The Great Dane says it doesn't matter where your from, you can do it to.

Photo Source: Mark Peterson/ Corleve

When the dust had settled after Caroline Wozniacki‘s final match of her professional career, the tears flowed. But these were happy tears for the former World No.1 and Grand Slam champion. Wozniacki has lived her dream and is aware of just how special that is.

“I've learnt so much,” she said when asked what she felt she had learned from her playing days. “I wouldn't be the person I am today without all those experiences.

Wozniacki, who is just 29 years old, says that having the courage to dream big and to follow those dreams made all the difference from her.

“I think the main thing I've learned is no matter where you're from, no matter what color of your skin, no matter if you're tall or short, big or small, doesn't matter,” she said. “If you have a dream and you go for it and work hard, anything is possible. I had a dream when I was a kid. I wanted to win a Grand Slam. I wanted to be No. 1 in the world. People thought that I was crazy being from a small country. But I made it happen. I worked so hard for it every single day. I'm very, very proud of that.”

As Denmark’s first Grand Slam champion Wozniacki hopes that her pioneering legacy will live on in players in similar situations. And she hopes they’ll remember her legendary work ethic and unquenchable competitive fire.

“I hope that people will think of me as a hard worker, someone that gave it everything every single day,” she said. “I hope that I'll give inspiration even to the players from small countries that may have never had a world No. 1 or a Grand Slam champion, someone in the top 10, that they can do it.”

The Austrian admitted he was freaking as his match with Alex Bolt nearly slipped out of his hands.

Dominic Thiem‘s freak factor was high on Day 4 but the Austrian settled himself in earnest to notch a hard-fought 6-2, 5-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Alex Bolt just in time to avoid becoming the biggest week one casualty on either side of the draw.

“I got crazy today in the third set, I think my body language was not the best, It was in my head that I should be 2-0 up, 6-2 6-4, I should be up,” fourth-seeded Thiem told reporters after the match. “I messed it up, instead of that he raised his level, then the crowd got it going and it was all of a sudden it was a really tight third set, and that shouldn’t happen and that’s why I was freaking out inside and also outside today.”

Thiem, who bowed out to Alexei Popyrin in the second round last year, has never been past the fourth round in Melbourne.

The Austrian doesn’t feel that his strenuous five-setter will keep him from putting his best foot forward in the third round, where he’ll meet Taylor Fritz or Kevin Anderson.

“The match I think was 3 hours 20,” Thiem said. “There's a big difference if you play 3 hours 20 in these conditions or if you play four-and-a-half when it's 40 degrees outside. Then it can really affect your later rounds. But a match like today, not really. I mean, that's what we practice for in the off-season. Tomorrow is a day off to recover. Of course, it's better always to finish it off quicker. But like today, it shouldn't be any problem.”

John Millman would love to have his third-round match with Roger Federer on Melbourne Arena, but it's probably not gonna happen.

Australia’s John Millman knows what it’s like to have Roger Federer out of sorts. He defeated the great Swiss in grueling, muggy conditions at the US Open in New York in 2018 in a match that was played in a cauldron known as Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Millman is hoping to put Federer in a different kind of cauldron when the pair meet in the third round at Melbourne Park on Friday. He wants to get Federer out of Rod Laver Arena and on one of the showcourts that lets the rowdy Aussies go wild in support of the green and gold.

He was asked if he had put in a request to play on a court other than Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday after his win over Hubert Hurkacz.

“Of course,” he replied, “but I don't think Craig (Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley) will take me too serious. More so just to throw a spanner in the works for Roger. I don't know if he knows the other courts. He hits on the outside ones, but he hasn't played too many. I don't know if he would have played too many matches on the outside ones.”

Millman said Court 3 or Melbourne Arena would suit him fine—doesn’t matter which.

“Look, I love a vocal crowd,” he said. “Obviously the matches I played, probably two really special courts, Show Court 3 and Melbourne Arena, are notorious for the crowd support you get there, the vocal Aussies. I very much consider myself, and I think the people who know me, know that I'm just your typical Aussie bloke. So I'm one of the people. The people get the ground passes and the people go to those courts. Look, I know it's a little corporate at Rod Laver, but it's still a pretty cool court to play on.”

Federer said he’s game to play wherever the tournament’s supervisors, but he was quick to reply that a top Aussie against a six-time champion, well that sounds like a match for Rod’s house.

“Look, I don't choose which court I play on,” Federer said. “I don't know if he was joking or if he was serious. You would think a match like this should be played at Rod Laver Arena maybe.”

