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WIMBLEDON

July 4, 2016

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

London, England

A. PAVLYUCHENKOVA/C. Vandeweghe
6‑3, 6‑3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. We don't yet know for sure who your next opponent will be, but if it is Serena Williams, knowing you have played her five times but not on grass, what are your thoughts about the match?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: First, I just find out from my coach that I'm going to play the winner of Serena or Svetlana. I have no clue actually what part of the draw I'm in and stuff like that.
So I wasn't really thinking about that at all. I'm still sort of like happy with the match I just won. It's tough to talk about Serena or anyone, because they still have to play a match and then we will see who's gonna win.

Q. How about today? What do you think was the key beating Coco for you?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Definitely to stay patient and calm, because I knew I was actually going out there and hoping to get at least one break of her serve, you know. And I know she serves really hard and that's her weapon on grass. She's feeling confident. I knew all that.
Just stay focused, calm, and I knew what I had to do and I was just following my plan.

Q. In the past you haven't had necessarily the results on grass. Why is that in the past? What was difficult about it? What's different this year?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Probably, I don't know‑‑ I'm not supposed to say this, but really I didn't like grass at all. Now it's kind of changing a little. In the end it's okay, the grass. I don't mind it (smiling).
I guess the key is just I wasn't really fit enough, never fit enough, to play on grass. I have never had consistency in my work or off court and everything, so now I'm trying to put all those pieces like puzzles together and stay quite consistent with my work and everything outside the court, so I guess that's helping.

Q. How much has Dieter had to do with that?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Basically that's him. That's him. Of course now after Miami I was like, yeah, right, I need to commit and change something and do something with my tennis and my work.
So he's perfect for that. I think we are making a great team. I have a physio as well who's helping me.

Q. What led you to decide you weren't fit enough?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: What?

Q. Why did you feel suddenly that you were not fit enough? Why did you decide to change?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Well, that's an easy answer, because tennis changing and it's very physical. You have to stay tough and fit. It's normal for everyone, including me. I have to be the same, you know, to compete with those athletes.

Q. Do you expect to go further in this draw? Now that you got here, first quarterfinal I think in five years, can you get your balance again and come back again and play another match?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I'm honestly quite cool about it. Of course, I'm happy to be in quarterfinals. That's for sure. It's a dream come true.
I would love to continue making the progress in the draw and keep winning, but I really don't expect anything at all. I wasn't expecting anything yesterday or today. I'm just going out there, doing my thing, doing my work. I work, and, you know, results are coming great. If not, next one. That's fine.

Q. Do you think it might start to happen for you now at a Grand Slam level? I mean, you had excellent success as a junior.
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah. And that's tough, because I was No. 1 in juniors, basically winning everything and being so confident. Then it was tough to change and go in the pro circuit, because that wasn't happening. I was losing, you know. Everything was more difficult.
So that was a lot of pressure on me. And then mentally I was breaking down because, you know, I'm thinking, yeah, here I am, but, yeah, I'm not winning, you know. Like you need to work so hard every match and nobody's gonna give it to you.
No, we'll see. Again, I take it step by step, match by match, and just, yeah, continue.

Q. You mentioned that you're not looking ahead to the possibility of playing Serena. But looking back, when you have played her, what has been the major common denominator in the matches that you've had against her?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I think I only won one set against her in the five times we have played or something like that, and I don't have to say anything about her. I think everyone knows what she's like.
It's just probably more depends on how I'm going to start or play the match. Yeah. Again, we'll see. I mean, it's tough for me to say anything right now being at this table. I have to go out there and bring out my best, definitely, whoever it is on the other side of the net.

Q. Is there one thing that stands out from the matches you have played her?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Well, definitely her serve is, like, I don't know exactly which word to say. "Great"? Especially again on grass it's very fast. And then she's there‑‑ when she needs it, she serves great, she's there. So I have to, you know, stay ‑‑but again, I don't really want to talk about her because I don't know who I'm going to play.

Q. Do you think Svetlana has a good chance to take her out? Do you, in general, think that more players now have a chance to take Serena out?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Svetlana is definitely one of the dangerous players right now. She's also Russian so we know each other so well.
And we just recently played at the French Open, so of course I would say clay would be her favorite surface rather than the grass. But she's now in a run and she's doing well. She's beaten really good players. I think she's very confident.
Yeah, she's also very, very tough and good, talented player.

Q. When you arrived at the grass season, were you still wary of the grass then?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: You mean this year?

Q. Yeah.
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Well, I lost first round Birmingham and Eastbourne. Actually not playing good at all.
But I was like, okay, you know, that's fine. It's just not meant to be for me, I guess. We had a lot of talks with my coach. But again, I kept my head high and I thought, okay, I still have Wimbledon ahead of me. Just gonna work hard, continue, and doesn't matter, you know, like it's in the past now so I have this one right now. And next one. Yeah. It's a process.

Q. Are you surprised that you've got to this stage?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: No.

Q. Russian ladies, four got to the fourth round. First time since 2009. Is there a good spirit? How is the spirit in the Russian camp?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, it's all right. Like I had, yeah, birthday yesterday. All the girls came to me before and after the match. They all wish me a very nice birthday. All positive things. It's all friendly. It's good.
Yeah, and we have always had very tough Russian players, women. Yeah. I think it's great, because I think we kind of push each other, so, you know, we have this competition, someone want to do better than the other one.

Q. Going back to Dieter a little bit, how have those discussions with him been in terms of, you know, what you need to work on with your game? Because obviously he's coming from a camp of people who it's very intense, there is a lot of work ethic going on with his previous job. Here, do you feel the difference in terms of what he's trying to push you to do and how to reshape your career, your work?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I think that's how he is, as well. His character, he's very disciplined and determined. That's great. That's totally basically what I need, because I think we are totally different with him. So that's great balance.
Yeah, so we are trying to balance it and find‑‑ we will talk a lot, obviously, and, yeah, we trying to find the best solution best for me.

Q. You mentioned the spirit among the Russian players. What are your thoughts about participating in the Olympics?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: That's awesome. I'm super excited, because again, in London, the previous Olympics, I couldn't make it. I was top 30 and I was No. 6 in my country. That was really frustrating for me not to go there. Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to go and participate in the Olympics.
So really looking forward, especially to go to Rio. I think it would be great. Yeah, never been there, actually.

Q. What would you say was the biggest obstacle in your way of working as you say you are working now?
ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I would say just hard, consistent work.

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