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U.S. OPENSeptember 10, 2016Karolina PliskovaNew York, NY, USA A. KERBER/K. Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Obviously the final, talk about the emotion. What are you feeling? Sadness? Are you upset with yourself for your performance? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, no. I think I did a great job. It was my first final. Still was close to winning. I mean, she has more experience to play those finals than me so probably decided in this match. I'm so proud of myself. If someone would tell me I'm going to play finals in this tournament before two weeks I would take it. Not sadness. Q. How nervous did you feel when you went out there? Did your nerves surprise you at all? How do you feel you dealt them? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I wasn't nervous at all. Not even during the match. Not even in the beginning. I said already once I'm on the court I feel fine. A little bit before the match I felt nervous, but I think that's normal. I was enjoying the match. It was very tough for me physically. We all know she's tough to play and she's putting so many balls back. I was expecting very tough match. In the end, in the third set, I was very close, but, you know, she's just playing some good tennis this year. It's never easy to beat her. Q. You said you weren't nervous on the court, but you also said that Kerber's experience was probably better for her today. What about her experience do you think got her over the line as opposed to you? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, definitely. I don't know if it, you know, had any influence on the win her, but definitely she played few finals of Grand Slam already. I would say she maybe felt a little bit, at least in the beginning of the match, better. I did few mistakes. But then it was very close. I was still trying to be aggressive. You know, it's never easy for the player who is attacking and is doing more mistakes. For her I would say it's, I mean, not easier. She was running a lot. But for the one who is attacking I would say in the end it's more tough to do the points, especially if it's close and you really have to push it really hard to make the winner in the end. Q. Despite being left handed, what makes her serve difficult? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I didn't play a lefty girl in this tournament so far, I think, so it's always different to play lefty, you know. She's always serving to the backhand. You cannot do much from it. Then she has the whole court open. I have twin sister. She's lefty, so it's always tough to play against lefty girls. There is not much of them in the top 100. You always play right girls, so there is no time where you can practice against lefty. There is no time where you can have some matches against lefty girl. It's always tough to play them. Q. She's had a spectacular year. What lesson could you take from that, especially when you look at what the other women have been doing? Garbiñe struggling a bit, and the others. What do you think from the way she's been playing? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, she has totally different game than me so I will not take a lot from her, but definitely from her as a person, she's taking all those results. It's not easy to be, you know, on the top and still be playing tournaments. You have some kind of pressure, and Angie, she's handling this pretty well. I'll just take this, you know. It's totally different. I don't know how I will feel in the next tournament after this. Everyone is going to talk different and everyone is going to look at you different that you have to win. So Angie did really good job in this one. You see a few girls struggling after they did a good job. I mean, Garbine, after she win Paris she's been playing maybe a little bit different. I'm not sure how she feels, but she's still a good player, so I'm sure she can get up back. Q. Did you feel that your serve, which has been so effective throughout this tournament, let you down a little bit today? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No. I would not say it was because of my serve, because obviously it's tough to play someone who is, you know, still every ball putting back. It's never easy to play. I didn't have much easy points from the serve, because she's just playing so well and putting every ball -- even if it's like not aggressive from her side, but still she needs to put the ball back. You have to play one more shot than normally. Compared to the other girls what I have played in this tournament, they are missing so much the returns, but she's not. So then it's also tough for me to serve, you know, because I don't have any free points from the serve. Q. And second to that, I know your sister is in China where it was 4:00 a.m. Do you know if she saw the match? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't think she's watching. She's playing final in the morning, I think, so I think she's sleeping. (Smiling.) Q. Did you feel at all maybe she had a little more pressure on her because of the No. 1 ranking going into today? Obviously she just got it the other day because of Serena. KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't think she felt any pressure today. So far one of the best matches what she played against me. I think what I have played, as well. It was high-quality match. There was not that many mistakes and I really had to play every point to win a game or to win those points. Q. Pretty concerted effort in the second set; tried to get more effort and come to the net a bit more. Is that something you knew you had to do after the first set? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, I have been playing her quite a few times and there is a lot of ways how you can beat her. Today I had the feeling she's not missing much from the baseline. I just had to step up into the court a little bit and to be more aggressive and closing into the net with the volleys obviously. I think I did a good job on the net and I did so many points there. That was probably the key why I won the second set. Unfortunately in the third one I didn't have that many chances to go there. I mean, in the last game I missed something. (Smiling.) Q. Do you think this tournament will be the turning point for you in Grand Slams, where we'll see you in the quarterfinals, semis, finals, more consistently? Do you think this could be the turning point moment? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I cannot say now. We can talk maybe next year. (Smiling.) After some tournaments I'll just, you know, don't think about any other tournaments right now. I just finish US Open. Let's see how is it gonna be. Maybe something will change; maybe not. I just want to take all the positives from this tournament. Q. A similar question: What do you think you can take away from an incredible performance in Cincinnati where you have won so many big matches and this incredible run? