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ROGERS CUP

August 10, 2018

Ashleigh Barty

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

A. BARTY/K. Bertens

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Two wins today, singles and doubles. How do you feel?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I feel good. It's nice to kind of be busy in a week. Certainly nicer to be playing than it is to be practicing. So it's been a really positive week.

Q. After the seventh game, you asked for your coach, then you broke her. Was there a link with that? Were there questions about her serve and how to handle that or any other thing?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think there's definitely a link. I've got a bloody good coach (smiling).

No, I just needed a little bit of reassurance, to sort of be able to talk to him about how I was feeling, get his opinion, as well.

But absolutely, there was a link.

Q. We'll have to wait, but maybe you will be against Simona Halep. Are you excited by the idea to play her?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think tonight's match will be a great match. Obviously I've played against Garcia a few times. I mean, in juniors, as well. Probably most recently in Wuhan, I think. That was a great match.

I think tonight that match will be a pretty good level. Both players are very strong physically, and will want to turn it into a physical battle. I think it will be nice to be able to sit down and watch that one.

Excited to see who I play, no matter who it is.

Q. You took some time off three years ago to play cricket. Can you talk a little bit about that and why you decided to come back to tennis.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think my reasons for taking time off are pretty well documented, as is my sort of cricket story, I suppose.

No, I felt like it was a gradual progression for me to come back and play tennis. I feel like this is where I belong.

Q. Did you have any difficulty getting back into it? Looks like you got your ranking up pretty quick.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it was really challenging. The first year, I think it was 2016, I struggled with injuries, getting my body right, actually being able to go out and play matches.

But I feel great. I feel probably as best as I ever have on and off the court. No doubt they're helping each other.

Q. You've had great results recently on grass. How happy are you about the transition to hard court?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, the grass season is very short. I certainly love it, but it is very short. It's always exciting coming over here to the American summer. It's obviously winter at home, so it's a little bit chilly. It's nice to come over here.

I love the courts. I love the conditions. I feel like this is potentially always a good time of year for me.

Q. In that sense, making the transition, I guess you're happy to play both singles and doubles this week with great success?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think it's a little bit of a double-edged sword, sometimes a Catch-22. You want to play as many matches as you can to get used to the conditions, and obviously if you don't do so well in singles, it's always nice to be able to go out and play a doubles match. Then in the same breath, it's always nice being able to play both singles and doubles deep into tournaments.

Q. Unless I'm mistaken, I think this is going to be your fourth semifinal this year. How do you sum up your year so far with those results?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's been really consistent. That was kind of the goal for me, was to keep that consistency, a good level of tennis to, you know, cement my spot in the top 20. I feel like I've done that pretty well this year.

Haven't had too many tournaments where it's been really disappointing. Yes, there are matches that I would love to have back. There are moments that I would love to have back. We learn from those. We move on. Most of the time we come out better for it in the end.

Q. At 22, you're still pretty young. It seems you have new fans everywhere you go. Do you feel like that?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, the coverage that we get all around the world is phenomenal. The fans are amazing. Obviously we're a global sport. We play in different countries most weeks. To be able to have these crowds, the fan base following, it's amazing.

Q. With the hard court season starting here, to be able to get to a semifinal at this event, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the field?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: To be honest, I don't really care. I think this is what we want to come in and do. We're worried about me. Selfishly my team and I are only concerned about what I'm doing. We're trying to prepare as best as we can for the US Open.

In my eyes, this is also very important. Every single tournament -- I want to do well in every single tournament I play, regardless of whether it's here in my first tournament or at the US Open come the end of the season.

Q. You had a really good result at Wimbledon. How did you spend the few weeks between Wimbledon and here?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think Wimbledon was successful but disappointing in the same breath. It was really nice for me to go home. I had two weeks, just over two weeks, of no tennis actually, which is really nice. Then hit for about 10 days before I came over here.

It was a nice break. Nice to be at home just cruising with my family, seeing them after I was away for two and a half months.

Q. You talk about the Open. This is part of the buildup to the Open. Is there such a thing as peaking too soon? Do you worry about that? Is that a real thing?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I don't think so, no. Obviously I'm trying to do the best that I can in this tournament. I would love to peak at the right time for this tournament, then freshen up, get ready for the next one and the next one after that.

Cool. Thanks, guys.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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