Caroline Wozniacki feels right at home in NYC, at US Open

Caroline Wozniacki was born in Denmark, lives in Monte Carlo and owns a pair of two-bedroom apartments off Union Square West for which she paid close to $9 million.

So when she plays the US Open every year, she feels right at home in the Big Apple.

Her mother cooks and does laundry for Wozniacki while she’s here, too.

“It’s nice to have mom around,” the 26-year-old Dane said. “Usually I have to do all that myself. It’s nice just being able to sleep in your own bed. It’s a more relaxed feeling. Also, I have so many friends here, so every day I have been going out for lunch or dinners and just kind of enjoyed the city, as well. I think that’s kind of recharged my batteries.”

The former world No. 1 has fallen to No. 74 in the rankings but is making at run at this US Open. After using her steady play to knock out the more erratic Madison Keys, the No. 8 seed, in straight sets on Sunday, Wozniacki will face Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

If she gets through that, she would face the winner between No. 2 Angelique Kerber and No. 7 Roberta Vinci in the semifinals on Thursday.

“I know it sounds bad, but honestly, at this point I’m like, I really don’t care what my ranking is,” the unseeded Wozniacki said.

“Because if I’m not in the top 5 I feel like it’s not where I want to be, so whether I’m 20 in the world or 100 in the world, it doesn’t matter because I’m going to play the same people anyway.”

Perhaps buoyed by sleeping in her own bed and eating her mom’s cooking, Wozniacki is feeling good about her play after a poor year that featured a right ankle injury in April.

She lost in the first round at the Australian Open, missed the French Open with the ankle injury and then lost again in the first round at Wimbledon.

Entering the Open, she was just 13-14 in 2016.

“It’s tough to play well or not well when you’re injured,” she said of her season. “I think at that point you’re just thinking to get back on court and feeling healthy. The fact that I have been playing good the last few weeks and really my ankle feels good, the rest of my body feels good, I think that’s the main thing.”

Wozniacki was ranked No. 1 for 67 weeks in 2010 and 2011 and reached two Grand Slam finals, finishing runner-up at the 2009 and 2014 U.S. Opens.

She was criticized during her run as No. 1 for failing to win a major tournament.

Wozniacki also had to deal with the much publicized end of her engagement to golfer Rory McIlroy in 2014. McIlroy called it off after seeing the wedding invitations.

Since then she has been linked to San Antonio Spurs (and former Knicks) forward David Lee, who was in attendance for her victory over Keys.

Lee was one of many fans on Ashe who supported the Dane againstKeys, who is seen as a great American hope for women’s tennis when Venus and Serena Williams are no longer around.

“I love it here,” Wozniacki said. “They have been behind me since basically the first time I stepped out on the big court and people realized that I may become a good player one day.

“I think it’s just been equal love, you know, for New York and then the crowd for me since I reached the finals in 2009. It feels amazing.”

And with another win on Tuesday, Wozniacki will be able to sleep in her own bed knowing she’s made the semifinals of the US Open.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter@AdamZagoriafor updates throughout the U.S. Open.