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, I beat very good players. To win in Cincinnati was -- I was just so happy to get the biggest title of my career. I was thinking, Okay, now I can even lose in first or second round of US Open, but I was able to take the game from Cincinnati here, which is never easy after you win a tournament, to play the same game in other tournaments. So I was just happy that I made it here even far. It was always my goal, like I said, to pass the third round, and I made it to the final. I'm still proud of myself. I'm not gonna think about losing, because could be other way, as well. I could be the winner today. Was about few points. I will just take positive from this tournament and still try to move forward. Q. Congratulations on a great fortnight. Next time you're in a slam finals, how much is this going to help? How much have you grown in the last four hours? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, I would say a lot, because you don't have much matches like this in your career or in the whole year. So I definitely take on a positive. The next Grand Slam I'm trying -- I'm going to try to play like I was playing here from the first round to the last one. So doesn't matter what happen. I'm just gonna take it tournament by tournament and try to play the game what I was playing last three weeks. I think I really did a good job. I improved in a lot of things, especially the game what I have been playing, not only against the players which are under me, but with the top players which are in front of me. I think that's the key how I can, you know, be even better than I am. Q. Angie wasn't giving you very many free points today. You were saying you feel the pressure as the aggressive player to end the points. Can you talk about what that's like to be an offensive-minded player and play against a defender of her quality? What pressure is that on you? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, there is always some pressure. You have the pressure that she's gonna ace you four times in a game. But here it's different pressure, that you cannot miss much, but you still have to be aggressive and do winners, otherwise I cannot be the one who is running with her there. I don't know any other player, Simona or those girls, which are running. I cannot play really 30 times across the net. It's gonna just kill me, and I will not in the end even win it. I just have to go for my shots, and that's what happen in the first set. But she was playing very good tennis in the first set, a lot of first serves, so then it's hard to attack. She had really good depth in the shots. I just was waiting for my chance, and I got it in the second set. I was still, you know, aggressive, even I didn't get it in the third set. I still think I was, you know, aggressive in the third one, but did a few mistakes. That's why I lost it obviously. I was maybe a little bit more tired in the end of the third set. That's also why maybe I just, you know, needed a little bit more power. (Smiling.) Q. You were playing so well in the third set up until the last game. It seemed like it quickly got out of hand. Have you been replaying it in your mind, or is it too soon still? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I would not say it was because of the last game, obviously. I could do better. We all know that the last game wasn't great, but like I said, it's so hard against her because she still needs to play -- to push you to play one more shot. So I just went twice to the net and was going really for the shot. So it could go the other way, as well. So I think I just did a great move to go into the net. I did so many points on the net. So I would not change it. Just it didn't happen, but this is the way how I have to play. Q. Angie becomes No. 1 on Monday. What's been the impression among the girls on tour of what she's been able to accomplish, this season especially? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, definitely I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1 because she did so well. She has two Grand Slam titles, one final, few other titles. She's been just playing great this year, and, you know, constant. She deserve to be No. 1. And after years what Serena was there, I think it's a nice change. Q. Coming off defeating Serena, who was previously No. 1 and now Angelique, losing to her who is now current No. 1 -- obviously you beat Serena, Angelique. What was the difference of those two types of players? What was that differences like and, what you found in those two? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, you cannot compare those two. The game is totally different. The persons as well. Serena is going for every shot. She's serving pretty well. She's just, you know, pushing you from the second serve. So it's just totally different game. So there I have more chance to wait for, you know, her mistake. With Angie, you cannot wait for mistakes. She doesn't give you anything. I have to be the one who is aggressive. It's sometimes more difficult to be the one who is playing aggressive and going for the winners. So that's the difference between them. Q. Along those lines, you just started to answer that, but you came to net, as you were talking about, 38 times in the match. You served and volleyed 10 times. Showing such courage as you did throughout the tournament. Can you describe a little bit your thought process? Any transition in your career over the recent months that's allowed you to be so calm and courageous in this fashion? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, I wasn't before the match really planning to go to the net so many times, but it just -- you know, I had to change something because she was winning all the rallies in the first set. I just, you know, was going after the first serve, and it always help me when I go after the serve. The serve is better than if I just stay on the baseline. I was really going for my shots, and actually it was working. Obviously I missed few, but I win more than I missed. That's impressive. And, you know, we have been working on this, my game on the net, so much. Even in the doubles it improved a lot. So I'm really proud of this. I believe like this, I can win matches like this next time. Q. What was going through your mind as you saw Angie hold up the championship trophy? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Nothing. (Smiling.) Q. What do you think the impact of this experience will be on you? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Like I said, I just try to take only positive, even if finish with a loss. I think - still think - it wasn't a bad loss to lose to girl which is No. 1 in the world. I played a good matches. Even this one was very good, high quality. So I just, you know, take it into my next tournament and into my life. It's my biggest success so far into my career. Only positive from New York. Q. Everything changes in life. For years we have been seeing the Williams sisters, and maybe Sharapova and Azarenka come to mind. But this year we have seen your great performance, Angie's great performances, Garbiñe. In the locker room, is there a sense that maybe things are shifting? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't feel it in the locker room, and I'm not really taking care of those things. But, yeah, there is almost every Grand Slam different winner except those two with Angie. This one could be a different winner, as well. I mean, yeah, maybe it's time changing and different players are coming up. Younger players are coming up, which is normal. They are always dangerous. Great to see some other girls winning the title, not only the same person. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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