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U.S. OPEN

August 27, 2018

Karolina Pliskova

New York, NY, USA

K. PLISKOVA/Z. Diyas

6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk about the match. Content with the way you played?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think was not bad actually for the start of Grand Slam. I felt okay. I had some chances to even play a little bit better, the second set especially. I was 4-2 up, 40-15. It was big chance just too finish the set quickly. I didn't play well. She played a little bit better.

Overall happy with my baseline game. The only thing that was not great was my serve. I think the percentage was just too low, a lot of double-faults. I should not lose serve I think how many times, three, four times in a match. This is the only negative thing.

Overall I kept on fighting, even the game on 5-4. It was a big game that I managed to stay in the second set, not go to the third one. Pretty positive.

Q. Do you thrive on this atmosphere?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I feel actually pretty happy to be here and to play here every year, doesn't matter in which shape I am. Doesn't matter that I just didn't play well the previous tournament here in the States. Somehow here the energy is different. I feel just a little bit more confident here coming to this tournament because of my results in past.

I felt like I had a lot of matches here last few years. The conditions are great. I always felt good here. Doesn't matter if I just lost. Still having a lot of matches here makes me feel extra confident.

Even today it's good I went through this match. There are no easy matches now in the draw. Yeah, hopefully I can improve in the next one.

Q. Not what you would want coming into the tournament, your results on hard court. How doubtful coming in not having had great results?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I had just couple of matches. Not all the matches were bad. I just was playing very good players. It was not an easy draw for any tournament for me.

Overall I played Bertens, Sabalenka, Makarova, which is not a draw where you have to win or going to win all the time. All the matches are pretty tough. It can happen that you lose.

I was not feeling bad actually. That's why I'm staying positive. That's why just don't panic because I think I played good all those matches, even though I lost. Yeah, I'm just trying to stay positive. Doesn't matter what.

I know this can be different. It's a Grand Slam. Everybody's playing a little bit different tennis. Somebody is playing better, somebody is more nervous. Everything is possible.

I've been on this stage, so I know how is it to play the second weeks of Grand Slam now. Hopefully I can get there, yeah, playing much better.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how Conchita and you kind of teamed up, what the last few days have been like working with her.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I'm still with Rennae, too. She's pretty busy at this tournament. I was thinking to add somebody in my team who is going to be with me all the time. She was the option for me because she's also pretty much friendly with Rennae. It's working pretty well actually.

Also I need some Spanish drill a little bit. That's what we did for last few days. I feel much better after some intense practice. She just loves, you know, to play tennis, to play a lot of tennis.

Actually we use every minute of practice what we have, which is good. Also they are both so much positive. We don't have people like this in Czech, that's why it was an option for me.

Q. You said in Cincinnati no more Czech coaches. You obviously have these two women. Talk about in terms of bringing women in, how much of a difference the team kind of feels like with that kind of vibe.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Not really different. It's always two sides. I think women can understand women better, for sure. Also I think they played before, so it's little bit different. Also their style was not really a women's style. Rennae, she was playing a little bit not like half men, she was using the court, trying to serve, trying to play volleys. It's a combination of some styles what they play, what I play.

For me, I think it can only be good because I can, you know, practice a little bit different things that I was doing before, maybe a little bit more approaching to the net too play some volleys. There's couple of things where we want to get better. Hopefully we will together.

Q. When you had your big season, making the final here, won Cincinnati, those two seasons you were coming to the net a lot more, playing doubles as well. Seemed to be a successful thing. As you've continued, there's been less net approaches. Do you think that was unconscious or intentional? That's what your coaches wanted you to do?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think it also had something to do with the confidence. When you have a lot of matches, you don't think what you have to do, what you have to play, it just come naturally.

To be honest, I was not practicing much for last, let's say, six, seven months volleys. That's why I didn't felt good on the net to come there more often.

Right now I'm starting to feel little bit better there. I had couple doubles matches what I played last two, three tournaments which I was never the person who doesn't want to play double, but somehow I had very tough year last year, a lot of singles matches. I just want to add doubles if it's possible, even with my sister or with Julia. They're my two options. Obviously with Rennae, we are practicing a lot of approaches, a lot of volleys, coming to the net more often because my game is better after if I try to go to net.

I tried little bit today in the match. There was couple of volleys, not many. Yeah, that's what I want to improve.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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