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AEGON INTERNATIONALJune 21, 2014Madison KeysEASTBOURNE, ENGLAND M. KEYS/A. Kerber THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Congratulations. You must be absolutely thrilled. MADISON KEYS: Yes, I am. I'm just really, really happy. Q. Have you ever served better than that for an entire three sets? MADISON KEYS: I don't think so. My serve was definitely a weapon today, and it really helped me through the entire time. Q. Did you get a look at the clock registering the speed at all? MADISON KEYS: No, I didn't. Q. Several times it was over 120 and up to 126. MADISON KEYS: Oh, wow. Q. There was a net cord that registered at 131. MADISON KEYS: See, I saw that one, but I was like, That must have been 121 because there's no way. Q. No, 131. Up to the Williamses' level. MADISON KEYS: (Smiling.) Q. How did you keep up that intensity for three sets? MADISON KEYS: I mean, it was just ‑‑obviously she raised her level so much in the second set and she played really well.  I just had to, you know, really get more aggressive and not be as passive. After that second set I really just kind of went for it, and, you know, it worked today. Q. What do you think she did in the second set to get back into it? Her returns? MADISON KEYS: Yeah, she definitely started getting more aggressive on my second serves, and then she was taking the ball incredibly early and really making me move from the first ball. I was getting behind a little bit in the points. So after the first set ‑‑ or after the second set I kind of regrouped and kind of moved my positioning forward a little bit more. Q. Describe what it means to you to win your first title, WTA title. MADISON KEYS: I'm so incredibly happy. You know, it's one of those things where when you're training and you don't want to be there, you're tired or everything hurts, it's one of those things where you think of this moment, and, you know, it really helps push you through all the hard times. Just incredibly happy right now. Q. Did it live up to your expectations at that moment? MADISON KEYS: Yes, it did. Exceeded them (smiling). I hope to have many more of those moments. Q. When you were envisioning this moment, did it involve the bottom of the trophy falling off? MADISON KEYS: No, it didn't. That was really heavy, actually. I was quite surprised. Q. There are some very interesting names on that trophy. How does it feel to be one of them now? MADISON KEYS: I'm so incredibly honored to be able to be another name on this trophy. And me knowing Chris Evert and Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova have all won this, it's just an incredible honor. Q. What did it mean to you to have Martina hand you the trophy today? Have you spoken to her before? MADISON KEYS: I have spoken to her a couple of times. Obviously she's a great player and she was incredible. It was kind of a surreal moment to have such a champion be giving me the trophy. Q. Have you already looked at the Wimbledon draw, and what are the expectations for the hopefully next two weeks? MADISON KEYS: I know that I play Monica Puig. She's a great player. We have had a couple of battles, and one was pretty recent. Hopefully I can just keep up what I have been doing and have another good first round at Wimbledon. Q. Apart from the Williams sisters, the last title for an American was won by Melanie Oudin in Birmingham, and now you have won here and Coco won in 's‑Hertogenbosch. Do you Americans like the grass? MADISON KEYS: I feel like we don't get to practice on it very often, but obviously it suits our games pretty well. I mean, it's a huge win for Coco and I to both be able to have, you know, our first titles this week. So I think women's tennis in the U.S. is going up. Q. When you first played here in the juniors three years ago, can you describe how alien grass felt at that point? Did you ever imagine your first title would come on this surface? MADISON KEYS: I think the first match I played here I fell like four times and I could not play on it, but I loved it at the same time. I mean, I have always loved grass, and it's by far my favorite surface. You know, the fact that my first title is on grass is just an amazing experience. Q. What are your long‑term ambitions on grass? MADISON KEYS: I mean, obviously it would be amazing to win Wimbledon. That's definitely a goal of mine. But as of right now, I'm kind of taking it step by step and, you know, for going into Wimbledon next week I'm really just focusing on one match at a time. So right now I'm going to enjoy this one, and then tomorrow I'm going to focus on playing my first round there. Q. Where are you going to enjoy this win, here or London? MADISON KEYS: