	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

BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 4, 2018

Karolina Pliskova

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

K. PLISKOVA/K. Kanepi

3-6, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How was the match? How tough was today?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, very tough. I was little bit surprised the first set and a half how she played. Like, I knew how she's playing, but I think she played very good. And for that big risk what she was playing, she had almost zero mistakes. So I think she was playing very well.

But, yeah, the only thing what I could do is just wait for my chance, and I got it. Because, obviously, nobody can play like this for two sets or three.

Q. You just have to hope when she's playing that well that eventually it will stop?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I still have my weapons, so I was just praying to hold my serve. Although she was even, I think, reading my serve pretty well and going into it, so I was still defending, which is not really my style.

But I think there was not much to do. So I was just trying to somehow stay there, like, close, close in the games. And although I lost my serve in the second set as well, I think it was still, like, you know, 3-2. So I was just praying that I'm going to get a chance, and I got few.

And then I think she was just tired the third set and also some mistakes came, which was normal.

Q. When you play her, obviously she hits a very big ball, but is the challenge when she's playing like that is it just the power? Is it the placement? What is it?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, what I felt was she played pretty deep shots, which is, I think, the most tough what you can do, because you don't have the time, you don't have, you know, space to go into the ball, to move into the court.

And then also the speed. And I think her serve was quite good. Even the second serve, quite fast for a girl, like, around 160 was every second serve. I was surprised, I have to say.

Q. You know, there's competitive rust, you know, early on in the season. So your opening match was fairly straightforward. This one you actually had to play under pressure. How did you feel in those moments?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I felt pretty good. Like, I don't think my game was the best today. Maybe some good moments but overall not the best, but I was fighting. So just proud that I stayed at least in the match. It was close to -- not to tank, but I was quite mad at some points.

Yeah, but to have those two matches, like, totally different ones is just good to have, and another one tomorrow. So just good to have. Even if I lose or win, whatever, I have few matches, so I think that's good.

Q. What was the frustration? Was it just, I can't believe she's playing this well?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, little bit. Not that I would not expect her to play well, because I know she was very good before. And we played the matches and I remember it was also very tough.

And she won here, so I expected that she's going to play well but not that fast and not that risky. And like I said, I think she was not missing much the first set and a half.

Q. You've only played two matches. I don't know if you have watched anybody else this week. It seems overall the level has been high from a lot of the top players.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I've been watching. Well, on TV on every channel here you have tennis, so I've been watching some tennis. And, yeah, some good matches.

I saw also the Svitolina one, little bit, with Konta. So it was a good match. I think Konta had a really tough draw with Keys first round. So some good matches this week.

Q. Now you're going to get Svitolina next. What are your thoughts on that match?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, we didn't play for a while. Last one was on clay. So it was close, but was clay, so that's different story.

And especially with her, I think -- anyway, she improved so much from what we played last year here. It was quite straight in two sets. And I don't remember. It was -- I don't think it was that tough match, but from that time I think she did a lot outside the court, on the court. So mentally she improved so much.

So I think it's going to be tough and not easy at all. But anyway, I have my game so I have a chance.

Q. I remember that match in Rome, and I think you were surprised that you were able to make it pretty close?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I was not surprised, but Rome is one of the tournaments where I just don't play well. Until the last year, I didn't won any matches there. So I was happy that I could win two.

And, obviously, I knew she's going to be tough to beat on clay, and the clay there is not the fastest. But I still had some chances in the second set. I remember I had some set points. She just played little bit better, but was a good match.

Q. You and her and a lot of other players are very close in the rankings and even up to Halep at No. 1 is still very close to everyone else. Who do you think had the best year of everybody last year? If you had to vote for player of the year, who would you have picked for player of the year?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Okay. I don't want for me.

Q. You can vote for yourself if you want.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I don't want to vote for myself.

I think it was pretty close all of us. It's little bit different. You know, Muguruza, she won a couple of tournaments but she was not that consistent. And some players, they are just playing very good tennis the whole year as me.

So everybody little bit different. So I don't know. I would not choose any. The styles are different. So I don't have any favorites there.

Q. No pick?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No.

Q. So Sevastova was talking about playing the Czech league during the offseason. I think you guys played against each other in one of the matches or something.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: With who?

Q. Sevastova, Anastasija. How helpful is that to have that during the offseason just to get competitive matches so you don't feel like the last intense match that you've played was in Singapore?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I felt it was pretty good this year. The whole offseason I was not sick. I was not injured. So the matches quite helped me before I left to Thailand.

So I had three quite good matches, two on big level. I played Kvitova and Sevastova. So it was good. And one I played one Czech girl, Mukhala (phonetic).

So I won all of them, which can give you extra confidence. Not that if I would lose I would be upset or something, but it's just good to have some of those matches.

And especially I think the Czech league is quite on big level. So a lot of players are playing a lot of -- even from the other countries players are playing, so you can have good matches.

Q. Does that run throughout the year?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No. It's only that time. It's only, I think, about four or five days. So you can have only, yeah, about three, four matches you can play.

So, like I said, I think it's good because normally you don't -- not many girls wants to practice with me, so at least they can, you know, play the match against me.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297