He added: “I'm ready to go anywhere, whatever it takes.”

No matter where they play, Millman knows he’ll be the heavy underdog:

“I’m going to definitely be the underdog, no doubt about it. The stars aligned one night for me at Flushing Meadows, but Roger’s one of the greatest ever—he’s a class act.”

Coco Gauff won't play the waiting game against Naomi Osaka.
In their last meeting, Naomi Osaka was Coco Gauff's conqueror and consoler.

Charging through eight straight games, Osaka outclassed the 15-year-old American phenom 6-3, 6-0 under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium in a powerful performance to roar into the US Open fourth round last August.

More: Gauff Fights Into Osaka Rematch

When the pair square off again in the Australian Open third round, Gauff vows to amp up her aggression and compete with more calm and clarity.

"I think I'll be less nervous this time," said Gauff, who rallied from 0-3 down in the final set to defeat Sorana Cirstea in a dramatic AO second-round win. "I think US Open I was nervous. It was my first time on Ashe. We're both familiar with each other's games. She plays really aggressive. This time coming in I'm going to be more aggressive."

Since Osaka handed Gauff the worst Tour-level loss of her young career, the teenager has shown she learns from loss. Gauff defeated Kiki Bertens, Andrea Petkovic and 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in succession to collect her first WTA title in Linz last October.

Gauff says her recent experiences—and the fact she's experienced the weight of Osaka's shots—will fuel her confidence in the rematch.

"Yeah, for sure more confident because I felt her ball before," Gauff said. "Yeah, I think I'm more confident this time around."

Two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka showed pure class embracing the American wild card in a heart-felt hug while insisting they conduct a joint post-match interview on court at the US Open.

“I’m gonna cry,” Gauff said.

“No, you’re good,” replied Osaka, who was reduced to tears hearing boos and jeers from some fans on the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court after defeating Serena Williams in the controversial 2018 final.

Reflecting on that moment of sportsmanship a little more than four months ago, Gauff said it was a positive lesson for her and young tennis fans everywhere.

"It was definitely a good moment I think for both of us, especially me," Gauff said. "But I think more just for the people watching, the little girls watching and little boys who can kind of see what sportsmanship is really. I think that's something if I had a child or something, that's something I would want my child to see.

"It just shows what being a competitor really is. You might hate the person on the court, but off the court you love them, not really like hate. But you want to win. Sometimes when we're on the court, we say things we don't mean because we have that mentality. When it's all said and done, we still look at each other with respect and the same."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve

The 2018 champion showed grit and fortitude as she knocked off a dangerous, seeded teenager.

Photo Source: Mark Peterson / Corleve

There’s no denying that Melbourne is a special place for Caroline Wozniacki, and that fact held true again on Day 3 as the 2018 champion prolonged her final professional tournament by notching a gritty 7-5 7-5 victory over hard-charging teenager Dayana Yastremska to set a third-round clash with Ons Jabeur.

More: Wozniacki, Legendary Gamer, Set to Leave with No Regrets

Wozniacki overcame double-break deficits in both sets to improve to 35-11 lifetime at the Happy Slam, and afterwards the Dane was serenaded as the Margaret Court Arena let the song “Sweet Caroline” loose from the loudspeakers as the former World No.1 awaited her post-match interview on court.

“It's a special song for me, especially here because when I won the tournament, they played the "Sweet Caroline" song,” Wozniacki told reporters after the match. “It's a great memory. It means a lot after great wins like this that it gets played. It's a special song for me and the team and my family.”

Wozniacki needed to weather a storm against one of the rising forces of the women’s game and she did so in vintage fashion, stretching out points whenever she could and doing everything in her power to entice the talented Ukrainian to miss the mark.

“I was just thinking to myself, it surely can't continue,” Wozniacki said. “If it's going to continue, then there is not much I can do out there. But, you know, then she started making errors. … I also knew if I could stay with her the first two, three points after the serve and after the return, then it was getting more into my favor. So that's really what I was going to try and do out there.”

Wozniacki finished with 15 winners and 15 unforced errors while Yastremska finished with 36 winners but tossed in 47 unforced. It was Wozniackis' 597th career victory.

“It feels great,” Wozniacki said. “The crowd is really supporting me out there and standing behind me and it's amazing. It's a tournament where I have always had crowd support, so it just feels even more special because it's even more now. I feel just lucky to be out there and, you know, still playing on a high level.”