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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 8, 2019

Garbine Muguruza

Indian Wells, California

G. MUGURUZA/L. Davis

6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Nice performance today to start things up. What were your thoughts on the match, and how well you played in your opening match?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I think it was a great match, considering the conditions. I think it was especially windy. But actually, I think we both played very good during the whole match, so I'm happy that I won.

Q. Do you find that here the conditions -- what's the trickiest aspect of the conditions at Indian Wells? Is it the ball, the wind, the court, the wind? Nighttime plays different from days sometimes? What's your sense as to the toughest thing?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: It's very unpredictable, I would say, because in the morning it's very cold and sometimes it's windy. For example, yesterday it was the opposite. It was super hot.

Then, at night always, always is very cold. But if you know that and you are a little bit ready, you cannot get surprised.

Q. With the conditions aside, it looked like you were moving well and hitting the ball well. What are you most pleased with from today?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yeah, I think we played good, considering the wind. I was happy with finding my game, even if, you know, it's not a day that you can hit the ball and feel great.

So to be able to constantly do it all the time the match, and find a way to win.

Q. It's International Women's Day. I'm curious, from your experience, what are you most proud of, I guess, about being a female professional athlete?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I don't -- you know, I never think about it like that. I just do my thing. I'm happy that I'm successful at tennis, of course, and I feel very fortunate, because I think tennis is the most equal sport, I would say. I have been around other athletes that it's not the same.

So I kind of feel, like, I don't know, I'm fortunate to be here, to be playing in this crowd, to have this prize money. You know, it's a very luxurious sport, tennis.

Q. What do you think is the most underrated part of being a top tennis player? What is the most overrated thing?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Oh. I would say when you're top of tennis, you have this kind of certain pressure probably to always be in the last rounds, last rounds, because you're always considered that you can't lose, kind of.

But what is the other one? The bad part?

Q. Most underrated and overrated. I guess something that is not that big of a deal.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: No, I don't know. My perspective now, I think it's not big of a deal. The ranking, it's less and less important, I would say. You face players that I don't know their ranking, but I don't know they're going to play well and they can beat you.

More and more, we see players that -- the ones that play well can play well any time. That doesn't matter.

Q. You could play either Serena or Victoria Azarenka next. Could you just talk about the prospect of playing either one of those two players so early in the tournament?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I think it's great. I think it's very good match to have. That's the matches that I feel are exciting, that I want to play, that it could be any final. It's early.

Yeah, I will be watching. Hopefully it's going to be a good match. I will play tomorrow -- no, in two days.

Q. What do you think you are going to do tomorrow, then, to prepare for a matchup like that, especially with the changing conditions?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Well, tomorrow I'm going to concentrate in my doubles. I'm playing doubles here with Carla. We are having fun playing together again. Yeah, we are going to use it as a good preparation, as well.

Q. How did that start, the idea to kind of get the team back together, at least just for this tournament, I suppose.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yeah. Yeah, well, already since I think it was two years when we played the WTA Finals, we kind of closed the cycle of playing singles and doubles a lot. Since then we always wanted to play tournaments, but, you know, we never find a right moment. Probably not for me, not for her.

And, finally, you know, we sat down and said, Okay, let's play Indian Wells and maybe some other tournaments.

But it's not as before, like it was really, like, achieving a goal. It's more to have fun and play more matches.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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