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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

P. KVITOVA/A. Barty

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Must be disappointed, but also incredibly proud of what you've achieved this last fortnight.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, disappointed purely from having competed my whole life. I'm driven to win every single match. Today Petra was outstanding, she really was. She took it away from me quite early in the match. She's very capable of doing that, I suppose.

Q. Hungry for more now that you're done, proved yourself on this stage?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, obviously once you get a taste of it, you're always hungry for more. I've always been extremely driven and passionate, especially coming back this second time around, about how I've wanted to go about things.

I think more importantly I've begun to understand better off the court how I can enjoy it more and enjoy the process, trust the process, get the results that we're after.

Q. Alex said playing first time on center, he had goosebumps, it was surreal. What was the atmosphere like out there for you?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I've been lucky enough and fortunate enough to play on Rod Laver a few times now. Obviously had a bit of a taste of it in the past few Australian Opens, as well. There's nothing better than a night session at the Australian Open, particularly for it to be quarterfinals, so exciting.

Even though the result didn't go my way today, I enjoyed every minute.

Q. Last night we know Simona lost to Serena 6-1 in the first set. She said it felt like she had been hit by a train, a quote. Same scoreline, Petra hit all those winners. Was it similar for you tonight?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, Petra is absolutely capable of taking a match away from someone. I knew that going in. At times it's very much out of my control, what she does from her end of the court. In the beginning, she served particularly well. Even when I was hitting my spots on first serves, she was returning within a meter or two of the baseline, putting me on the back foot instantly.

Yeah, she was clean as a whistle tonight. I have to give all credit to her.

Q. Been a lot of negativity around Australian tennis in the past fortnight. What has it been like being the positive story?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, I think from my point of view I haven't read anything else that's been going on. I'm not aware of anything else that's going on. For me and my team, there's been nothing but positive, positive news and positive kind of vibes the last month, not just the last two weeks.

Q. The atmosphere tonight, did you feel more nervous than usual in the first set? Is that why the slow start happened?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, look, I wasn't nervous at all. I was excited. I don't think it was a slow start. It was more of a Petra start. She took the match away from me. It was very much out of my control. I know that I did everything possible to try and get myself back into that match. But she was too good tonight.

Q. How close do you feel to taking that next step?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: What's the next step?

Q. In terms of finishing the year so well, starting it well, obviously keeping the ball going the way it is.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I mean, I think I've done everything that I can. I finished the season of 2018 with a title. I've had my best start to 2019. Certainly no complaints from here.

Q. If you had to narrow it down tonight, which part of your game let you down?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No part. No part. I think Petra took it away from me. There wasn't a part of me -- I mean, I have no regrets. I would love to have certain points of the match back, but that's not how it goats.

Petra was certainly on song tonight and took the match away from me.

Q. It seemed like there was a little bit of psychological warfare going on out there. Did it feel at all like she was trying to unsettle you?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Not at all. Not at all.

Q. This is the furthest Petra made since the incident. How impressed are you from her resolve to come back from such a traumatic incident?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: She's amazing. She's an amazing human being. I think she's beginning to play her best tennis again. I was fortunate enough to play her in one of her first tournaments back in Birmingham a couple years ago.

Look, I think she really is -- I mean, we all know what Petra can do. She's a Grand Slam champion. She's proved she can beat the best, be very close to the best. I think she's been No. 2 in the world before. She's certainly got the game and the attitude to be able to take it to anyone.

But most importantly, I think from all of the girls in the locker room, it's amazing just to see her back out here. It wasn't the same when she wasn't here.

Q. The crowd didn't seem to reach the levels it has in previous times. Did you feel that? Did that have any impact on the match?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's hard for a pro Australian crowd to get involved when I'm down 6-1 in the first set, to be honest. I think, look, Petra took the crowd out of it, as well. I knew she would be trying to do that.

From my point of view, it doesn't really change how I behave or perform on the court. I'm trying to do whatever I can to try and win that point, that particular point.

Yeah, I mean, the crowd obviously has an impact in some regard, but certainly none of my influence tonight.

Q. What is your move from here, plans up to the French Open?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, the French is a long time away. I think I'll worry about getting home, being able to celebrate what my team and what I've been able to achieve over the last month. It's been a hell of a month of tennis. I'm extremely proud of myself and of my team.

I think we'll certainly kick back with a beer tonight and be able to celebrate.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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