how the 29-year-old Dane started her last press conference.
An hour before, after her defeat against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, she assured the public who cheered more loudly than after a victory: "I cry, but I am happy!"
Happy because this very last official match was like what she produced throughout her career: a big fight.
"I fought as if my life was at stake, I have done it all my career, I am known for that," she said, smiling.
"I had a dream when I was little: I wanted to win a Grand Slam tournament, I wanted to become world No.1. People thought it was madness, for me who came from a small country. But I did it! I worked so much every day ... I am very proud of what I have achieved ", said the player who had to wait almost the end of her career to win this Grand Slam title , at the Australian Open in 2018.
- "Funny" -
During this long journey on the professional circuit started when she was 15 years old, Caroline Wozniacki knew how to make herself appreciated by her colleagues, when we say the locker room of a very unfriendly tennis tournament.
"I hope that I will leave a bit of happiness in the locker room. It is a very hard place because tennis is an individual sport, each wants to be the best. So I hope that I leave lightness and happiness with the discussions and the fun that I had there ", commented the neo-retired.
Indeed, the players interviewed all said that they would miss Wozniacki, "as a player and as a person", according to the summary of world No.2 Karolina Pliskova.
"We had a lot of fun because it can also be very funny," added the Czech.
- "Shocked" -
The most moved, and she made no secret of it at a press conference after her own elimination, is Serena Williams. Angry about her match, the American broke down with tears when it came to talking about Wozniacki.
"We saw each other in the locker room, we were both a little shocked by our matches (...) Oh my God, I start to cry! I will miss her. I can't answer the questions on Caroline, it makes me cry ... She is one of my best friends in the world, we spend a lot of good time together in our life outside of tennis, but I will miss her on the circuit, "breathed Serena. Unlike the Danish, she intends, at 38, to continue to skim the tournaments.
Caroline Wozniacki, now turned to other horizons that are not yet necessarily defined, moreover, considers having experienced an exit from the "perfect" circuit.
"The stands were full, People were standing, the sound system was playing + Sweet Caroline +, the audience was clapping in rhythm, I had the Danish flag on my shoulders, I had my family, all my relatives were there watching me on TV. .. I couldn't have written a better screenplay, "she listed.
An apotheosis for the young woman who was world No.1 for 71 weeks between October 2010 - she was 20 years old - and February 2018 after her title in Melbourne at the age of 28 years.
In total, she won 30 titles including one in Grand Slam (Australia-2018) and the End of year Masters in Singapore (2017) and played 25 finals including two at the US Open (2009, 2014).
© 2020 AFP