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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2019

Karolina Pliskova

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

K. PLISKOVA/G. Muguruza

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tell us when you got those three breaks, you thought this is it, I got it, and fill in that moment, she's serving and you got three breaks to conquer. Tell us that moment and what happened in your mind after you won that one?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, but I think I felt confident even coming to this match because I beat her so many times. I like these conditions here, I've been playing well the last couple of matches. I had tough match the day before. So I was feeling confident about this matchup somehow today.

And when I breaked her for the first time, I knew there's going to be always chance. The beginning I think she didn't play bad. Once I start winning I felt so much more confident. Her game was going a little bit down because she lost to me so many times. So I know it's difficult to play somebody who you're still losing.

Anyway, she's a good player. She had some good points there. Even though I saw my statistics, I didn't miss much. I was just putting pressure on her today. I think I was serving well, so there was not many things which I did wrong today. I was just too solid.

And I had a game plan, and everything was working. So, yeah, but the main thing I think was that I was feeling confident about her today, and coming to the match.

Q. Looking ahead, can you talk about if you play Serena, what do you expect from that?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, we played US Open. I didn't play well that match, so for sure would be good revenge to play her again. Different conditions here. I think I'm playing a little bit better than I was last year, so looking forward if she's gonna win. I think she's playing very solid this tournament. She didn't lose many games yet.

But for sure it's going to be interesting, because Simona is a fighter, so she's not gonna give her anything today. So I watch a little bit, and if I play Simona, of course I lost to her last year at quarterfinals, it would be the same. But hopefully better than last year.

Q. After the three-setters, must be nice to have a match like this. Was it easier than you expected?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I don't know if easier, but it was not exactly how I expected to be, because it was pretty fast. Maybe I expected a little bit harder score.

That's sometimes how it is. You have some tough matches and if you go through then you can have easy ones against better players, you know.

So I don't know. That's tennis. I don't have any reason for this, but I think the score is a little bit too hard. Actually, I didn't feel it this way. Of course the second set I felt so good, and there was not many chances for her. But the first set I think was pretty close. I lost my serve in the beginning.

Could be a little bit different, but that's how it is sometimes. You have easy matches, you have tough matches, and doesn't matter how the players, the ranking. Sometimes it's just not important always.

It was the toughest player from the ranking what I had in the tournament, but for sure, not the toughest match.

Q. Forecast for the rest of the week is very high, 37, 35. How do you feel about playing in the heat?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I'm fine. I think I survived everything possible here. Some night matches, early matches, afternoon matches. Everything. I went through everything already from Brisbane. It was very hot always. So I'm ready for anything here.

Q. In the slams, do you get nervous anymore? You have been around for a little while now, eh?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I feel better. It's not that I'm completely without stress. I think everybody has it. But I have -- I have been nervous also in the normal tournament, not only Grand Slam. But of course the pressure here is a little bit bigger. I want to play better, of course. You want to go far. As a seeded I feel I should go far, of course.

But I feel better, and once I step on a court, I'm not that nervous anymore as obviously before, or when you have those days off you keep thinking about the matches, and you keep thinking about those situations which they're gonna come. But once I'm there, I feel like I'm not nervous.

Of course I don't play the best tennis always in Grand Slams, but I think I have been doing good job to go through some matches in the first weeks, which they are always pretty tough because of this pressure, what we have.

Yeah, I just want to keep up the level to play better with every match what I play, and so far I think I have been doing good.

Q. If you have to play Serena or Simona, totally different for you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, it's different, but for me, nothing change. I have my game, so of course I have to take care a little bit of them, too. But I have to play my game so I don't have any plan B, C, D (smiling).

So I know which plan is working, so I just try to play this, and then if it's not working, maybe I try B, but I don't know. We will see.

Of course if Serena is playing at her best, then it's tough because she can serve, put a lot of pressure on her returns, but she can also miss. So we will see.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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