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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2017

Daria Gavrilova

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

K. PLISKOVA/D. Gavrilova

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. 12 months on from the last time you exited this tournament, what do you think you've learnt in that time?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yeah, it's a tough question. But I think I'm a better player overall. I think I had a pretty good tournament. I backed up my result last year. Not many players can do that. And, you know, I had three really tough matches, three sets.

I think my emotions were really good.

Q. What was the issue tonight? She's too big and too strong?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yeah. I felt like I didn't serve as good as I would have liked. I think I had a few chances on her returns. You know, we didn't have long rallies. I didn't feel like I had the rhythm.

Yeah, the main thing is my serve. It really let me down.

Q. Last match here you spoke about how nervous you were going out there on Rod Laver Arena. Was that an issue again tonight?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Actually I wasn't nervous. I felt comfortable.

Q. Did shutting the roof with such short notice unsettle you a bit?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: I probably would have liked to play with an open roof. But I guess with the way I was serving, it wouldn't have helped much.

Q. When you talk about your serve kind of letting you down today, is it just about first-serve percentage?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yes. First-serve percentage was not very good. Even though I felt like my second serve was a good serve with a bit of pace on it, but every girl just knows -- they know that second serve you have to be aggressive. That puts me under pressure straightaway.

Q. The first game went for nearly eight minutes, four deuces. How important do you think that was for the momentum of the first set?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yeah, I felt like, even I said to myself, Yeah, that's a long game, like, dig in. I felt like it was an important game.

Q. Do you feel like Karolina has the game to win the title?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: I think so. I've said it before. I think she can definitely win it. I don't want to jinx her, though (smiling).

Q. When you talk about Karolina, it seems like there's quite a bit of respect amongst the players with respect to her game. Can you articulate that a little bit? What is it about her that seems to leave the rest of you to seem to be backing her chances here?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: I think she's been really consistent lately. She struggled before at Grand Slams. I think she changed her mentality. She's feeling confident. You know, she just goes on about her business and does her things. She doesn't show much emotion.

She's also a pretty nice girl.

Q. I remember last year you said something along the lines of you never worked so hard in your life, but you didn't feel like the hard work was paying off so you were going to go eat some junk food. Do you feel now like it's starting to pay off, the hard work?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Well, it does pay off. No matter what I said, hard work always pays off eventually.

But I will have junk food tonight (laughter).

Q. Does it make it difficult for you to assess this tournament sitting here? Obviously dealing with the disappointment of going out. But as you said earlier, do you still see it as a success, being able to back up your performance from last year?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yeah, I think I should be pretty positive about this week. Well, last week, not this week (smiling).

But I'm also looking forward to improving a few things. It's a good sign that I got that far, and I can still get so much better.

Q. Two fourth rounds now. What do you think you need to do to make the next step, quarterfinal, semifinal, final?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: A much better matchup in the fourth round (smiling).

I don't know. Maybe I'll play better at Roland Garros. Not sure.

Q. Obviously you're disappointed just having lost. Being the last Australian player in your home Grand Slam, is it pretty cool for you?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: It is pretty cool. I felt like everyone was watching me and supporting me. So it is nice.

But I still lost, so it doesn't feel great right now.

Q. Nicole said yesterday she asked you this time last year, Why can't you win? Your response was, Because I'm not ready yet. She sort of talked a little bit about how you had a plan and a timeline in your mind. You might be starting to feel like you're ready now. Do you sort of feel like you can really have a real crack this year at one of the big titles?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: I'm not sure what you were saying about her saying I can't win.

Q. No, she said yesterday that she asked you last year, Why can't you win? To win a Grand Slam was the question. You said, I'm not ready in my own mind yet.
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Oh, yes.

Q. She seemed to think this year you might be getting there. Is that the case?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Well, I had a conversation with Nicole a few years back. I said that I'll have my prime time when I'm 23 or 24. So in a month (smiling).

Q. Not long to wait then.
DARIA GAVRILOVA: No. I don't know why I set my mind to it when I was like 18. It's pretty silly.

Q. When you talk about playing a player who doesn't give you rhythm, which Karolina doesn't do for anybody, can you talk and explain why, for you, it's a frustrating thing to not get rhythm on a court, not be able to rally? How does that impact your game and what you want to do out there?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Well, I feel like I don't have the power to just win the short rallies. I feel like whenever I had a chance to move her or do something with the ball, I was missing. That was frustrating me a lot. Then she would ace me or hit a return winner.

So it felt like, Okay, you had your chance but you wasted it. That's frustrating.

But I feel like I can really improve on that mentally. Yeah, that's what I'm going to be working on 'cause there's a lot of girls that would do that to me.

Q. Do you think tennis in Australia is healthy at the moment?
DARIA GAVRILOVA: It's very healthy. Tennis is a healthy sport.

Q. As far as the junior players coming through the ranks.
DARIA GAVRILOVA: Yes. I think we're doing well. Jaimee and Destanee, they're playing some good tennis. I know they're working really hard. Same with boys. Lleyton is a great leader for the boys. There's so many great juniors coming up.

I think we're doing pretty good.

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