Caroline Wozniacki motivated and hungry as top seed in Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The grind never stops, even when you're a Grand Slam champion like Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane is the top seed at the Citi Open this week, and is eager to get going on the hard courts—a surface she's seen plenty of success on.

Wozniacki chose the International-level event over the WTA Premier in San Jose, Calif. because of personal preference and logistics.

"I think it's all about scheduling. [D.C.] is easier for me to come from Europe," the world No. 2 said on Monday. "There's a lot of factors for me to come here. I just prefer to be on this side [of the U.S.] I think, and it's an easy flight up to Montreal."

It also helps that she feels comfortable in the nation's capital, thanks to its walkable streets, plentiful parks and delicious eats.

"It's a great city. Yesterday, we walked around in the city a little bit," she said. "It's more of a European city—you can walk places, there's a lot of people outside, a lot of good restaurants and things like that. There's a lot of green areas around which I think is really awesome."

Wozniacki won the Australian Open for her first major title—13 years after she turned pro and eight years after she reached No. 1—but she's endured some hits since.

WATCH—Andrea Petkovic Day 1 Interview from Citi Open:

"It was a great two weeks, but at this point you just have to keep grinding and keep having to work hard," she said.

Her best performance during the spring hard-court season was the semifinals in Doha, and her farthest run on clay was the quarterfinals of Rome. Though she won Eastbourne on grass, she tumbled out of the second round at Wimbledon.

"I took a little bit of time off just because it's been a long season so far already. I needed a few days off," Wozniacki said. "I went back into really tough training. I had my old trainer come in and just push me to my limits—just trying to get into the best shape possible."

Poised this week in Washington as the favorite, Wozniacki insists that her motivation is all there, despite the expected drop-off after achieving such a long sought-after milestone in January. After each milestone a player reaches, there's always another one to work on almost instantly—there's so little time to rest on your laurels in this sport. After winning Melbourne, Wozniacki had achieved pretty much everything she wanted, and yet, she's still thirsting for more.

"If you're not hungry and you don't have the motivation, you may as well not play," the 28-year-old said. "I think the motivation and the hunger has always been there. That's really nothing new. Every time you reach a milestone it's about resetting and starting over."

She'll get a chance to start over, once again, when she takes the court for her opening match against qualifier Anhelina Kalinina.

ATP & WTA Washington D.C.

Catch all the action from the Citi Open with live coverage from three courts on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, July 30th at 2:00 PM ET. All matches also available on-demand.