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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2019

Alex Bolt

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

A. BOLT/G. Simon

2-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Few times where you looked gone. How did you manage to pull your way out of that one?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I don't know. I think it was a lot to do with just backing myself, I guess trying to play to my strengths. Obviously the crowd support was amazing. I feel like they really gave me the energy to get over the line.

Q. Were you surprised at how well you played and held your composure on the big points?
ALEX BOLT: Not really. I've always known that I can play at this level. But I guess the thing with me is being able to maintain that level. But, yeah, I today I felt like I was able to maintain it and I ended up playing pretty good.

Q. Probably one of the biggest courts you've played on, never beaten a player in the top 70 before, never been in the second round of a slam before. All these major milestones, how do you process all that? What do you think of all of that?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, to be honest, I haven't really had any time to just sit down and reflect on it all yet. Yeah, I'm extremely proud of myself. It's been an unbelievable week so far. Hopefully I can keep the roll, keep it going.

Q. When will you allow yourself some time to reflect on it, given how big it is?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I don't know. Probably once the tournament is done, I'll probably sit down and have a think about how good this tournament has been for me.

Q. You took some time off the tour a few years ago. Talk a little bit about where you were when you decided to step away from the game.
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, I mean, I was battling with -- I just wasn't enjoying playing tennis. The competitive side of things on the match court, I just wasn't enjoying myself.

Yeah, I mean, I sat down with my coach a few times. We talked about it. Yeah, we both decided it was just best to take some time away from the sport because I wasn't enjoying it. There was really no point going through all that.

Q. What changed in your mind to come back to your tennis?
ALEX BOLT: I think the big thing was I didn't want any regrets when I was older. I didn't want to say in 10 years, I could have done this in tennis, I could have done that. So that was probably the main thing that I wanted to do, was I guess make sure that no stone was unturned.

Q. You still have to travel and do a lot of training. What is it about this period of your career I'm assuming you are enjoying more that you weren't?
ALEX BOLT: I think I just got a little bit more perspective on life since I've come back. I enjoy playing tennis a lot more. I don't live and die by winning and losing any more. I'm just out on court trying to have as much fun as I can.

Q. Was that perspective from that time off or was it from getting older?
ALEX BOLT: I think it was a bit of both. Obviously going back and working as a fencer, you get a little bit of perspective. I guess tennis is a pretty cool lifestyle if you're able to do it. Yeah, at the time I wasn't enjoying it.

I feel like I've chosen the right path to come back and play tennis.

Q. There is an interesting story behind your hairstyle. Can you able to elaborate?
ALEX BOLT: Yeah, just bored one night at home with a couple of my housemates. They were like, Should we bleach your hair?

I was like, Sure, why not?

We were bored, nothing to do. That's pretty much the story. Not much to it.

Q. Are you going to keep it?
ALEX BOLT: A bit of a good luck charm at the moment so I might have to keep it around.

Q. You mentioned taking time away because of the competitive nature of the tour. What do you mean by that?
ALEX BOLT: I enjoyed training, like training hard, working hard on the practice court and in the gym. As soon as I came to, like, a match situation, I just hated being on court. I'm not really sure why. I just wasn't enjoying. I would always get angry. I just wasn't enjoying my time on court.

Q. So many Aussies left in the draw. Must be an exciting time to be a part of Australian tennis.
ALEX BOLT: Great. Three Alexes through to the third round, which is pretty cool. I mean, hopefully we can all keep the run going and go deeper in the tournament.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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