	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

U.S. OPEN

September 10, 2017

Amanda Anisimova

New York, NY, USA

A. ANISIMOVA/C. Gauff

6-0, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations. Just talk about that match. It was a lot tougher than the score probably showed?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Oh, yeah, for sure. That last game was crazy. Possibly the longest game of my life (smiling).

Yeah, she's an amazing competitor, and I have a lot of respect for her. To be in the final at such a young age is just amazing.

Yeah, just want to congratulate her. That's an amazing achievement. Today I just went out and competed. I'm really happy with how I played and fought.

Q. What's it like to be just newly 16 and way older than your opponent in a Grand Slam final?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I usually don't feel like that. I usually feel like the younger one, but I didn't really feel like that today. She's my height, so I didn't feel like that (smiling).

Yeah, I was just focusing on myself today and not trying to think about anything else.

Q. How do you feel about your tournament? You didn't drop a set on the way to the title. Is this what you expected? Is this what you thought or what you set out to do coming here?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I mean, yeah, that's definitely my goal when I was going into this tournament. I was preparing a lot for it. You know, after a tough loss in the quallies, I definitely wanted to achieve something big. This is just amazing, and I'm so happy that I won the title.

Q. There is a big difference between playing the juniors and playing the pros, and you have now played both this year. This is your final junior tournament, right?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah.

Q. So what are you thinking as you go into exclusively pro tournaments?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I think the pro tournaments have really made me develop more as a tennis player. I think my mind kind of changed. You know, I started focusing more and acting more like a professional, you know.

Everything is so different up there. I think that prepared me a lot for this junior slam, because before last year I don't think I was as good as I am now. That just really prepared me for this.

Q. Your expectations now have to change a little bit. You can't expect to go to every tournament thinking you're going to win it. What are you thinking as you turn pro?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, my first goal is maybe finish in the top 150 this year. That's what I want to start off with. I'm not going to get too ahead of myself. I'm just going to one tournament at a time, and just see how they go.

I just really want to play in some main draw tournaments at slams. That would be my goal for next year.

Q. You had beaten her 6-Love, 6-1 I think last year. Can you describe how both her game has changed and your game has changed in that year's time?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think she's changed a lot as a player. Since last time I played her, she's gotten a lot stronger, and she hits the ball really big. She has a really big serve, so she's pretty tough to play, and she's just really fast and overall a great athlete. She's tough to play.

Q. And how has your game improved in the last year?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think I have improved a lot. You know, I started playing smarter since last year. Just thinking about how to, like, push your opponent off the court and just play with your mind and not your body.

Q. What were you feeling earlier in the second set when you kind of cruised on your serve in the first set the whole way through and then she had break points first couple games and got on the board? Were you feeling she was going to bring it back to you in the second set?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I always expect the player to start playing better after not winning a game. But, you know, a player is always going to try to change, and I just have to adjust.

Q. You spoke about your goal this year. What is your long-term goal overall? What do you hope to achieve?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I hope to be No. 1 and win every Grand Slam.

Q. And if you could win one of the four great Grand Slams, which one would you choose to within?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, I would want to win every single one of them but if it was one, then I would want to win this one.

Q. Your dad was here with you. I think your mom left a little earlier?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, because of the hurricane. So it's really bad in Florida. I'm really praying for everyone there. My mom had to evacuate my grandma to go to a different state. It's pretty upsetting that she couldn't be here with me, but I was also fighting and trying to win it for her, too.

Q. They're all fine, all good?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, they're all good.

Q. Where in Florida?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Miami.

Q. Where did they go?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Charlotte.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the distractions? At one point a fog horn or something went off, and then I know that Cori's grandma was a little bit noisy behind you. What do you do in a situation like that?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I just try to block it out. I think so it was kind of, like, funny when the fire alarm went off or whatever that was. At that moment, I thought we should have replayed the point, but it's fine. I just forgot about it.

Q. And as you go forward, those ten match points, can you talk about those and how tough it was to close it out?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah. We weren't even missing. Like, from the first shot, they were long points, so it was pretty difficult. We were just playing really well in that game, so it was really tough.

Q. You said you want to try to be more professional about everything. What does that entail for you? What does being more professional mean to you?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I think it kind of means how you play on the court, first off, how you, like, think about where you're going to play, thinking about each point and preparing yourself, just having, like, routines and everything. I think I have gotten a lot of new routines since I transitioned into the pro circuit.

Q. You're going to Budapest?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah.

Q. Will you be able to go home in the interim? I know it's coming right up.
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Well, I think I am, yeah. I hope so.

Q. Do you have plans to fly back tomorrow, next day?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, maybe the next day.

Q. And who's on the junior Fed Cup team with you?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I'm pretty sure it's Whitney Osuigue and Caty McNally and Coach Erik Kortland.

Q. Do you have any plans to do any celebrating?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I'm going to celebrate with my sister, my friends, and all my family tonight in the city.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297