My experience in Doha

Hi Everyone,

 

I’m sorry it has been long since my last entry. As many of you may know, I have been really busy these past couple of weeks. Let me now update you what I have been up to lately.

 

After my Asian trip, I flew back to Europe to play my favorite event, the BGL Luxemburg Open. I was excited because I really like this tournament. However, I unfortunately pulled my hamstring during my first match. My injury forced me to retire in the second set against Anne Kremer. Even though I pulled out of the event, I still stayed in Luxemburg for a few more days to treat my injury. I never truly recovered from it though as it still bothered me three days later when I flew to Doha for the WTA Championships.

 

Doha was absolutely wonderful, both the WTA and the organizers did a great job. We got treated like royalties; the hotel, transportation and hospitality were all first class. I think all players enjoyed themselves. This was actually my first time in Doha. It was fun to share this new experience with my parents, my lawyer, Mikkel Nissen, and my two agents from BEST, John Tobias and Sam Duvall. We had an amazing week together. The hotel (The Ritz Carlton) we stayed at was probably the nicest hotels I have stayed in all year. I had a huge suite, and the gym and pool were just breathtaking.

 

This was however not only my first time in Doha but also my first time playing the WTA Championships. Unfortunately though, I never felt I was 100% fit physically following my recent injury. I was still able to fight thru my first two matches against Vika Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva. It took me over 6 hours to pull out those matches. Undoubtedly, the time I spent on court took a great toll on my body. By my 3^rd match against Jelena Jankovic, I had nothing left. I tried my best but Jelena played great and beat me easily. Despite my last round robin loss, I still qualified to play in the semifinals against world #1 Serena Williams. Serena was killing everybody during the week, and due to my injury, I was physically not able to compete on the level one must compete to beat a player like Serena. I really tried everything but had to stop after I lost the 1^st set 6:4.

Serena is a great champion; I always enjoy playing against her. I think she deserves to be #1 in the world. Congrats for winning the WTA Championships, Serena!

 

Now that the year is finally over, I have decided that I will take a 10-day vacation with 3 of my girlfriends to Mauritius. We are super-excited for all the things we will do: hanging at the beach, snorkeling, receiving spa treatments. Basically, I am excited to think about anything but tennis during my holiday. This will be great for me to recover and recharge, both mentally and physically.

 

Following my vacation, I will visit my brother for a few days in Copenhagen, and then head back home to Monte Carlo to start my off-season training plan with my Dad.

 

Thanks for all your support this entire year; I even exceeded my own expectations. I could not have done it without your support and encouragement. Thanks again, guys!

 

I am looking forward to an even better 2010 season, in which I hope to establish myself as one of the top 3 players in the world.

 

I promise I will post entries about my vacation, till then,

 

Take care,

 

Caroline

 

 

 

November 9, 2009 at 11:35 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My Trip to Asia

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has been a few weeks since I have put up a new blog update, but I am in Beijing now and have some free time so I wanted to let everyone know what I have been doing.  After my great US Open, and trip to New York, I went home to Copenhagen for a few days where I spent some time with my friends and family, and also went to Monaco where I have a home now too. On one of my days off, my brother Patrick and I took a short trip to Paris to attend Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s charity event with some other tennis players – David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco. It was so much fun, and I had a good time getting all dressed up for the charity every which was very, very nice.

 

After about ten days off (which was much shorter than I expected after the US Open because I didn’t expect to get to the finals), I had to head to Tokyo for the first of three events in Asia.  I don’t know if it was because the flight was so long, or I was enjoying myself too much at home, but I ended up getting sick with some sort of virus the past six or seven days which has been very unfortunate.  In Tokyo, I drew Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in my first round, and I knew I shouldn’t have played at all, but I was hoping the adrenaline of the match would carry me through it.  However, I ended up having to stop at the end of the first set and retire which I was disappointed about.  After my match, I ended up staying in Tokyo for a few days to get some rest before I hopped on a flight to Beijing for my next event – the China Open.   

 

In Beijing, I still was not feeling close to 100%, so I asked the tournament director and WTA for a Monday start (instead of playing my first round on Sunday), but it was very frustrating to learn on Saturday that I was scheduled to play my first match on Sunday.  I really needed every hour of rest to get over this virus and ready for my first match, but the WTA or tournament director did not seem to care at all and take this into consideration.  The WTA Tour is supposed to be a players union, but I certainly don’t think they represented my best interest this week in Beijing and it was very disappointing. In my first round, I ended up playing Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, and I played a good first set which I won close 7-5.  In the second set, it was really close again but I lost it in a tiebreaker and then in the third set I just completely ran out of energy and ended up losing the match.

