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HENGQIN LIFE WTA ELITE TROPHY ZHUHAI

November 2, 2017

Ashleigh Barty

Zhuhai, China

A. BARTY/A. Kerber

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. What was it like kind of facing her again in a match that meant a lot to you at the start of the season and now it's obviously a significant one at the end of the season?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it was a bit of a full circle for us, the start and the end of the season. But, no, I felt like I was in a very different situation this time around.

Again, I felt like I served great today and put myself in the right position right from the get-go.

Q. You were drawn in a pretty tough group with Kerber and Pavlyuchenkova. What do you think you have done well in the first two matches and in particular that's going to serve you well in the semis?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it was tough group for me because I hadn't actually beaten either of those girls. It's nice to sort of get that revenge this week, but I felt like I served great all week and put myself in a good position in my service games to then be super-aggressive and nice and clear when returning so I can, you know, have a little bit more of a crack and see if I can get some of those early breaks in the sets.

Q. That serve, again, massive. What have you actually done to turn it into the weapon that it now is?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think I have just become a little bit more consistent with it, and obviously I feel like I'm much stronger this time around to when I was a little bit younger.

You know, I'm willing to sort of go after my first serve a little bit and still back up my second serve to win more points than not. These conditions inside, you can sort of really have a go after your first serve to try and get a little bit of an advantage right from the get-go on the point.

Q. Just on your ranking, it's going up and up and up. Do you keep an eye on that? How closely do you follow it, given you're really close to finishing in the top 16 end of this year?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, for me, that's not really a focus, not something that I look at before matches, before tournaments, anything like that.

It's just a nice surprise the next Monday or Tuesday, depending on where you are in the world. No, I mean, I feel like if we do the right things on the court, the ranking will take care of itself.

This year has been a perfect example of that, where we have been able to have a really consistent year and the rankings have gone the right direction the whole year.

Q. You did great in Wuhan, and now you have another great tournament in Zhuhai. Can we say you enjoy playing China? What do you like playing in China?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I do. I feel like the conditions suit me well here. It's quite similar to home. It can get quite hot here, which is like where I am from in Brisbane.

I certainly had a great time in China this year and Asia, as well. It's nice to come back and to finish the year.

Q. I also heard from somewhere, not sure if it's true, that your string tensions are very high, like 80 pounds. Is that true?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, no, it's actually the opposite. It's very loose. Yeah, I mean, I string my racquets at 40 pounds and change a little bit, but, yeah, it's quite loose.

Q. You said you don't look so much at the ranking and the points, but will you start looking, like, two weeks before Australian Open, the 16 players come in much better seeding?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, I don't think so. I think my preparations will stay the same. And obviously in Australia it's hard to not see a lot with the amount of media and coverage that we do get as Australian players, as a Grand Slam nation.

But for me, no, I will just do the same processes and same routines and not worry too much about it.

Q. Talking about rankings, you made your top 100 debut this year. When you were younger, first iteration of things, you hadn't broken through. Wondering how frustrating was that, did you feel at the time, because even when you came back -- I mean, I forgot you hadn't even broken into the top 100. It felt like you were there.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think on my day, my ability, I felt like a top 100 player, but I think your ranking truly reflects where you are. To be honest, when I was younger, I wasn't ready to be a top 100 player, probably more mentally and emotionally than anything.

Breaking into the top 100 this year was a big barrier for me, just to sort of get the monkey off the back and try and submit myself as a professional tennis player, really. From there, it's just been a bonus the rest of the year.

Q. So that begs the question, do you feel like a top 20 player?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think the last couple of weeks, yeah, I do. I feel like the consistency has been there. Probably since Wuhan it's been a bit of a change for me to play four or five, six really good matches in a row against quality opponents and really feel comfortable on the court.

So I think for me that week was a big week in my career, and, yeah, I just feel like now when I walk out on the court I'm comfortable and confident against whoever I play.

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