One of the things the much-publicized
Serena
Williams-Caroline Wozniacki friendship achieved was giving a sunny hue to the women's locker room, seen as an intensely competitive space in the 90s.
Serena, one of the pillars of the sport, said: "It's hard when you come on tour, it's not like any other sport. You share locker rooms, you share everything, then you play each other. You can be playing your friend on any given day. How do you make that normal? It's interesting. (You) just gotta be yourself."
Wozniacki, playing her farewell tournament, said: "In general, in my generation, we had great friendships, even from the juniors. We have friendships that will carry on past the tennis. Serena and
Venus
were both super nice to me and very open and have always been there for me." The 29-year-old, winner of the
2018 Australian Open
, added, "I hope that the younger generation will also be nice to each other, because it's just a sport and we all try our best out here."
VENUS KEEPS IT SHORTVenus Williams, who revels in keeping it short on and off the court, let the friendship question slide. The 39-year-old gave a monosyllabic response to the question of knowing Wozniacki well. "Yeah," she said. When asked about the Dane's legacy, she added, "Obviously, her footwork and the ability to play defence and offence. We played a lot of great matches. Wishing her a lot of luck in this event." Asked what she had gotten from the sport she has played for over two decades, she said: "I wrote a book about it, it's called 'Come to Win'. It's on Kindle, hard cover, soft cover.." Asked for a review copy, she said: "Support a sister, get one."