By ADAM ZAGORIA
NEW YORK — Caroline Wozniacki couldn’t help but make fun of her fiancée David Lee after her first-round victory at the US Open on Tuesday.
Lee, the former NBA standout who spent part of his career with the Knicks, sat in Wozniacki’s player box without a hat or sunglasses during her 6-3, 6-2 victory over former US Open champ Samantha Stosur in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“And he’s wearing black,” No. 2-seeded Wozniacki cracked to ESPN’s Brad Gilbert in her post-match interview. “I don’t know, I guess it’s cold for him up there, but I think he should buy a hat, that’s for sure.”
Indeed, it reached 96 degrees in New York on Tuesday, and four men retired from their matches by mid-afternoon.
“It’s definitely difficult. It’s very hot out here today but I just tried to cool down between games,” said Wozniacki, a two-time finalist here. “I had ice out there, used the shade a little bit, so that definitely helped.”
.@CaroWozniacki glides into R2 after a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Stosur…#USOpenhttps://t.co/vx9kc8Xygu pic.twitter.com/VyYHqqqEK0
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2018
Asked how she handles the mental aspect of the heat, Wozniacki, 28, said, “To be honest with you I’m just thinking, ‘I’m on the beach, I have a margarita in hand. Life is good.'”
Wozniacki finally won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this year after reaching No. 1 in the world without having won a Slam.
She always seems to do well in New York, where she owns an apartment in Manhattan and has twice reached the final.
Winning a Slam is “something that definitely I wanted to achieve before I ended my career at some point,” she said before the Open began. “So it’s amazing to have that under my belt. And to say I have won a Grand Slam, it definitely feels great. You know, I started off the year on a high note.”
She is also in a good place mentally with Lee traveling with her and supporting her now that he’s retired. He won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2015.
“He’s such a positive person and just helped me enjoy my time off the court and just more relaxed and having fun, doing what I do,” she said.
“I think sometimes we get so caught up in everything that he just kind of reminded me that we’re so fortunate to be here and be playing. It’s amazing to be allowed to play in these big stadiums in front of a huge crowd. That kind of mental just shifted for me that I just love being out there every single time.”
The women’s draw appears wide open as usual. Seven different women have won the last seven Grand Slam events.
And with No. 1 seed Simona Halep having been upset in the first round on Monday, it got even more wide open.
Asked if that opens things up for her to win her first US Open title, Wozniacki wasn’t getting ahead of herself.
“Honestly, I’m here just to try and focus on myself, and whatever happens happens,” she said.
“I’m definitely going to give it my all and my best. You know, just one match at a time.”
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