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NATURE VALLEY INTERNATIONAL

June 29, 2019

Karolina Pliskova

Eastbourne, England

Ka. PLISKOVA/A. Kerber

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Angie said that it was the perfect match that you played against her. Would you agree?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah (smiling). The only bad thing was the challenge on going on 5-2. Well, because actually it could be a little bit easier. I felt like I was having a lot of chances in the second set, but, you know, it's always with her you can have some chances but she can fight back because she's trying to do everything possible.

And on the grass, her shots sometimes just stay too low. So maybe I miss a little bit more during the second set, but I think I didn't do much wrong today.

Q. That ability to impose your game on her must give you a lot of confidence going to Wimbledon?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, of course, but it's going to be new start, new beginning. Nobody's gonna really think about this. Maybe me (smiling).

You know, I just want to totally forget about what was here. Just take maybe only the positives but not to be thinking that everything is going to go that easy as this week, because I never had a week like this, that, you know, I didn't lose that many games. I felt like everything went quite smooth.

Maybe the second set today was the toughest, but I felt everything just went the way it should, which for sure is not going to be like this in Wimby.

Q. How pleased are you that you gave Kerber so few chances against your serve today?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I lost my serve in the first set, but I felt, you know, I could still make this game because I was up in the game. But I think I was serving well, just clever using the slice wide which was working on her.

Especially on the grass, this serve is working. And of course my game I think from the baseline I was just -- because normally you're never gonna ace 20 times with Angie, but you need to just step after the serve and just to be aggressive. That's what I did. That's why I think I was holding my serve quite easily.

Q. Do you think that gives you a mental edge when you're holding easily against Kerber and that puts so much pressure on her service games?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, but on the other hand, it's not that I would be thinking, like, I have to lose my serve once, but, you know, I think I had some breakpoints which I didn't make, so it was, like, I could go maybe 4-1 or 5-2 in the second set, and after I think it start to be a little bit tighter. She start to play a little bit better.

And of course still the match is going and you want to finish and finish. So it was, like, I need to hold my serve at least. It's not easy actually to hold serve when you break the first game till the end. So I was always like up but always the pressure that I need to hold.

But I think I did good. I was serving quite well, a lot of first serves. Especially in the second set, the percentage was high.

Q. You seemed to be using the knife slice and the floated slice. Is that something you chose to do or Conchita as a coach told you to do?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think it just came little bit somehow, yeah. Well, obviously she played a lot of slices in her life. But we practiced a little bit more before grass, the slice, because it can be quite effective, especially just to change rhythm, because sometimes I just play two nice for everybody.

Yeah, I think I did some points with that. Especially the ball stays low, and I also don't like when somebody slice to me, so I just try to change.

Q. You haven't managed to go as deep into Wimbledon as you'd like to. So why not get a Wimbledon champion to help you get to that next level? What do you think that Conchita can bring to you going to Wimbledon and handling the whole Wimbledon thing?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, first of all, I think it's not only that she won Wimbledon, you know, because she played so good on all the events. So it's not only that she won Wimbledon so now I have to win Wimbledon too.

But I think she can help me on the other tournaments, as well. So it's a process. So it's not that we would be doing something special only for Wimbledon.

But of course she can give me some tips because she was there, but I think her game was still a little bit different than mine. But it's about improving my game, so I think she understands quite, you know, clearly what we need to play, what I need to play, and when I play the best.

We have couple things we still need to improve which we still practice, but it's about just maybe changing here and there some little things on grass, because maybe the slice maybe to go sometimes more to the net, which I was using quite a lot this week, but we not gonna change completely my game.

Q. When you lose such a tight match like you did against your sister in Birmingham, were there things you learned to take here this week that made you so dominant here?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Actually, I think that match kind of helped me just to play with no stress here, because I had a lot of stress there (smiling). So I was just, since the first match, I was, you know, playing more free, just enjoying a little bit more.

Of course I spent a week in Birmingham on grass, so it just gave me some time on grass, which you always need, because Birmingham was first couple of days on grass for me. It was never perfect for me there, but, yeah, I think with time I was getting better.

I was enjoying more this tournament, also, I like much more than Birmingham, so everything somehow clicked together.

Q. Do you feel more comfortable every year on grass? You have had two titles in the last three years. I think it was the year before that in Nottingham. Do you feel more comfortable every year on grass?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think I feel every year a little bit different. This year I feel confident because I have been playing a lot, winning a lot. But, you know, two years ago when I won the title I was feeling confident. Then last year was not feeling confident.

So I think it's the momentum which you have exactly in those weeks of grass. Also depends how you do on clay because you can be sometimes tired after the clay season. I think it depends on really how you feel in that moment. Right now I feel good.

Q. A quick turnaround for you for Monday. What's the plan for when you get there? Just a quick hit?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, well, nothing more today. We just going to get there. Yeah, tomorrow just hit an hour, maybe hour and a half. Luckily I didn't have the matches here that tough, so -- well, still, you play five matches plus some practices but no three-setters and not really long matches, which can help.

But of course it's a quick turnaround that I have to play back on Monday. But on the other hand, maybe I can continue and not to have the bigger break. It can be good. Let's see.

Q. Is there one memory you think will stand out from this week?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: One memory? No, it's tough, because I was really enjoying every day here and every day was kind of similar, because I was just rolling all these days and just playing good every day.

Actually, sometimes you have the day where you just cannot put anything in and reminder there is always one day in the tournament which everything is against you. And this week somehow, I don't know, but it didn't come, which is positive that everything I just, you know, saved some nerves maybe for Wimby, because there it can be long. Yeah, so I think this week was perfect.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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