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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 25, 2019

Jiri Vanek

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Petra said she was very discouraged after her loss here last year. What did you say to her to pick her up and keep her going?
JIRI VANEK: You mean last year? I don't really remember that. It's long time already. But it was totally different story, because we came here from Europe and she start to be sick in the plane already.

We didn't play Brisbane. Then we went straightaway to Sydney. She played there two matches. She was totally -- she lost some weight there and was totally different story.

First day was pretty hot, and they played on Rod Laver. I think they played more than three hours. And she lost, but the match was so badly. She was close to turn around the match. And it sometimes happen like that.

We just decided after the match straightaway, I said, Okay, we put another tournament in St. Petersburg. And she won in St. Petersburg, so probably she totally forgot Australia and she start to be happy again and she start to play good.

Q. What will be the main thing you will tell Petra when you're preparing for the final?
JIRI VANEK: I don't know yet. I will prepare myself first (smiling). Of course going to be some little secret between us.

Anyway, first of all, it's going to be, like, Just enjoy the match. That was the key what was coming for. Just enjoy the match and do your best and try to, most important, I think, enjoy that final, because this what you want to have more.

Q. How have you seen her change from when she obviously had the hand knifing and comeback? Do you see that going, like, behind her now much more, like she doesn't think about it as much?
JIRI VANEK: I can just think it's up to her. I mean, you have to ask her. But I feel it like she's more before she was, like, so many people around her, and she said, Yeah, for them, I want to come back for them and I want to do for them.

You know, sometimes she's too much care about other people than herself. So I just telling her every day, It's your tennis. It's up to you. You are two-times Wimbledon champion. Nobody else can judge you. Just play for yourself.

She, in the beginning, she was still, like, Yeah, you know, You was so nice to me, my fitness coach was nice to me, my parents, everybody around. She was too much focused on some other people than herself.

So I think this just change. She's now taking much seriously about herself.

Q. She seems really nice lady, always smiling off the court. But she must have really intensity as athlete. Could you talk about her instinct or what kind of passion she has as an athlete?
JIRI VANEK: She always smiling. I mean, we try in our team to smile everywhere. We make a lot of, I'm going to say, not bullshit, but we talk about, we make so many funny stuff around the court. She like it.

I mean, sometimes she's, we call it if she's in her bubble that she play this way. But sometimes happen, like, two, three months she's not in the bubble and then she play different way.

We just try to put her to her bubble. Then she find her killer instincts.

Q. Everybody say Petra looks fitter than ever. Did she make particular thing during the off-season? Did she work more than before? Would you say physically she's better than ever?
JIRI VANEK: She lose some weight. Yeah, I feel, she even tell us she feel more comfortable on the court when she's running, when she has longer rallies. Maybe we try to be a little bit more play tennis during -- years before she said she was not, she didn't practice that much, especially on the tennis. She was working hard on the fitness field. But on tennis she was not playing that much.

During our preparation before the season, we tried to play as much tennis as we can and lose -- I mean, that probably helps her a lot. Of course last year was she play so many matches, and during the matches she was start to feel much better and better. But nothing really change.

Q. What kinds of things take her out of her bubble?
JIRI VANEK: Everything. Can be somebody can come and say what is not really nice, and so we keep her away from other people. We just stay together with her, with our fitness coach, and we just have our team and we don't need somebody else to be with us.

Q. What would someone possibly say mean to her?
JIRI VANEK: I don't know. People are sometimes strange. You can get not nice message or you can -- you have to leave it at that. That's it.

Q. When Petra came back in Paris, there was specialty shirt for your team. When she come back to Singapore, there was another specialty T-shirt. There will be another one tomorrow?
JIRI VANEK: No, I don't think so. It was last year. I mean, it was also our fitness coach idea. She just want to show us she's back and she's the great fighter, we know that, and she just show us that that was the mark, how you say, when you have this (indicating biceps) that that's how she felt inside.

We said, Okay, we do it for every Grand Slam, different shirt and for the Masters if you made it. It was amazing after everything she was coming through to make Singapore in one year from when she start. That year finish, and now it's new year, 2019, it's new stuff.

Q. Most matches Petra plays, it's up to her. The result depends mostly on her. Is Naomi different in terms of the matchup? Is she a difficult matchup, as well?
JIRI VANEK: No, everything is going to be the same like tomorrow. Naomi of course great player, and she plays similar game like Petra. She go for winners. Petra go for the winners.

You don't have the time to make some great tactics about if, especially Petra, it's not like the runner who is pushing the balls back.

Both of them are playing so fast. I think who is going to have bigger heart and she can do it.

Q. Petra is going to play Naomi for first time. First time happens in final. Do you think it works for Petra is favorite because she has more experience than Naomi?
JIRI VANEK: Petra -- I don't know. Naomi was once in the final and Petra was twice, so it's not too much more experience in the Grand Slam final.

No, I told her before that I'm not gonna prepare her something differently. Just enjoy her game, thinking about yourself. Don't look who is on the other, with opponent. Just play yourself and believe yourself and believe your power. Then that's it.

Q. Petra said she's only playing matches and not practicing here. How do you, as a team, kind of decide on that? Is that like a reflection of her talent that she doesn't need to do the kind of routines that other players do?
JIRI VANEK: Yeah, Petra is kind of player she doesn't need to be on the court, especially during the tournament. I mean, she has good hand and we play so many matches here since Sydney, so almost every day was a match.

Now we said, Okay, we need some break. If you keep winning the matches, then you don't have nowhere was the day break. So we try to, in the beginning, we said, Okay, between the first and second match we have for sure day off. Then you have day off. Then you feel in the second match you start to play good again. I say why we don't make again the day off. We make day off and she start to play great, as well. Now we cannot change it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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