	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC

June 19, 2019

Kristyna Pliskova

Birmingham, England

KRISTYNA PLISKOVA/Karolina Pliskova

6-2, 3-6, 7-6

Q. You have beaten Karolina all three times you have played on grass. Do you think you are the better grass player now?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: Me?

Q. Yes, you have won three times on grass?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: It is tough to say. My serve on grass is a big weapon so I don't think it would be like this on any other surface, but on grass, yes. I feel good.

Q. It looked very nervy towards the end. Can you talk us through the last few games and the tie-break, and how you felt?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: It was nervous in the end, but also before the match, and also yesterday, so kind of all the times since we knew we were going to play each other, so I think we tried to play calm and just like a normal match.

But it is not really easy, you know, when you see on the other side your sister, but yes, I agree, the end was horrible (laughing).

Q. Karolina said the deal was whoever won was going to buy a present, so have you got any idea what you are going to buy her?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: Yeah, we said this. It was a bit different, so we said if she wins, then she's going to give me her prize money (laughing). Okay, if I win, I buy a present. I just buy a present, it's true.

Q. This is the biggest win of your career in terms of how highly-ranked Karolina is. Has that sunk in yet? Is that something you are thinking about?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: No, I mean, don't see her as a top three player, it is my sister, so I just went there for like a different match. If I would beat someone, No. 1 or No. 2, I would be extremely happy, but like this I'm normal.

Q. How excited are you by your form at the moment?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I feel actually good here in Birmingham. I think I play well and only the nerves affected me a little bit this match, but so far I play good, I improved since one month ago.

Q. Do you think going through qualifying helped you today?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: Yes, of course, when you get more matches on grass you feel more confident, so for sure.

And, I mean, here it's really fast. It's I think the fastest grass ever than... I mean, also Wimbledon is quite slow compared to here. So you can see the serve is really doing some damage.

Q. How was last night for you? Your sister said you went shopping and then you went back to the hotel. Was it easy for you to just forget about that and just be sisters last night up until lunch time I think your sister said?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: We were the same every day. Of course we talked a little bit about it and we were a bit of course in stress because it didn't happen for six years, so it's always... I think when we play more times it will be better so this one was the worst. But we were the same.

Q. Where did you go shopping?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: Bullring.

Q. Was it the first moment of realisation when you were playing your sister, was that when you were warming up on court today and how did that feel?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I felt it in the match yesterday, that if I win, I play her so I was kind of like on one hand happy that I won, and facing Karolina, it is not easy. So I felt good on court, so I was like, "Can I play anybody else, anybody, even a guy." But I mean it is like this, it is sport and we said like we will try to play normal natural and I think it was okay.

Q. I bet it was a special moment for you today playing Karolina on the other side of the net. How proud are you both of each other?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I don't know about her but I'm of course proud of her, she was No. 1 so she's really doing great and I think she can win a lot in the future still.

Q. I have a sister, we are not twins, but she does things that really get on my nerves. Is there anything that Karolina does to get on your nerves?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: Of course, sometimes little small things, but now when we don't spend that much time together, I mean in the apartment and in the rooms during the tournaments it's not that horrible, but when we used to play all the time doubles and practicing together, it was tough and we were fighting a lot.

Q. Which of you is the older twin?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I'm older, I think. I answer this question so many times already, I forgot.

Q. When you were twins and you were playing, what was the pressure like on your parents? How did they handle it?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I think for mum it was worse because to have two kids at the same time and one was always crying so she really had, like, no time to rest. So it was tough, but on the other hand, I think they just put us on tennis, so they just drive us like to practice at the same time, so it was easier that we did the same sport and I think that they are proud, but it was not easy, and in each tournament is equal, let's say today I think they are dead (laughing).

Q. Do you remember the first time you played in the juniors, it was a tournament in Malta, and if you do remember that, did you think you would one day be here on the WTA tour playing each other?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: When we played, I don't remember -- when was it, juniors?

Q. Juniors in Malta, many years ago?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: We didn't realise we would play that well to be here and play against each other, but I think it was this one actually, this one was the toughest one so far, so it can get only better, I think. I hope.

Q. Do you think the fact that you and Karolina had each other to play against when you were growing up, do you think that helped you both becoming professional tennis players?
KRISTYNA PLISKOVA: I think we always have the best friend on tour, which is not -- I think the other girls sometimes but not really during the tournament so I think we always stay so close, we talk about everything, and she's also helping me so much because sometimes the things which I go through, she also went through so we kind of have the same feelings, so yes, I think it helped us a lot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297