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NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC

June 19, 2019

Karolina Pliskova

Birmingham, England

KRISTYNA PLISKOVA/Karolina Pliskova

6-2, 3-6, 7-6

Q. Commiserations. How difficult was it, especially with the nerves at the end from both of you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: We were both nervous in the tie-breaker. I think she was for sure playing the first set amazing. There was not many chances from me. I was a little bit too much waiting for mistakes, too much waiting for what was going to happen and she was hitting it and she went for it and she was serving great, so there was not many chances for me.

Then I felt I was better, maybe second, third set, I had more chances to break, already first game after the second game, so I think it was for sure a couple of chances where I should or where I could play much better.

I think she was definitely better on the serve, which I think on grass is normal and she's lefty, so the serve was always better (smiling).

And, yeah, of course, a little bit unlucky but I'm happy for her. She played some good matches here. She was feeling confident today so she had nothing to lose. It is tough to play your sister, but I think she was playing good today.

Q. She has come through qualifying so do you think it's made a huge difference the amount of matches she has had on here compared to you maybe?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: For sure. I played at least one lefty in the first round, but nobody has really served like she has. So there is not many people who can serve at some moments like this. So I think for sure it was difficult. She felt at some points a bit better because she played last week on the grass, but I have been here a couple of days too, so for sure I could play better, but I hopefully I will go to improve until Eastbourne now, I'm going to go to Eastbourne. And I think every day on grass is going to be important for me now.

Q. You must know her game inside out having practiced with each other for so many years. Aside from the emotional aspect of the match, was that, did that make it harder anticipating what shots she would hit and knowing she could anticipate what shots you would hit?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: We didn't practice that much for the last couple of years. Of course, we did practice here a couple of times, when we have a chance we play together. But we just talked before it is not the best idea to spend too much time on court together because we are off the court, we are always together. So we didn't play actually maybe in the last three, four years many games, maybe one or two, maybe sometimes more practicing but not really points, and I knew she was dangerous on serve and I know she can go all the serves so she can make some, she is lefty, so you cannot leave open some corners to her serve, but she can serve anywhere so that is where she is dangerous, of course.

And from the rally, I thought I was better, and I knew like it's going to be about a couple of points because she can serve well and if she doesn't serve well, you need to do the points, so I think I was anticipating well her shots because I know and I watched and I actually prepared quite good, I think, for this match, but it was not my best match for sure today and I think she played well.

Q. Against most players ranked outside the top 100 you would consider yourself favourite. Did you consider yourself favourite today considering everything else around the match?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, there is a big gap of course between us in the rankings, so I should have won easily, or whatever. Maybe everybody thought that. But on grass it is different story, that is first thing.

I think she should not really be where she is, so that's the other thing because only if she has the serve, I think she's super dangerous for so many players, plus if she is playing well, she can beat a lot of top players and a lot of normal players, not even top players, so she can be dangerous. It depends how she plays.

She needs to improve. If she is playing like today, all the matches here what she has played, she can beat most of the players so, of course, I was the favourite, not only on paper, also about my feeling, but I think grass is a really different story, so you don't have that many chances and her serve is super effective on grass but...

Q. Were you more nervous today with it being your sister on the other side of the net, or did you treat it like another match?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I tried, but the first set was not super, not normal (smiling). Of course, there were moments where I was thinking, "Should it be better this way or this way?" You have millions of thoughts during the points and during and changeover so the mind is going.

It was not a normal match for us. Of course, it was after a couple of years, so I think now it is going to be better when we face again so it will be for sure better.

Of course with nerves, but definitely better.

Q. Have you given any thoughts of talking to the Williams sisters about that sister-sister rivalry and getting some insight into information on how to deal with that sister-sister rivalry then? They have had it over the years.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: They played so many times and I think it is still a little bit different story so I would not compare them to us. First, they are not twins, so there is a gap between them so it is always different, you know.

I think nobody can have the feeling what we have as twins and, on the other hand, they won so much, both of them, so it is different. There never really was like 100 spots between them so, of course, it was much better, but they won both, I don't know how much together. They won Grand Slams in doubles, so I think it is different story.

Q. Last night you talked to us about how you were going to cope with the evening with your sister, that you will probably go shopping, but it would be an odd experience because you were sharing the same room, so how was last night for you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: It was a normal night (laughing), so we didn't do anything different and we just went shopping (laughing). We went to the city and we had dinner together. We had breakfast together. So we only split the warmup today. And we had lunch together, so we did everything else nothing. Could be happening because we didn't want to do, like, huge, drama. Of course, maybe we are both nervous and like thinking how the match is going to be and it was like in the air, but look, she's my sister, doesn't matter if she beats me, or if I win, it will continue to be this way, so the tennis should not be in the way.

Q. So really what you are saying is the tennis came into play after lunch for you and then it was business as normal?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yes, of course, like I said, we both were a little bit nervous but not about, I was not scared about losing, or winning, or nothing from this, but because we didn't face each other in so many years, so we just didn't know how it was going to be, if the level is going to be okay, sometimes we were just laughing to everything so I think we didn't know what to expect from this match and once the match started, everything was fine.

Q. Did you play sport together when you were growing up?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, sport?

Q. Any other sport?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yes, tennis (laughing).

Q. Just tennis?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Just tennis.

Q. Which one of you is buying dinner tonight?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: We had a deal before the match that whoever wins is buying something to the other one, so I get a present (laughing).

Q. She is going to buy you a gift?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think we do room service today and we just stay together because we shared a room and then maybe because she has day off so maybe we will go shopping again and she pays (laughing).

Q. When you were kids did you ever think of swapping, like, because you are identical, swapping each other's names so people didn't know which one you were?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, never, because -- I have heard stories that some of the twins they did, but I never felt like being Kristyna and we are pretty much same in everything like school, we were pretty bad, so there was no reason to change.

On the other hand, she was lefty, I'm righty, so on the court it was impossible. Yes. No.

Q. Did you Czech press ever get you muddled up?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No. They still don't know which one is which, so if we change clothes, then I think they still have trouble still now. So every time they are using pictures on internet, it is like there's a story and article about me and a picture of Kristyna so I think this is normal but we never wanted to change.

Q. People always talk about the similarities between you and your games, but how would you describe the differences between your games and personalities and so on?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: That's a really tough question. I think it is for somebody else to describe. We are different because we are two people, so whoever wants to compare us and some people, you know, it's every day, some people are still saying how it is possible, there are variations, so always this kind of things we hear, but we are two people, so doesn't matter that we are twins, doesn't matter that we are same age or whatever, we are two different people. We can be similar in some things. We can look same or whatever.

But we behave different, I think, and we think different. I don't know how she thinks, but I'm sure I think different than she and yes, so I don't -- still, we are twins but I think there is no reason to compare us as we would be like one person.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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