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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 13, 2018

Garbine Muguruza

Rome, Italy

(INTERVIEW OF GARBINE MUGURUZA)

THE MODERATOR: We can start.

Q. Garbine, how quickly did you make that transition from Madrid to Rome, and how have practices been going from here?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: Well, it's an easy transition. Because here, there's no altitude. There's no - - nothing really. You have to adapt really quickly. It's a perfect transition.

That was easy.

And I've been practicing good outside here. There's so many beautiful clubs here that I enjoy, you know, practicing outside and getting ready for the day.

Q. Seems like good vibes, generally?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: Yeah, Rome gives me good vibes. It's such a beautiful city.

And it's pretty similar of what I know, the clay that I know, the clubs that I know. So, I feel comfortable.

Q. I saw you practice outside. Is there a reason why?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: Because I think, like I was saying before, there are so many beautiful places here. And it's a little bit more calm, and you have more hours.

Also, here it's more noisy. More for warm-ups and people getting ready for the tournament. So I'd rather, you know, just go outside and do my own thing.

Q. Garbine, obviously the match in Madrid was a long one, a gruelling one. With days to kind of process it, have you spent time processing it? Or is it one of those like, Okay, move on? What do you take out of that match?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: No, I move fast. I think I was empty after the match.

It was an incredible battle. I did thought about what can I do better and things like that.

But it's not a match that's going to annoy me. You know, it's done.

Q. Why? Why wouldn't it annoy you?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: No, I mean, when you lose there's sometimes, Oh, I think this or I could have done this. You know, just stays with you a little bit more in your mind, which normally happens.

But I think with the match that I played - - We both played very well. You know, at the end, she played better few points and she got the victory. And I will have to adjust few things. It's just -- it's not that hard, like other matches.

Q. Do you feel with your clay court preparation of the season, do you feel like it's building? Like do you feel like there's progress with each match that you're playing in terms of getting comfortable out there and like your game is ready for Paris? How would you rate your preparation?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: I think it's a good idea to start very well, in Stuttgart. I felt better than other years.

I like the clay season. You know, I'm not thinking about preparing, preparing, and preparing. I'm just playing every match. I feel good here for Rome. And that's it.

Q. Garbine, has it become easier that certain matches like the one in Madrid - -
GARBINE MUGURUZA: Sorry?

Q. The more experience you have, is it easier to let matches go and say, I tried my best, than when you were younger?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: Yeah, for sure.

When I was -- well, younger is ...

When I was a kid, you just don't move on. You know, you block yourself a little bit.

Now, you just -- you get upset for five minutes and then you're like, Okay, it's time to do something. What can I do for next time?

Before, you were blocking a little bit. You know, you were too much in the negative and it took like two days to realize. And, you know, now it's not the same.

Q. You said these conditions are perfect. Do you tend to prefer slower courts than the faster ones in Madrid?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: I don't care.

I do feel, the altitude or the things like that, no, I'm not really super concentrating on all these things.

Q. Just a question about the clay court season and clay court specialists, clay court players. You know, this season, the champions have been what people would say are not traditionally clay court players; Kvitova, Pliskova, you know. I'm curious what you make of that. Why does this surface recently kind of seem to be favoring the hitters over maybe more classical counter-punching defensive players?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: I think, also, the winners are winning the tournaments are players that have very aggressive game. They really depend on themselves.

I think probably Bertens is a clay court player. But I think when she's on, it doesn't matter the surface, so ...

Yeah, I think that's the case.

But, you know, it's a mystery. You know, the WTA tour, it's so competitive right now. Doesn't matter which is your surface because, when you have these opponents, you know it's going to be a battle. Doesn't matter if you like the surface or not. They're also playing very good.

And Pliskova also depends a lot on herself. So, if they have a good day, they can win tournaments on clay, of course.

Q. To follow up on that, clay normally helps players who defend well. Do you think there is anything specifically about clay that helps more aggressive players, maybe give them more time to hit the ball?
GARBINE MUGURUZA: I mean, the clay, what it gives you is time. You know, gives you the chance to create something. It's not just a serve and shot. You need to begin. You need to work the point.

So, for the people that, you know, don't have such a big serve or incredible shots, you know, they feel maybe a little bit good on the court because they can turn the point around. They can manage.

On some other surfaces you are a little bit - - you know, you don't know what to do. But here, it gives you a chance to fight, to run, to play higher.

You know, it's more fun to play.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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