WTA Finals
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Guadalajara, Mexico
Karolina Pliskova
Press Conference
- PLISKOVA/G. Muguruza
4-6, 6-2, 7-6
THE MODERATOR: Karolina, would you start us off and
talk us through the match and how you feel about your
performance.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I thought first set was not the best
from me. Lately I just improve my game a bit. Of course,
the serve was amazing in the second set, many free points
on the first serve. Then, of course, it was a fighting third
set, about a couple points. Of course a bit lucky.
I thought I just had too many chances, didn’t make it really,
but happy it went my way in the end.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
- As the match was progressing, you said you
weren’t playing as well as you liked the first set, what
adjustments did you make mainly in the second set?
Looked like you started returning better.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, exactly. I actually think I
started the match quite okay, not like feeling amazing. But
with 2-0, losing two of my service games in a row, I think
that’s like huge mistake. One can happen, but two I think
is too much. She just make sure I don’t really get another
chance to break her.
Still, I mean, it was 4-6. It was pretty close the first set. I
was not feeling the best. But then I just went for it a bit
more. I thought I was, like, a bit too passive in the first set
and still making mistakes. I said, okay, just go for it a bit
more. If I’m still making mistakes, at least I will have some
winners. Especially the second serve, I wanted to put like
really pressure on it. It paid off. I think I really played good
that second set.
The third, half it was good, then it was back to the old
game. Of course, also a bit nervous by the end. You don’t
always play what you should play. But happy that I pulled
through.
- You said yesterday you don’t want to talk about
how you’re playing in practice, that you always play
better in matches. Did you surprise yourself in terms
of how well you were able to hit your level today?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I mean, actually yes.
Especially the second and third set I thought was actually
quite good tennis for how I was feeling in the practice.
That was not even half of it, believe me, in the practice.
Also my behaving was horrible, which I thought tonight was
actually quite, like, positive. Not all the things went really
my way, and not everything was amazing. I just thought
the attitude was quite good from myself, which was really
not in the practice. It was really big depression (laughter).
Yeah, this is positive thing. Hopefully I can keep that.
- How much of a difference does it make, given your
experience in the Finals, different situations, of
starting the round-robin with a win? How much does
that change the pressure of the group stage for you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Honestly I think it’s huge because,
of course, like you can relax a bit more. It’s not like you
can lose the next match. Of course, nobody wants to lose
any match. But it’s like, okay, you have at least that one
win, there’s not such a pressure that you need to win every
other match.
If I just lose this match tonight, I think I’m gone because it
was big, like having couple match points, breakpoints
there, I was so close to making it even before the tiebreak.
Then, of course, I was quite close to also losing it. This
match, for me, I mean, even if you lose, what else can you
do? You still have to come the next day and play again.
I think it’s huge. Of course, the experience… We both
played already, so it was actually tough start because I
think some of the girls, they can be nervous in the first
match, but we both played. I think we had that experience
from playing WTA Finals, but also the record which I had
against her, also playing her at the Finals, quite helped me.
