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ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2017

Karolina Pliskova

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How is Paris treating you so far?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: So far good. It's I think first time for me the weather has been so nice for a couple of days already. Even the weekend should be nice. That's good for my tennis and even for my mood (smiling).

So I came on Wednesday, so already few days practicing and a few days out of me.

Q. How has your relationship with clay gone since Madrid and Rome? How are you feeling? How is the clay treating you and how are you treating the clay?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Definitely better than in Madrid. I found the way a little bit how to play definitely a little bit better than I was playing the first few weeks on clay.

After Rome, obviously I had quite three good matches there. So definitely gave me quite, I would not say a lot of confidence, but some confident to play on clay.

Yeah, I just want to try to build on those matches. What I have played there I think was pretty solid and not easy rounds, so let's see. So I just saw the draw here. Definitely not an easy match here for me. Just have to take it and fight for every point here.

Q. If somebody were to tell you that they put you on their list of one of the favorites for the title here, what would you say?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think there is nobody who would do this (smiling).

Q. You'd be surprised.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, well, I'm going to do my best, but I think the title and talking, even talking about title is really far for me. Let's see. Maybe just in couple days or couple after first two rounds, let's say, if I make the first one, then anything can happen, you know. Last year even GarbiÃ±e, she was also probably not the favorite of the tournament before the tournament, so I believe everyone has the chance.

But I still have to play something.

Q. Second seed at a Grand Slam. Do you feel used to being at the top of the game, or is it still something you're kind of adjusting to?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I feel definitely confident with this role what I am having. It's already few weeks, few tournaments like this.

So for me doesn't matter if I'm seeded No. 2 or No. 4 or even 20. I think there is no difference between that. Every match is tough, like I said, so you can have some really dangerous players in the first or second round.

So doesn't really matter if you are seeded or not. If you are seeded or not, it does matter, so you cannot go on really top players in the first round, but sometimes I think it's more tough for the seeded players to play the first rounds, because everyone is playing obviously the best tennis against the better players, against the high-ranking players.

Q. Petra Kvitova came back here, I don't know if you've seen her, or what the Czech girls' reaction has been to having her back?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: For me, no surprise. I don't really care about those things, what is happening around her. I didn't know much. I just know that she was expecting to play Wimbledon first or some grass court tournament first.

Just that she got here earlier, I think it's definitely better for her that she can be really ready for the grass tournaments. I didn't even know if she's practicing or not. I just saw her few times in my club. Definitely she's gonna be ready, and she's gonna try to, you know, win those matches. She would not play if she would not be ready.

But, yeah, it's a half year, so I think it's time that she's back (smiling).

Q. Many of the players and everything are saying that the draw is more open without Serena being in it and stuff. Can you give your thoughts on that?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: My thoughts, I don't think the draw would be any different with Serena for me. I think there is still -- it's still tough draw. Still a lot of players who you have to beat, so you have to win seven matches to win this tournament. So it doesn't matter who is there. So even Serena, I don't think she was unbeatable.

Yeah, different players, different list, so it's a little bit changing. Some young players coming up and some different which were injured and not ready and didn't play are back now. Even Vika, I heard she's gonna come back after Paris.

But I think it's open, but not because of Serena, I felt.

Q. Talk about your first-round match. Gonna play Zheng Saisai, a Chinese player. Do you know her game at all? Have you seen her play?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think we didn't play ever. I'm not sure about that. We played doubles last week in Rome against her, so that's what I remember still.

Yeah, so we didn't talk much about the draw, because it came up few hours back, and I was still practicing this afternoon. So we gonna definitely prepare. Still, like I said, every match for me on clay it's difficult, so doesn't matter who is there. I still have to play good tennis.

Q. Just a quick question about your serve. During the clay court season, do you feel like you're serving as hard velocity-wise, miles per hour, as you are during the hard court season?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I'm not sure about this. I'm not really seeing the statistics of my, like, if the serve is fast or not, but I'm trying to use more different serves than on the hard court obviously. The clay court is different, so I'm trying to use sometimes more kick. You cannot really hit that many aces on clay as you can on hard court.

So I'm just trying to maybe use more body here, as well. And like I said, more kick. Especially from the second serve to the backhand it's always tough to play the kick for the one who is receiving.

But with the speed, I'm not sure, but definitely I would say it's a little bit slower.

Q. Just going off of that, because at the start of the clay season you were kind of thinking, okay, I'm just going to play my hard court game and not make too many adjustments. Is that the biggest adjustment you have made on the clay is kind of serving patterns and things or is there other stuff too?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Definitely the movement, but you have to change it because you have to at least a little bit slide. So the clay not stable as the hard court is. So you cannot really move as you're moving there.

That's gonna be one. And the serve definitely a little bit. Maybe I'm trying to use more spin on both shots, but so far it's not really my game. So maybe just few times in a match I'm going to try to use it. Otherwise, I keep my game plan and play aggressive and flat shots.

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