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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2019

Alex Bolt

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

A. ZVEREV/A. Bolt

6-3, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How was the experience?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, unbelievable to play a match on Rod Laver. Growing up as a kid, it's always something I dreamed of doing. To do it out there, not just on Rod Laver Arena, but with Rod Laver in the crowd, that was pretty special.

Q. Zverev said he thought you could make the top 100, maybe 50. What does that mean to hear that from your peers?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, obviously it's good for me to hear something like that from a top guy, he thinks I have potential to crack the top 100, then 50. Yeah, that gives me a lot of confidence in my game.

Q. Kim Birrell came off the court yesterday and the first thing she noticed was she needs to get so much fitter. What are your initial thoughts?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I mean, out there I thought my level was definitely there, but it's just the consistency that wavered for me. Yeah, I felt like my game is definitely there. It's just I need to be able to maintain that for longer periods of time, then I think I'll be all right.

Q. You seemed to really serve well early on, get one break in the first, but things got a little bit more difficult after that.
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I thought he served pretty well. I don't know what his serving percentage was, but I felt like he served a pretty high percentage. I didn't really get I guess ahold of too many of his serves, except that first break I had.

Q. What were you most happy about with your own game?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I don't know. The conditions were pretty slow out there, so I felt like I used variety pretty well on my serve. It's always tough. I don't have the biggest serve, so I have to use spins and other ways to try to get free points out of my serve.

Q. Dylan Alcott was on commentary for your match. You told him that you shaved your legs before the match because you were going to be on TV.
ALEX BOLT: Yes, I shaved my legs, not because I was playing on TV, but, yeah. Thanks, Dylan. Cheers (smiling).

Q. Why?
ALEX BOLT: Just because I have my ankles taped, so I don't want to pull some hairs out.

Q. You appreciate him sharing that?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, thanks (laughter).

Q. When you get a wild card into a major event, what is the feeling you get? Does it spur you on or add another layer of pressure?
ALEX BOLT: No, I don't feel any pressure. I feel like it's reward for hard effort throughout the year. I felt like I've embraced it. I feel like I've justified my wild card making the third round here.

Q. Nice payday for you. Any thoughts?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I mean, it's going to help me throughout the year definitely. I'm not going to have to worry about week-to-week whether or not I'm going to have enough money to cover myself. It's a big thing for me.

Q. Is that how tight it actually is at the level you've been playing, watch your pennies?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I mean, I guess I mainly play on the challenger tours, not the tournaments I guess that have the prize money like the Grand Slams do. It is a little bit more, I guess, tight, like you're tight with your money a little bit more. Still, it's gives you more incentive to play these big tournaments.

Q. How well do you know Dylan? How does he play into the mix of the Australian guys?
ALEX BOLT: I'm pretty tight with Dylan. We both live here, train here. I see him most days. After I walked off court, we walked off and had a chat straight after the match. We're pretty tight.

Q. Will you alter your plans for the year, target different tournaments?
ALEX BOLT: Definitely, I think I'll try to play a lot more tour events this year, as many as I can, as many as I can get into. Hopefully I can keep this form up and be in the top 100.

Q. Zverev mentioned your power, complimented you that the ball was coming through fast. Is that something you have to get under control?
ALEX BOLT: It's sort of a blessing and a curse sometimes. I may have all this power, but sometimes the control isn't always there. Sometimes what I struggle with is finding that balance between going for too much and not going for enough.

Q. What do you make of all the hype in Murray Bridge?
ALEX BOLT: It's pretty cool. I've never really experienced this before, so it's all sort of a novelty at the moment. I'm trying to lap it up as much as I can.

Q. You mentioned the hair on your legs. Are you keeping the hair on your head?
ALEX BOLT: No, probably get rid of it now that I've lost. Probably, yeah, get rid of it.

Q. Are you hopeful of playing Davis Cup?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I mean, I always put my hand up for Davis Cup. If they want me to play, I'll gladly put my hand up.

Q. Have you been able to insulate yourself from the storm in Aussie men's tennis this week?
ALEX BOLT: To be honest, I've just been focusing on what I've been doing. It's sort of been a whirlwind. I haven't been able to focus on any else.

Q. What have you enjoyed most from this run?
ALEX BOLT: I don't know. Probably just being able to play in front of my family and friends. I don't really get to do that very often at all. It's really just once a year that I get to do that. To have all my family and friends over tonight to be able to watch me on Rod Laver was pretty special.

Q. What is in the water at Murray Bridge? Couple footy players, Luke Saville.
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I don't know. I guess we just breed them tough in Murray Bridge, eh?

Q. Where do you see Australian men's tennis at the moment?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I think Australian tennis is on the up. We have a couple young really good players in de Minaur and Popyrin coming through now. DeMon is leading the chase for us Aussies. You have Millman and Ebden. All these quality guys in the top 100 now. I think it's great for us. Pushing a lot of us other guys outside the top 100 to strive for more.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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