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US OPEN

August 28, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

New York, NY, USA

A. BARTY/L. Davis

6-2, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Pretty tense second set. What was going through your mind at 5-3?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, I think I played, I mean, a pretty good match, pretty clean match on my serve, for all but that one game early in the second.

Yeah, I mean, I was creating opportunities in the second set. I just couldn't take advantage of them on Lauren's serve.

Really happy how I was able to respond in the 5-4 game and played a really clean tiebreak which is always good.

Q. How much do you feel you're improving from first to second round?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It was a little bit better. There were parts of my game that were better. There were parts of my game that I still want to clean up. There's always room for improvement every single match that you play.

I think that's the beauty of this sport: now that I'm still alive in the tournament, I get an opportunity to do that in my next round.

Q. How much confidence do you take out of a run like in Cincinnati, where you didn't play your best, made the semifinals of a P5, here maybe things aren't clicking by magic, but it seems like you're still in control.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think that's half the battle sometimes, is to win when you're not playing your best tennis. Cincinnati we had to fight really throughout that whole event to stay alive. There were some scrappy matches. To make a semis is really good.

Obviously the matches that were after, not the semifinal, but more the matches and the conditions, getting used to being in match situations again, because nothing on the practice court can give you that. So we're really pleased with that.

Obviously it's paying dividends so far this week. To be in another third round is really, really positive.

Q. Someone like Lauren who has great court coverage, makes a lot of balls, does that help in tuning for the next opponents?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Every opponent is different. Every single match is different. I think, yes, I had to hit a lot of balls tonight, it was extremely tough. My next opponent may not be like that.

You just play whoever is on the other side of the net. I don't really worry about that match that I'm playing now preparing me for the next one. I've got to play that match and try to get through it as best that I can.

Q. You mentioned on the court the conditions were a little tricky tonight with the roof closed, Armstrong is different than Ashe. Explain the conditions out there.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, difficult. It's always tough when the roof is closed. Obviously the noise is kept in a little bit more. It's a pretty noisy court as it is. But it's a great atmosphere. There's nothing quite like playing a night session at the US Open. It is pretty special. It is nice to be part of it early in the tournament.

It's just another kind of aspect that you have to deal with and you have to adapt to and move on, try and get used to it as quickly as possible so it doesn't become a factor in the match really.

Q. Was the ball doing anything different on that court with the roof closed?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's a little bit just more dead when the roof is closed. Obviously there's not the heat in the court, the sun coming off the court, where you can really kind of get it to respond. It's a little bit more dead, a little bit more sterile, which makes it a little bit more difficult to maneuver the ball at times.

Yeah, it was still very nice.

Q. Up next you play Sakkari again or Peng Shuai. Your thoughts on those two opponents. Playing Maria, what makes her difficult as an opponent?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Obviously with the rain, it made the schedule a little bit more difficult for today's play. We were very lucky we were scheduled on a court with a roof. Now that there are multiple roofs here, makes a massive difference.

I'll just wait and see for that match. I guess it's different conditions for both of them. Not sure if they ever played each other before. Whoever it is, we'll prepare as best as we can come Friday and do the best that we can.

Q. On conditions again, Roger was saying he felt the conditions on Ashe are very slow, compared it to clay. I don't know if he was exaggerating or not. With two matches under your belt on two very different courts, what do you assess on the court speed?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think they are slow, definitely. I mean, Roger is probably the best one with the best feel in the world. He'll tell you how it is, and he's not wrong often.

No, it is pretty slow. I think at night that's magnified even more. Especially when it's raining, it's heavy. All of those things are magnified a little bit more. With the roof closed, it makes it a little bit more difficult.

But it's just the conditions. It is what it is. There's nothing you can do about it. You just have to play in it. I've played in night sessions before, played on slow courts before. It does take some adapting, but not too long.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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