 

Losing my first round in is Beijing was exactly what I was worried about since I have not practiced for more than one hour in the past week.  I was hopeful that if th WTA were to give me a first round start on Monday that I could’ve had a much better chance of winning and feeling better as I were to advance through the tournament.  I am never one to make excuses because Martinez-Sanchez did play a good match, but I really feel the WTA and tournament director could’ve helped me and they chose not to.

 

So far my trip to Asia has been disappointing to say the least because I have only played one match and a set in the past two weeks, but I am really looking forward to going to Osaka for my last event in Asia. I have a lot of good memories of Osaka from back in the juniors because it is where I won my first big junior tournament.  This is the first time since I have been on the Tour that there has been an event in Osaka, and I am really exited to be playing in it.  My goal is of course to win the event, however at this point I would just be happy getting some good matches to prepare for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha in three weeks.

 

After the Sony Ericsson Championships, I am planning to go on a ten day holiday with some of my girlfriends and it has been fun the past few days trying to figure out where we will go to rest and have some fun.  I will be sure to announce my holiday plans when I know more, and in the meantime I hope all of my fans are doing well and thank you for all your tremendous support – it means so much to me!

 

Best Wishes,

Caroline

 

October 6, 2009 at 8:36 am | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My Last Days in New York

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed the US Open and the great final against Kim Clijsters. It was such an unbelievable experience to get to the finals of the US Open where I really enjoy coming to play every year.  On Sunday night after the match was over and I did all of the press and media, I met my parents out in the pavilion area around midnight where a group of people where waiting for me and started cheering and singing as I walked up. There were also some Danish and Polish media who figured out where everyone was at before I did, and they gathered around to watch me say hello and take photos with all of my friends and family who came out to support me which was very special.

 

Later that evening, I met up with some of my friends and we headed to the meat packing district in Manhattan where we stayed out until 4:00 a.m. dancing and having fun.  On Monday, I went with my parents and a real estate agent to look at some properties in New York where I would really like to have a home in the U.S. to come stay and train at during the year.  In the afternoon, I went and did some shopping in the city which I have been really looking forward to doing since I arrived in New York, and especially like going to Soho. I bought two bathing suits on my shopping spree and the rest of the items I bought were gifts for my mom, dad and brother.

 

After a long day of looking at properties and shopping in New York, I headed out to dinner at a really nice French place called Les Halles where I had dinner with the #1 ranked Super middleweight World Champion Mikkel Kessler (also from Denmark), and later on met up with my agent John Tobias and Jonathan Blue (the owner of my management company BEST Tennis) at a night club called “the Gates” where we just hung out and listened to music.

 

Again, I didn’t get back to my hotel until 3:00 a.m., but this time I had to wake-up at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday to have my hair and make-up professionally done for a fashion show I attended with one of my sponsors American Express. This week is fashion week in New York so there are a lot of exciting fashion shows and activities going on, and attending the one with American Express was a great way to see one of the top runway shows up close in the front row, Following the show, I also got to speak with and meet several of the American Express clients and executives where I participated in a few question and answer sessions.

 

After the fashion show, the last thing I did in New York, which was one of the most exciting things I did during my whole trip, was go and meet the top editor at Vogue (her name is Anna Wintour) who is one of the most famous fashion editors in the whole world.  The Vogue office in the Conde Naste building was one of the most breathtaking offices I have ever seen, and it was such a special opportunity to meet the editor because she is so important in the fashion world and it is rumored that the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” was made after her.

 

After my visit, I headed back to the hotel where I took a nap and finally headed to the airport to catch a flight back home.  I am really glad to be home and sleep in my own bed again after being in the U.S. for the summer hard court season, and I am looking forward to spending time with my friends and family.  I have the next ten days before heading to Asia to play in Tokyo, Beijing and then Osaka.

 

To all of my fans all over the world, I want to say thank you for all of your tremendous support throughout the summer and especially at the US Open!!!  It means so much to me, and I hope you continue to follow me throughout the rest of the year.

