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WIMBLEDONJune 25, 2014Casey DellacquaLONDON, ENGLAND A. RADWANSKA/C. Dellacqua THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How much did the anxiety levels reach last night when you found out you were on main court first up? CASEY DELLACQUA: I was pretty excited, to be honest. Obviously I've played on some big courts, but I don't think there is a bigger court than Centre Court at Wimbledon. I was extremely excited. I just wanted to not get too anxious so that I could actually enjoy the moment, because sometimes it passes you quickly and you don't get to enjoy the experience. Yeah, I was really excited. Q. In the end, was the experience better than the performance? CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah. Did you not think I played well? Q.  The second set. CASEY DELLACQUA: Well, I don't think the score was a reflection upon how I played, to be honest. I mean, she's No.4 in the world; she made the final here before; she's not an easy opponent. My level as good at times. Yeah, there was a point here or there that I would say was a bit sloppy. But in general, my level was good. And she was good. I thought she had to play good tennis at times to beat me. But, yeah, I mean, I did what I had today and I did my best. Yeah, it wasn't good enough against her. But, yeah, obviously she's a quality opponent. Q. What did you take out of the day as a whole? CASEY DELLACQUA: I mean, that's the thing. You always learn more from your losses than your wins. I'll learn a lot from that one. More just in a sense of knowing where I need to head, and that is to play at a better level for a more consistent period of time. It's only going to put me in good stead for the rest of the year. I'm really looking forward to continuing to work hard. It was great to get out there and play some doubles after a loss in singles. Ash and I played great, so overall everything is good. I'll go home, have some dinner, I have a bed to sleep in, so life's okay. Q. In the second set you tended to get back with a bit of power serving and really teeing off on her. Is that what you wanted to do, kill her with the power? CASEY DELLACQUA: I just wanted to try and be aggressive. Obviously she gets a lot of balls back. I wanted to try and even come forward a little bit. I wanted to try and mix it up. I wanted to try and get on the front foot. Like I said, she's a tough opponent. Today there was probably balls that maybe against other girls were winners but weren't. That's why she's No.4. The more I play those girls, I understand where I need to go. I played Li Na in Rome. I played enough girls now to know where I need to head to. Now it's about hitting the practice court, doing all the right things to try and compete with those type of players as well. So, like I said, I can only learn from that match and improve. Q. As you look at the grass court season over the last few weeks, do you feel like you've taken a significant step forward? CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I mean, it's a short season. We all know that. Next year it's a bit longer, so that will be nice. Yeah, I was always planning on playing Birmingham and having a practice week. Birmingham turned out better than I expected. I had a lot of matches there. I beat some quality opponents and played some great tennis. Obviously I'm at a career high. Body's healthy. So, yeah, I feel good with where I'm at. I've had a great first six months of the year. It's about keeping consistent for the rest of the year. I didn't play much during this period, so I have lots of opportunities to do well. Again, a day‑by‑day process, and I'll keep working hard. Q. How difficult is it a situation to back up with doubles after? There wasn't a long distance between. Was it good to get out and have another hit? CASEY DELLACQUA: Absolutely. Like I said before, sometimes it's better after a loss to get back out there. Sometimes when I lose singles, all I want to do is hit the practice court, because you quickly erase maybe a day that you don't‑‑ even though today I certainly, yeah, enjoyed playing out there and I enjoyed the experience. But it was great to get out there with Ash. We made the final here last year. We made the final in Birmingham. We've been playing some really good doubles together. It was great to get out with Ash. As I get older, she's only 18, so if I have a busy day, she can take more of the load. So that's nice. Q. There was a lot of interest in the doubles. The court was packed. What was it like? CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I mean, we didn't expect an easy match, because even though maybe as a team they haven't played, in their singles, as individuals, they're extremely good players. We were very prepared for a tough match. In their corners they're very good. But I think in the end, as a team, Ash and I were probably the better team. We could set some plays up. We had a little bit more experience maybe on the doubles court. It was really good to get a tough match early on in the doubles. You never want to cruise through the tournament too easy. You want to have a few tough matches. It prepares you for later in the tournament when it's tougher. There's some important moments, and you want to know as a team you can get through that. Ash and I, I think it was a really good first round for us. Q. Do you feel the way you're playing over the next couple of years at majors, things like fourth rounds, maybe even further, is really achievable? CASEY DELLACQUA: I hope so. Obviously things like seedings help. We all talk about it and stuff. I know I'm not far away. It's no guarantee that you're going to get there because you still got to win, but it certainly helps. Instead of drawing Radwanska second round, you can possibly get through to third round. I know from playing at Aussie second and third, the further you get, the better you feel, the better you play. Yeah, it's a goal for me to obviously want to do well at the slams, peak at the slams. Hopefully, yeah, if I continue to do the things I need to do and improve, then hopefully, yeah, I go further at the slams. Q. Given that you didn't play much after Wimbledon last year, would you be disappointed if you're not seeded by the US Open? CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah. I mean, maybe I can set it up as a new goal for me to be seeded. But, you know, I know that the rankings will always take care of itself if you put the right things in place. I'll be doing from like ‑‑ obviously I've got doubles and mixed here, but post Wimbledon I'm going to have opportunities. I'm going to have three tournaments prior to the US Open to improve my ranking. I lost last round quallies here, so maybe ‑‑ I don't know what the rankings will do. Like I said, the rankings will take care of itself if I do the right things, and that's just continue to work hard. The only reason I'm here now and playing good tennis is because I've worked hard. That's probably all I need to continue to do. Q. Where are you playing post Wimbledon? CASEY DELLACQUA: I'll play Montréal, Cincinnati, and New Haven. I'll have three singles lead‑ups before the US Open. I didn't play at all last year. Q. What does our team have to do to beat Collingwood this week? CASEY DELLACQUA: I heard it's rivalry weekend. I don't know. Don't ask me. The fact that Juddy is back might help. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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