I have to rush back and pack and then drive to Wimbledon, so hopefully tonight we'll have some sort of celebratory dinner, but it will probably be a very short‑lived celebration. Q. (Question about Kerber's serves not being fast on match points.) Did that kind of catch you off balance? MADISON KEYS: No, I mean, she has a great out‑wide lefty serve on that side, and I was expecting it to go there. But both times they were just really good serves and they skidded away from me. I didn't really have an opportunity to even get the ball over the net really. Q. Seemed like you were coming in, stepping inside the court, coming to net a lot more in the third set. Was that part of your decision to just throw caution to the wind? MADISON KEYS: Honestly, that was a complete and utter surprise to me. I was not expecting to do that. I think it was after the fourth or fifth time I did it, I was like, Wow, I have hit six volleys so far. Maybe I should keep doing this (smiling). Q. Volleying, last year when I watched you, you didn't do it that much at all. Have you been working on that, or is it spur of the moment? MADISON KEYS: I have definitely been working on it more and more, and I'm feeling more comfortable. But I think it was just more trying to take time away from Angie, because I knew if I didn't, she was going to try to step in and do the same to me. So I was really just kind of following my balls forward. Q. Yesterday Heather Watson said that you were probably the toughest opponent she's ever faced, and she thinks you'll be a top‑10 player soon. Do you see yourself being a top‑10 player? MADISON KEYS: I mean, I'd like to see myself as a top‑10 player. That's definitely a goal of mine. You know, hopefully down the road I can look back and say, Wow, I actually did it. Q. Monday you're going to be in the top 30. Did you know that? MADISON KEYS: I did not know. Q. Welcome to the top 30. MADISON KEYS: Thank you. Q. Do you think other players are going to fear you a bit more now? They will look at your name and think, I really don't want to be playing Madison now? MADISON KEYS: I mean, I think everyone goes into matches the same no matter who we're playing. We're solely focused on ourselves. You know, hopefully I can keep up what I have been doing, and, you know, maybe someone will think of me as, you know, a tougher opponent and someone who they're going to really have to play well against. Q. How difficult is it going to be to sort of put this out of your mind and focus on Wimbledon? MADISON KEYS: I think today I'm just going to be extremely happy, and then tomorrow morning I'll probably be extremely happy as well. Then, you know, once I get on the Wimbledon grounds and start practicing and think, you know, kind of put this into the back of my mind, I'll really just focus on playing Tuesday. Q. This week takes something out of you physically, no doubt, and maybe mentally, as well. How will you manage that sort of recovery process? Because you've only got three days before your match at Wimbledon. MADISON KEYS: I feel pretty good, honestly. You know, I think the confidence that I've gotten just from playing so many matches and things like that is definitely an advantage for me. I think I'm lucky playing on Tuesday just so that I have that extra day to really get my body back. And mentally I think I'm pretty good, not that worn out. Q. Have you spoken to anyone back home, your parents? MADISON KEYS: Yes, I talked to my mom and I talked to a couple of my friends. You know, they're all very happy. I'm sure once I have five seconds I'll actually sit down and call my mom and talk to her. As of right now, I have been a little bit busy, so I haven't had a lot of time. Q. Did you ever doubt that you would be able to close it out at Love‑30? You've had matches before where you had opponents on the ropes. Was there any doubt? MADISON KEYS: I was definitely nervous being down that game Love‑30. I just really had to focus and kind of regroup and get myself back in the game. I wasn't really focused on winning or losing the match. It was more just one point at a time and staying calm. Q. Some good prize money. Do you plan to treat yourself to buy anything? How are you going to treat yourself afterwards? MADISON KEYS: I'm not quite sure. I'm obviously very happy with the prize money that I have earned today, but right now there is no plans for it. Q. What are your plans for the bottle of champagne? MADISON KEYS: My coaches have already kind of taken that, and they have decided that it's a shared bottle. So I'm sure all of the USTA coaches will be celebrating and enjoying some of that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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