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U.S. OPEN

September 2, 2017

Karolina Pliskova

New York, NY, USA

K. PLISKOVA/S. Zhang

3-6, 7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you just sort of give us a little more information on your arm and what it is, how long it's been bothering you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, so far now I feel much better. I did some recovery and just saw the physios and some ice bath and those stuff. Hopefully it will be fine. Just felt a little bit tight during the match.

Q. Just this match?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, just this match.

Q. How did you turn it around? You were down match point.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Again, I think I'm playing in quite big waves this tournament so far. So I think sometimes I think I play good shots, good rallies, and then there is hundreds of mistakes and not a good shot.

So I think I start pretty well today. If I come the first two games, I could have break -- I had the break, but I could have 2-0, could be different story. I think she just played very well today. She was going for her shots.

But I just, you know, in the second set, I thought, like, maybe she's not going to serve it out. I just stayed in the game.

Actually, she got a little bit tight, I think. She did the mistakes which she was not doing before.

So I got it, not that I would really play something great -- only on the match point I played a good shot, but I think she helped me kind of get back to the match.

The third set was just tight and close about few points.

Q. Has the experience of the French Open, getting through all those tough matches in the first week, has that helped you here the last few rounds?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I think not only French Open. Few other tournaments this year. Almost every tournament, actually (smiling).

I just, you know, I just try to fight even if my game is not 100%, and it's not 100%, actually, this week.

But I'm winning, so that's the main thing.

Q. Talk through that match point and the decision to hit probably the biggest forehand that you had hit all match at that point. Pretty gutsy.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I felt like she was really playing tactically well, so I was still the one who was running. She was using the forehand, the crosscourt, the angle. She hit pretty good.

I didn't feel like going for my forehand down the line today that much. So I think there was just few of them. Maybe two (smiling).

One of them was on the match point, so I just -- you know, if you're match point down, you don't really think, like, about what to play or if to hold it in the rally, so I didn't have any other choice. I just went through it and prayed that it's going to be in, and it was in.

Q. Do you think she reads your serve better or you served not as good as you wanted to?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think she's staying pretty close on the baseline, so she was returning pretty well. I didn't want to serve that many bodies. Maybe would be better, but I was just trying to going for my serve and have those three points for my serve.

I just thought I needed more just to serve body and have it in the rally, because I think she was playing very well from the baseline, didn't miss much, even from the forehand side, even from the backhand side. Had really good depth from the shot.

So, again, I was not the one who was aggressive today, so maybe at some points, yes, but she was more.

So even on the returns, I just think she was, you know, going for it and she was actually returning pretty well.

Q. What did last year's experience here do for you as far as confidence and maybe know-how for this year?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't think last year's experience helped me in this year, because I'm defending a lot of points. It's not only about the points, but I just felt I really can play well here.

Last Grand Slam of the season and knowing you played fine last year, you just want to play that good again. I don't feel like I'm playing that good again, but I'm still in the draw, actually, so I'm not going to be that sad.

The only experience I think is from the big matches what I was playing and from the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Definitely something positive on it, but also, it's kind of like tough for me this year to play here.

Q. In what ways?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I just said it. Like, I played final, my only final in the major. Never was in this position to defend a final of major. And I'm first seeded, so it's, like, totally different story than I played last year.

Q. What's the effect in terms of pressure of that?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I feel pressure. I was already talking a few days ago. I just want to win. I know all the opponents are behind me, so I should win every match, which is tough.

Q. Obviously you're still going, still in contention to keep the No. 1 ranking. You were just talking about the points. Is the point system a fair way of determining No. 1?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: If it's fair?

Q. Yeah.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think it's fair. It's just like this. So if I don't defend, I'm not going to stay No. 1. So that's how it is.

But I don't think that's the problem with me. I'm not thinking to stay there. Even if I would be second, it's still great, you know. It's still like it doesn't change anything to end of the year. So maybe if you end in the year ranking No. 1, it's a little bit different.

But like this, I'm not really fighting just for this position but I just, you know, want to play well and I want to win.

Q. No. 1 players, you, Serena, Caroline, said it before, Angie, have said they have to get used to players playing their best tennis against them. I know you have said that before. But do you also think about the fact that players are going to get nervous trying to close you out more now because you're No. 1 and they get a No. 1 win versus when you were No. 7? Do you kind of take that into account when you're down in the scoreline?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah. I had this in my head for last, those two couple of matches what I was playing here. Went 3-All, 4-All, or even today she was serving for the match.

So I had, like, had it in my head she's not going to play that big as she was playing whole match, because even I think the players like me and Serena, we cannot, like, hold it the whole match. I thought maybe she's gonna help me. That's why I was just trying to stay in the rally.

And she actually did help me. But that's not something what I don't want to really think about and I don't want to get in this position that she's serving for the match, actually (smiling).

Maybe next time I should play a little bit better earlier and not the last game.

Q. How tough are the conditions this year? Usually it's much hotter and humid in New York. This year it's very cold and today was very windy. How tough is that to navigate?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: It's strange this year. I never had this kind of weather in New York, so normally, even if there is some clouds or something, it's just, like, pretty humid and hot.

It's pretty cold, actually. So every morning, even the first rounds, I think, it's totally opposite what I was having last year. So maybe it's not that fast, the balls are not flying that fast, but I think on the center court, as the roof is there and it changed a little bit, there is no wind at all.

I just didn't feel it at all today. Maybe on the practice courts a little bit. But that's helping, the roof, that the wind doesn't go there because that's, like, pretty close.

Yeah, I think, like, for tennis the conditions are pretty good.

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