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CoCo Vandeweghe calls Carmelo Anthony 'soft'

Coco Vandeweghe of the United States returns a shot to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the women's singles match, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Wednesday July 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Coco Vandeweghe of the United States returns a shot to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the women's singles match, at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Wednesday July 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

After 23-year-old CoCo Vandeweghe pulled off an upset over No. 11 Karolina Pliskova in the second round on Wednesday, it was time to head to the media room. Reporters always ask the basic questions. Then, they tend to see what they can stir up.

At some point in talking to media about the win, the topic turned to the New York Knicks.

It wasn't a complete surprise – Vandeweghe's grandfather, Ernie Vandeweghe, was a Knick. Her uncle, Kiki Vandeweghe, is a former Knick, coach and G.M. and is now the NBA's V.P. of basketball operations. He's the one that drafted Carmelo Anthony to the Denver Nuggets in 2003.

Anthony is now on the Knicks, a.k.a. CoCo's favorite team.

So, CoCo has more than one connection to Melo, in a way. And when asked about the team, she made it clear that she's not impressed with the current star.

"I just feel that Carmelo, he is a bit soft," she said. "And now, this is just my own personal opinion, I think he is soft. I don't think he has a killer instinct in his eyes, at least this last year. And I also think he needs people around him that have that killer instinct, because then that brings it out of you. And with him taking such a high salary, I think that kind of handcuffs the Knicks in being able to get those types of players that are getting big contracts. There's no way around that."

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 06:  Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks walks off the court after the game against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on February 6, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.The Brooklyn Nets defeated the New York Knicks 92-88. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.  (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

CoCo doesn't just want more for the Knicks. She also wants more for herself. She's currently ranked No. 47 in the world.

"I want to be top 20 this year," she added. "I want to be No. 1 in the world, why not? It's just the kind of mindset I was brought up with."

Later Wednesday, CoCo tweeted that she couldn't believe media was taking her Melo comments so seriously."Love how writers are blowing this out of control!" she wrote, followed by laughing and clapping emojis.

In the press conference, she added something with which most Knicks fans would agree. "I just want one winning season. That would be nice."

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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her onTwitter and Facebook.