 

Best Wishes,

Caroline

 

September 16, 2009 at 8:08 pm | Caroline's Blog | No comment

The US Open Finals

Hello Everyone,

I want to share with you one last blog from New York before I play in the US Open Finals tonight against Kim Clijsters which I am so excited about and really looking forward to because it is my first Grand Slam Final appearance and I am just so happy!

Yesterday was a really long day here in New York, and I arrived at the site around 11:30 a.m. to get a hit in before my semifinal match against Yanina Wickmayer from Belgium but shortly after it began to rain again.  All day we were on call here at the site, and several times the tournament officials told us to be ready in 15 or 20 minutes, but then after I hurried to get my leg wrapped and be prepared to play, it would start raining again and we were on another rain delay.  It was tough mentally with all of this going on, but I kept my mind off of things by reading one of my books, hanging out with my family and friends and then taking a nap and eating a good meal.

Finally, around 10:00 p.m. last night, the rain stopped and they dried the courts for both semifinal matches to go on, and my match was moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium.  After the warm-up and in the first game, rain drops started to fall again so we took a short break after the first point of our match but I was so glad it stopped and we continued to play.  I won the first set 6-3 pretty quickly against Yanina, and then in the second set it was close in every game, and on my second match point serving at 5-3, Yanina missed and I won the match! I was so happy that tears started to fall from my eyes and words can not describe the feeling I had about getting to my first Grand Slam final here at the US Open…it is really a dream come true for me.

In the finals tonight at 9:00 p.m., I am going to play Kim Clijsters who has had an unbelievable tournament and comeback and is playing so well.  I met Kim about three years ago when we played doubles together at a tennis exhibition in Hong Kong right after I won the Junior Wimbledon Championships, and she is always someone I have looked up to so I am really looking forward to our match tonight and am going to go out there and enjoy our match.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the US Open so far and you will all be watching and cheering for me tonight!!

Best Wishes,

Caroline

September 13, 2009 at 2:07 pm | Caroline's Blog | No comment

My First Grand Slam Semi-Final at the US Open

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since I last wrote, but I have been very busy playing in New Haven and now here in New York at the US Open so I wanted to fill you in on things before I play in my semifinal match tomorrow.  Before I arrived in New York, I won the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven for the second time and year in a row which was a huge plus and really nice because I love playing there and the atmosphere of the tournament. While I was in New Haven I also did a commercial with Sony Ericsson on a big football stadium that was very cool, and I also got to meet 105 of their players which was nice since I was the only girl there.

 

Since I arrived in New York there has been lots to do, and I have been practicing and playing quite a bit since the US Open started.  I love going shopping in New York every year I come here, but I haven’t been yet because I told myself the better I do the more I can go shopping so I am really looking forward to that!  I have also been busy doing some filming with American Express and now fans can go play against me on-site at the US Open where they have a big video screen and game setup. Around the US Open grounds I heard that there are a lot of huge posters of me for the different American Express booths, but I haven’t even seen them yet. American Express has also lined up some radio and other interviews for me and I am glad to be apart of their campaign this year.

 

At US Open this year I am seeded #9 and it has been an unbelievable tournament so far.  I finally got to start wearing my adidas by Stella McCartney Tennis Collection line here, and I just love the colors and fashion of the line and it is so nice to be the only one wearing it on the Tour,  In the Round of 16, I played Svetlana Kuznetsova which was a tough match because she is a good player, but I was really happy to hang in there with her and turn it around to come back and win for a spot in my first Grand Slam quarterfinals. In my last match against Melanie Oudin, I knew going into it that it was going to be a tough match too, but in a different way.  I knew the crowd wasn’t going to be cheering against me, but cheering for her, so I stayed positive and in my bubble and used the energy to my advantage.  It was so nice to be the winner of that match because Melanie has had such a good run beating many top players at the US Open this year, and I am just so happy to be in my first Grand Slam semifinal now.  My next match against Yanina Wickmayer will be on Friday if it doesn’t rain in New York, and it should be a lot of fun and hopefully with the crowd cheering for me.

 

I hope you have enjoyed the US Open so far and you will keep watching and supporting me, thank you to all me fans!

 

Best Wishes,

Caroline

 

September 10, 2009 at 6:52 pm | Caroline's Blog | No comment

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