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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2018

Madison Keys

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

M. KEYS/Wang Q.

6-1, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It was a tough day yesterday for some of your fellow Americans. Talk a little bit about you holding the fort down for the women.
MADISON KEYS: I mean, I think they all had really tough draws. I don't think any of those were 'bad losses'.

Q. I'm not saying that.
MADISON KEYS: I know. I'm just saying I think it's a tough draw. It's how sports work. I mean, hopefully next tournament they do better.

Q. How do you feel you're playing?
MADISON KEYS: I was happy with today. I think I had, you know, one bad service game, but able to figure it out and get back in the game.

Yeah, I'm glad I closed it out in two sets.

Q. With the long break from the match in Brisbane until today, how did you manage the prep for the last couple weeks? Did you play practice matches here at Melbourne Park?
MADISON KEYS: I played a lot of practice matches. I didn't want to feel like one match totally derailed my schedule and changed what we were planning to do.

I wanted to have a week of practice with Lindsay and all of that. We stuck to the same plan. I have some more point situations and things like that. I mean, I feel like I've gotten pretty good at going long breaks and then playing matches at this point.

Q. What does it feel like being back at a slam, having been in the final of your last slam? Is there a different sensation or feeling for you?
MADISON KEYS: No difference. I was nervous just the same for a first round as I always am, looking one match at a time, not looking past that. Just trying to remember what I did well at the US Open. Other than that, not really thinking about it.

Q. Is it hard not to put expectations on yourself? Everybody tries to look one match at a time, but you have to fight.
MADISON KEYS: I think so. At the same time, that's what we're constantly trying to do. I think I've definitely gotten better at it. That's really all I'm going to think about.

Q. What do you think you did well at the Open?
MADISON KEYS: I mean, I think I did a lot of things well. More than anything, I think I fought well and I didn't get ahead of myself.

Q. Which courts have you been able to practice on here? Do you have any sense as to how different each one is playing court speed-wise? Everybody is saying certain courts are faster than other courts.
MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I saw a stat the other day that said Rod Laver was the fastest. I personally didn't think that's how it was playing. I've played on a couple of the outside courts, some of the show courts. I think they're all a little bit different.

Like I think show court 2 is playing faster than Rod Laver. The other day, that stat didn't match up. Who knows, maybe I'm crazy (smiling).

Q. The players all have different opinions on the speed of different courts. Clearly some of them aren't very good at gauging how fast the court is. Do you feel like you are?
MADISON KEYS: I mean, honestly, it could be that I just wasn't moving my feet at all one day. I was like, Wow, this is really fast. Then one day I was moving well. So that could be it.

But I don't know. I have a feeling that I might be a little bit right about it (smiling).

Q. What do you feel you learned from the US Open, about yourself, about your game?
MADISON KEYS: I think that I learned that no matter what, I'm in every match. I think I am really proud of the way that I fought in some of those matches when, you know, it could have been very easy to throw in the towel, walk away.

That's what I think I did really well. That's what I want to hang on to and try to continue improving on.

Q. Is it safe to say that this is the fittest you've felt going into a season or not?
MADISON KEYS: For sure. I've had a lot of, you know, random, rough injuries that prevent good off-seasons and all of that. Having such a great base now, being able to do rehab, all of that, I definitely feel very strong and fit and ready to play a full season.

Q. Your off-season, was it all practice? Did you go away on vacation? Stay home with the family?
MADISON KEYS: I had about 10 weeks. Actually I had longer than that. I took a little bit of a break after China, then I trained really hard for about four or five weeks, took a week for Thanksgiving, then went back and had another four weeks.

Q. Did you actually vacation vacation?
MADISON KEYS: No, I didn't vacation vacation. I'm incapable of doing that.

Q. Why?
MADISON KEYS: I can't handle it. I can't relax. I just like to always be near a gym or something.

Q. You're involved with that FearlesslyGiRL thing. Talk a little bit about that. Obviously with the MeToo thing going on now, I would think you're trying to prepare girls for a different perception when they become an adult.
MADISON KEYS: FearlesslyGiRL is about female empowerment, leadership skills. I mean, more than that, just feeling comfortable in who you are. It's something that I've had to work hard at, being in a more public eye, having to deal with things like that.

It's mostly focused on high school girls but also middle school. It's really just getting girls to talk to each other, realize they're not alone, sticking together, figuring out that they're all going through very similar things.

Obviously it helps them. I think starting from a younger age, women helping women in the long run will help everyone.

Q. Did you see "Battle of the Sexes"?
MADISON KEYS: I haven't seen it yet. I was going to. It was one of those ones where I wanted to be, like, fully committed to it. I haven't had a lot of time to do that. But I'm hoping it's going to be a plane movie on the way home.

Q. Are you a big movie goer?
MADISON KEYS: No. I usually wait until it's on a plane.

Q. How difficult is it, or is it at all, to devote time to something like FearlesslyGiRL when the sporting world tells you to focus on tennis?
MADISON KEYS: It's obviously not something that I can devote tons of time to. I do what I can. There's weeks where we can go to schools that happen to be in the same city. I did one in Miami. Going home, it always seems to work out pretty easily. Trying to do one closer to where I live. Just trying to fit it in my schedule because I do love doing it. I want to be as involved as possible.

Q. Do you find the kids know who you are?
MADISON KEYS: Some of them. I mean, the same way that some of them are tennis fans, some of them are not.

Q. Being so much in the public eye, do you feel it's important being a role model? Is that something that's important to you?
MADISON KEYS: I think so. It's part of why I got involved with FearlesslyGiRL. I felt like I wasn't doing enough to make the world a better place. Having the platform that I have, I feel like it was important for me personally to feel like I was doing everything that I can. That's why I got involved.

Q. In the past you've spoken highly about your relationship with Lindsay, how close the two of you have been. Can you talk at all about the evolution of the relationship. Has it changed in any way? How has that affected your game and yourself?
MADISON KEYS: I don't think it's affected my game. I trust her. I am very close to her. I think we have a great relationship. I think that's, you know, why I feel as clear-minded as I do on the court. You know, hopefully we can keep continuing to do good things together.

Q. Did you come into this year by setting goals, and what might they be? Are you not a goal setter?
MADISON KEYS: I set goals, but as far as what I want from the year, I'm never looking at a specific result or ranking or anything like that. And after the last couple of years that I've had, if I can finish a year healthy, that's really all I want to do.

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