Turns out it wasn't a kangaroo that gave Caroline Wozniacki her biggest scare so far at the Australian Open.
The top-ranked Wozniacki decided earlier this week that she wanted to overturn a perception held by some critics that her interviews were dull. She tried to add to her new fun-loving image on Sunday by telling a post-match news conference that a cut on her shin resulted from a scary encounter with a kangaroo.
''There was a kangaroo that didn't want to be nice to me,'' she said, with a smile but no hint of irony. ''I just wanted to help it out. I found out that I shouldn't do that. It looked so cute. But once it started scratching me, I was a coward and I ran away.''
The mishap occurred, she claimed, when she approached what she thought was an injured animal in a park that friends had taken her to on the outskirts of Melbourne during downtime between matches at the tournament.
She pointed to a small bandage on her left shin and said the wound was deep enough that a doctor had wanted to stitch it. She had declined in favor of a butterfly clip that she wore during her fourth round, 6-3, 6-2 victory Sunday over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.
The kangaroo story quickly made it into news reports and spread on the Web.
It was believable enough: the bandage was real and kangaroos, and their smaller cousins wallabies, number in their millions in Australia and they are commonly found in sizable parks, and even some forested neighborhoods. The marsupials are generally placid but can become aggressive when stressed or around breeding times, and they have claws and powerful hind leg muscles.
As news of the story spread, Wozniacki realized what she'd done and tried to retract the story. WTA officials started spreading the word and Wozniacki posted the retraction on Twitter.
''Hope you enjoyed my kangaroo story, hope you know i was just kidding,'' the 20-year-old tweeted, adding a smiley face.
That was after the story had gone to air and published elsewhere.
About five hours after her first news conference, Wozniacki returned to Melbourne Park to explain herself.
''The kangaroo story - I made it up, because it sounded better than what actually happened,'' she said. ''I walked into the treadmill, so that wasn't really - you know, that's my blonde. Sometimes that happens.
''I'm sorry if I caused an inconvenience. I really didn't mean to,'' she said.
On Friday, the Danish star surprised critics by starting a post-match news conference by telling them she was going to try something new because had heard reports she was boring. She said her answers were often similar because she was always asked the same questions.
She then proceeded to give answers to questions that hadn't been put, about her match, her racket, how she felt about being ranked No. 1 without holding a Grand Slam title.
Then she invited journalists to ask different and unusual questions to make things more interesting. Reporters responded with queries ranging from her taste in men to her soccer team, her piano skills and how to solve global warming, in a lighthearted and humorous exchange.
In her second news conference Sunday, she said she hoped that she hadn't spoiled the new mood by fibbing about the kangaroo and hoped that future exchanges could still be fun.
No problem there. By the end of the conference, Wozniacki had answered questions about whether she'd been approached by Woody Allen (No, but she's willing to hear acting offers), whether she's bothered that her surname is often mispronounced (not really) and whether she would approach a journalist if she found one lying in a park.
''Of course,'' she said. ''I'm a good girl, so I always help people in need.''
