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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2015

Petra Kvitova

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You must be delighted with your preparations coming into the Australian Open with the win in Sydney?
PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, for sure. I'm very glad how everything went. I'm glad to have a title in the beginning of this new year. Yeah, I'm glad that I have matches under my belt and I can be well-prepared for the Melbourne which is starting pretty soon and I'm excited.

Q. How did your winter go? Anything you looked at or worked on? Are you feeling good about your game in general?
PETRA KVITOVA: I'm very happy that I have a new fitness coach and physiotherapist in the same person. It's Alex. I'm just really glad that he's part of my team. It's something really special. I know that he's experienced so well. He knew exactly what we have to do, so that's great. I'm just glad that we did everything what we could in the off-season to prepare myself for the new season. I tried to be a little bit quicker, fitter, to be in the shots on the time. Normal routine, practicing, practicing, practicing.

Q. The modern game is about having that fitness level, isn't it?
PETRA KVITOVA: Yes, tennis is improving so quickly, everyone has to be really fit. I know that without that it's almost impossible to play the best tennis compared to other girls. I just will try to do that.

Q. Who do you see as the biggest threats in this tournament?
PETRA KVITOVA: I think it's a lot of great players playing. I know Maria won Brisbane. Serena is always one of the favorites. Simona played really well in Shenzhen. It's a lot of great players who really can play the best tennis here.

Q. You played Karolina in Sydney. Probably known her for a while. What do you make of her fast progress in the game?
PETRA KVITOVA: It's maybe question for her, what was the progress. But we played in Wuhan. I think this time she played a little bit better. Probably she had a great off-season, as well. Just glad that she's coming up. It's great to see the Czech girls playing so well. Yeah, we're a little bit closer after the Fed Cup final, which she was part of the team, so it was very nice to get her a little bit closer. Yeah, it was a great final for us.

Q. Have you known her and her sister in Prostejov?
PETRA KVITOVA: No, because they are practicing in Prague. Not really.

Q. What were you most pleased with in Shenzhen and Sydney with your game?
PETRA KVITOVA: I think that my serve was work very well. I think it was one of the keys of the matches which I played. So that's really nice because we work on that every day probably. I think that my fitness improved, as well, so I'm just glad for it. I just need to be used to everything what I did, show it on the court with the typical shots and with the rallies.

Q. Did you have to call Li Na and tell her you were hiring Alex?
PETRA KVITOVA: No, I didn't have to.

Q. Has your routine, your warmup routine, changed under the new fitness coach?
PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah. I have to say yes because Alex is a physio, as well, so he has a little bit different view probably. Yeah, actually for me is change, but not for him. Probably he knows exactly what I have to do. So I am just leaning on him.

Q. Having lost first round here, does that make you come back to this tournament thinking it's exciting that you have no points to defend or remembering what happened last year and being worried about that?
PETRA KVITOVA: I would like to forget about the last year. Unfortunately it's impossible. On the other side I know I can do only better. So that's the good thing. I'm excited to play, of course. It's a Grand Slam. It's what I love to play. I just will do everything what I can to be just better than the last year because it was very disappointing. It wasn't really nice time for me. So just will do everything what I can.

Q. What do you like most about the Australian Open?
PETRA KVITOVA: I like the people here. I mean, it's just beautiful to see the friendly faces, the smile. I mean, the weather, of course, when it's not really hot, hot, that's nice. The crowd is always amazing. I love hard courts, as well. So I'm just glad that everything is very nice here.

Q. Anything different in the hard courts between here and the US Open?
PETRA KVITOVA: I think so. I never played well in the US Open, so I think that's a little bit slower over there than here. Of course, the weather is different. There is more humid than here, what is better for me as well.

Q. A lot of top players say they don't like to play the week before a Grand Slam. You seem to not really care about it.
PETRA KVITOVA: I try a lot of options already. I think from the beginning of the year, I am more open for playing the matches before. So I'm just glad that I have few already. For me, practicing is sometimes too boring, so I practice all of the season. I just glad that I was able to play the matches before the Grand Slam to feel a little bit the balls, the rhythm of the match.

Q. You were saying obviously you don't like the heat. What is the best practical advice you've ever been given in terms of how to deal with playing in hot weather?
PETRA KVITOVA: Ice, it's very important. You know, drinking all day long, as well, to get ready for the match if you are playing in the really hot weather. Using the ice, being well-prepared.

Q. How many languages do you speak?
PETRA KVITOVA: English, Czech and Russian, little bit.

Q. Li Na said she thinks you're the woman to beat this tournament. What do you say to that and how do you feel about that?
PETRA KVITOVA: It's nice of her, of course. I don't feel really favorite of the tournament. I'm just come here and try to be focusing on the match after match if it's possible, of course. I think it's a lot of great players, how I said. I don't think really it's like one big, big favorite of the tournament. So we'll see.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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