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ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2019

Amanda Anisimova

Paris, France

A. ANISIMOVA/A. Sabalenka

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A great win today. You made history for your age group at the Australian Open, and now you seem to be on your way to doing it again here. Does it feel the same? Does it feel brand new or is it old hat for you now?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's a new slam. I never passed a round at the French Open, so obviously it's super special. It feels great.

I'm really happy with my performance today. You know, I was getting ready to play Aryna because I knew it was going to be a tough battle today, which it was. I'm just really happy that I got through this round.

Q. Was the title earlier in April really something that's helping you out in this season? I mean, you kind of had some mixed results over the last six weeks, but are you holding that title with you? Are you still confident on your clay? I wanted to ask about your feeling about the surface, is this a surface that you'd say you're as good on as any other surface?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, I have grown up playing on clay, so I really like it. But it was kind of a surprise when I won that title because it was my first title, and to win it on clay after not playing for about two years on clay was kind of surprising to me, but it was definitely a huge confidence booster.

Q. Can you talk about the match-up against Sabalenka? Because that's obviously twice now you have beaten her at a slam. You seem to have brought your best tennis both times against her. What's it about playing her that seems to bring that out of you?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, when I play her, I really have to play at my top level and be really focused and fight for each point. So it's always about the fighting and trying to stay focused throughout the whole entire match. So, yeah.

Q. You're 17 years old. It's an age where you're allowed to dream. Did you give a look at the draw? There aren't any seeded players till the quarterfinals. Do you think it's a goal you can achieve in this tournament?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I always take it one match at a time. I'm just looking forward to my next match. I'm going to prepare for it a lot tomorrow, and we'll see how that goes.

Q. What's the hardest thing about backing up a result like this? Obviously in Australia you then had to play Petra Kvitova straight after. As we heard, the draw is a bit more open. How do you sort of come down from this high and make sure you're ready to go again in the next round?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, it's always tough playing someone after you have played them before. I just try to regroup and forget about the history and just play for a new match.

Q. I think you're the youngest player to reach the third round here since Serena. Is she an inspiration to you?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, she's done so much for the sport. She's a huge inspiration to me. I really look up to her.

That's just great to be achieving stuff similar to her (smiling).

Q. Prior to the tournament, what were your expectations coming here? If you could enlighten us a bit on your expectations for the remainder of the season, as well, ranking-wise or what you want to do at the slams this year?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, three slams in the summer is a huge opportunity. I'm really happy that I get a chance to play in all of them hopefully.

I'm just looking forward to all of it, this whole summer.

Q. About ten minutes before you finished your match, Swiatek, who is also 17, won her match. Why do you think the youngsters are doing so well here this year?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, there are a lot of great players close to my age that are doing really well. I think it's just the NextGen on the rise. They are doing really well, so it's good to see.

Q. We know that you are inspired by Maria Sharapova quite a bit. We talked about Serena there. Are there any other players on tour that you're looking to for inspiration, for advice? Any other players out there besides those two that you are, you know, take knowledge from, take inspiration from?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: At the moment, not really. Not on tour. But actually when I had a tough loss at Miami Open, it was a really long match and I was super upset in the locker room, Serena actually came up to me and we shared a little bit of a chat. That was really nice of her, and I'll remember it forever.

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