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NATURE VALLEY INTERNATIONAL

June 24, 2019

Karolina Pliskova

Eastbourne, England

Ka. PLISKOVA/M. Gasparyan

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling after Birmingham and getting this win under your belt?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I think I played so far the best match on grass. Of course not having many matches on grass, I think it's good that I can move, you know, to play the next one here. And of course I always felt quite good on this grass here in Eastbourne by playing two times final.

Even last year I had some good matches here. So I think it's similar to Wimby, actually, I think. The grass is a little bit slower than in Birmingham. Yeah, I felt good out there today.

Q. Here it's a bit slower?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I feel like compared to Birmingham it's a bit slower, and for me it's similar to Wimbledon.

Q. What did you get as a gift from Kristyna?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Not yet, but I'm still waiting for it.

Q. Do you know what you want, though?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, she said -- because we went actually after that day, and she said she's gonna buy me something, but I felt like -- I didn't know what I really want, so she said she's gonna find something, so I don't know.

Q. Is there a dollar value on that gift, or does she just randomly get to pick something?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I think it's not gonna be, like, really cheap (smiling) but something normal. I don't know. Maybe some clothes or -- I don't know. She's gonna pick something.

Q. Are you kind of glad that whole match is behind you? It seemed like it was very, I won't say uncomfortable, but kind of awkward for you. You hadn't played each other for so long. Just the talk about it before and after.
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, yeah. I didn't really enjoy myself if I compare my match today and the match with Kristyna. So it's totally different feeling if you play somebody, you know, not from your family.

I didn't enjoy the match at all, not even for a while. But on the other hand, I'm just happy that it happened, because it can happen, you know, in the future and it's gonna happen for sure again somewhere, so it can be Grand Slam.

So I think it's good that it's behind us, and now, you know, we can know a little bit what to expect if we play each other. But because we didn't play each other for so long, then I think it was strange situation for both of us. Especially on grass, I think she's just tough on grass, maybe more than on some other surfaces, so that's why, like, the situation was not the best.

Q. You said you didn't like it. Was it the buildup to the actual match or actually being out there? Was it a combination of everything?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I think it was combination of, you know, everything. For me, it was like second match on grass. So, you know, I didn't feel that confident to be out there, like, on grass, and I think on the other hand she played well, but I didn't, you know, I didn't know what's gonna happen, how I'm going to play, feel, whatever.

I think it was, okay, maybe not the worst match in my life, but for sure not the best one. I just, you know, the thoughts which were going through my mind were not really, like, I want to win this match, you know, no matter what. Yeah, so because of this part, I'm happy that it's behind us.

Q. Obviously she will come up in the rankings, so you're going to have this a lot more. Do you think that she can kick on and sort of -- because we felt she was playing well above where she was ranked. Does that feel that way to you?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, and I always said I think she -- well, there is couple of players which I think they should have different ranking than they have, really. And she's one of those, because I feel like she could really be somewhere else than she is.

But, you know, she needs some matches, needs some confidence. I felt like if she's playing this way, but I'm not sure she can really play -- well, she played well against me, but you need to repeat this, like maybe three, four matches in a row and beat some players which are better than you, you know.

I don't know. I'm not really sure -- well, I'm sure she can do that, because she can play well, but so far she was not really able to repeat this kind of match for me when she could beat Strycova, if she plays the same way she was playing maybe the first set against me. But I think with her, it's, like, she plays amazing one match, and then, you know, she cannot really repeat the same match maybe two days or three days in a row. But of course tennis-wise, for me, she should have different ranking.

Q. Can I ask you about Fed Cup? There has been a lot of questions about changing the format for Fed Cup similar to what Davis Cup has done. You play Fed Cup, obviously, and it's a big deal for your country. We asked Simona earlier and she said she wouldn't like the change in the format and probably wouldn't play because it would lose that whole home-and-away feel of the crowd if it was moved to, say, the end of the year where it's in a neutral spot. How do you feel if there were a change? Would you like it, not like it? Would you want to play if they would change it?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Um, I think they should -- then they should not change, really, because for the countries, this is something or especially for smaller countries like Czech Republic, I think this is something what they always look forward when the players are playing at home, because we don't have much tournaments. We have just one.

So especially for countries like this, for sure. For Romania, they have maybe one tournament, too. It's huge when Simona is playing there. So I understand that if she's playing somewhere, I don't know, maybe Belgium or whatever, it's totally different feeling. You just don't feel the same.

But, well, right now I don't feel like playing some, you know, Fed Cup. Doesn't matter what's gonna happen. I think I played enough a lot. We won, so not always -- I think, you know, not always is the best week for playing before some big tournaments. You always, like, kind of tired because the week is quite tough emotionally, whatever. Physically, too.

I have been playing a lot. I've been playing singles, doubles. So there are two sides. I think they should maybe change the weeks but not really the format what they want to do. And maybe end of the year it's quite tough because we have Singapore and then whatever they want to do. Some players are just, you know, after Asia they are just done if they don't go Singapore.

I think it's tough just to go maybe one or two more weeks. So depends. But if they change, I'm not sure I'm going to play.

Q. You mentioned consistency as something you think Kristyna should improve. You're one of the most consistent players on the circuit. How did you develop that consistency from your earlier years?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think that's something what you need to work on, I mean, even every day in the practice. So it's not only about -- because not always you play players which you want to play or which you feel confident about beating.

It's about finding that way how to get through some tough situations and just not to give up. I don't mean Kristyna would be giving up, but small things, maybe small differences, maybe more preparation for these kind of matches which you don't like. Because sometimes you have tournaments where you play and you feel, like, this is your week.

And then you have tournaments where you just don't feel like you're gonna beat some players but the players are still behind you. So you have to still beat those players.

I felt like, yeah, with me, it took some time, as well, but I feel like, you know, confidence -- not always I play best tennis in the first rounds. But I feel confident always to beating the players which are behind me, because I know I can play -- maybe if it's, like, 6-All or getting tight in the match, I know I can play better with the time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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