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U.S. OPEN

August 29, 2017

Karolina Pliskova

New York, NY, USA

K. PLISKOVA/M. Linette

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Nice work today. Just talk about the way you have played and how you've kind of gotten the campaign going.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, first of all, happy that I'm through. Was expecting a little bit tougher than it was, but was a little bit nervous this morning before the match. Obviously before every first-round match, I'm a little bit nervous, but especially on Grand Slam and especially to defend so many points here from the final last year. It was a little bit difficult, but I think I made it pretty okay today.

The game could be better. I think serve could be better, but overall, I think it was solid.

Q. The point has been made that there are or were eight, now seven, who could attain the No. 1 position, your thoughts on that and how you react to it as a No. 1 of the world? How bad do you want to hold on to that?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Actually, in my head, I didn't have this thing at all today. In any of the matches what I was playing so far on the hard court for last few weeks. So it's not something what I want to think about on the court.

Maybe off the court, obviously I would like to stay there as long as I can, but not to push it and I don't want to, you know, stress myself because of this and then play. But I believe if I play good tennis, I have a good chance to stay there.

Obviously there is so many players now coming closer to me. I know Simona is out, unfortunate for her, but there are still seven or six in the draw, so I will have to, you know, go far (smiling).

Q. After the roof was closed, it seemed like was there wet spots on the court. You and your opponent were both looking at little places on the court. Were there problems with the court afterwards?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Not much. A little bit. But we just waited for few minutes, and I think the court was fine after.

Q. Did you go to the Player Gift Suite? What was that experience like, if you did go there?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I did go. It was pretty nice change from last year, so new added gifts, and especially the Tiffany one. I think it's rare to have those kind of gifts for players.

Q. Do the other players treat you a little differently now that you've become No. 1 in the world?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Which players?

Q. WTA and ATP. WTA players.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, no, not much. I don't think something change. I don't think it will be different if somebody else would be there.

I think there is nothing like -- you don't get nothing for free, so I think there is no changes in this.

Q. The Ace Initiative thing, the charity thing that you're doing, how much of that is, now that you're No. 1, kind of feeling like maybe you have a platform or that you're supposed to -- I think we talked before, kind of what it means to be a No. 1, to be a leader and to do those sorts of things. Is that something you thought about at all?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: You mean in the match or overall?

Q. The Ace program you are doing, donating money. How much of that has to do with now you have a platform, and...
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't think this has something to do with me being No. 1 now. I think I had the plan for, I would say, last year to do something for outside charity.

I have quite good people around me now, so we were somehow to put it together and to find a way how to a little bit different way how to donate the money. I think this is a good way. And especially with me hitting a lot of aces every year, I think they could get -- hopefully they will get some money (smiling). They have few now already.

Q. For a while there you came up a little quicker than Kristyna. Now she's part of the main tour and everything. Do you find yourself making your schedules together at all, or you still have to look at it individually? How much fun is it to kind of have a friend right there for you all the time?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I'm really happy she came back a little bit closer to me so we can at least be at the same tournaments. We don't have the same schedule, unfortunately. With the matches and everything is a little bit different and we each have a different team. We don't spend that much time as before together, but we still find in a week, a day, where we can go, just us on dinner or somewhere to the city so we can talk.

And overall in the locker rooms we meet each other pretty often, and we can still talk and we are still on the phone so we are still pretty close, I would say. The schedule is a little bit still different.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the psychology of when you're playing long games? A lot of deuces back and forth. At a certain point in that game, whether you're serving or returning, do you start to think about changing things up, you know, to consciously try to do something different as opposed to just play the point that's in front of you? And also, at the beginning of the next game, is there something that you need to kind of like reset or do something whether or not you have won or lost the long game?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I think it's very important -- I had one of those games what you were just talking about today, so I think it's really important to just, you know, stay that game and try to do the best to win it, because the game after can be much easier after a game like this when you play over 10 minutes a game.

I don't have any specific things to do. I just want to play what is working and maybe not too complicated. So we say if it's on my serve, I try to hit a good serve and then be aggressive, so that's always the same plan.

Q. How much of a difference does it make for you in terms of planning your tournament and your schedule for the day considering that you're No. 1, always going to be on a big court that has a roof? You got through quickly and don't have to do the waiting game like many of the other players today.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, it's a really big help, I would say, the roof at least on the center court so they can still finish up some matches. Especially I have not been really lucky with the weather for last two tournaments, Toronto and Cincinnati.

Just happy that I got today the match done quickly and don't have to wait, because the weather is not looking great today.

It's always a big help if you can leave fast from the club (smiling).

Q. Did you watch last night's match between Simona and Maria? What were your thoughts on it?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I was watching. I saw a little bit from dinner, was somewhere on TV, and then in the room the rest of it.

I think they played really, really good, even Simona, just unfortunate draw for her. I think was one of the best matches what I saw so far on the hard courts for those few weeks what we play.

I was just surprised how Maria, she was kind of fit and I was expecting maybe a little bit in the third set she would go down, but she was playing even better in the third set.

I think Simona didn't do anything wrong but, yeah, Maria was just playing well.

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