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CHINA OPEN

September 29, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Beijing, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You had this problem I think with your calf. How is the calf now? Are you feeling refreshed, fully fit, rearing to go?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, I haven't been on court since my match in Wuhan. We'll look to get on court this afternoon and kind of test it out.

From how it's been going, it's been marginally better than we expected, which is good. I mean, I'm sure that we'll have no issue. It's just about now ticking the boxes and making sure it's all right to go.

Q. An update on your calf since Wuhan? Are you feeling fully fit? Is it touch-and-go?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, I just said I haven't been on court yet since my match in Wuhan. Obviously for us now it's about making sure we tick the right boxes.

Everything is moving better than expected, so it's good. It's just about now making sure we do all the right things and give it a chance to be ready to go.

Q. 89-point victory yesterday. Captain's gold to Cotch. I saw you watching it yesterday. What were your thoughts on the Tiger's second premiership in three years?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, we actually made sure that our training time worked as best as we could to watch most of the match. I missed most of the first quarter. Listened to most of the second on the radio. Watched the second half and watched a bit of a replay of the first half last night.

It was pretty impressive. The whole Tigers team and the staff and players have worked so hard to put themselves in that position. The journey they've been on is remarkable. From purely a fan point of view, it was incredible.

Q. We've seen the No. 1 ranking in the world jump around a lot down the years in women's tennis. Why do you think that is? What does that No. 1 mean to you?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it just shows the depth that is in our sport. There have been many players that have stood up on the biggest occasions and have taken their opportunities.

I think it's proven over the course of 12 months that there have been different players dominating different times of the year.

But, I mean, for me to be in this position now is incredible. I feel like I'm working hard every single day to try to do the right things to try and stay in that position. I know if I do all that I can, that's all I can control. I can't control how other girls play, how they go in tournaments.

It's about trying to do what we want to do, what I want to do, making sure that we're doing that to the best of our ability.

Q. Your history with this tournament is pretty limited. I think you missed it last year. Might have played it only once ever. Compared to Wuhan where you have a very good history, how do you feel about this tournament, conditions? This is I suppose one of the biggest ones outside of the slams.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Missed it last year unfortunately due to injury. It just wasn't fair that I would walk out on the court and not be able to play 100%. I think it was a better decision for myself and my team to give my body time to rest and recover.

In 2017 we played here. Was singles and doubles, I think. Neither went overly to plan. Yeah, I mean, it's a fresh tournament. Obviously I'm familiar enough with the site and all those things.

But conditions-wise, I'm unsure of how it can go. It's about me over these next few days trying to adjust as best that I can, then coming out for my first match just ready and to give it a crack. There's not much more that I can do.

I can sit here and think about all the what ifs, but it's just about going out there and trying to adjust, trying to play as well as I can.

Q. Talking about potential opponents in the coming rounds, what are your expectations in the China Open? What is your goal?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's hard for me to really think too much about the rounds other than my first one, other than my first match. It's the only match that I can focus on for the time being. Try to do as best that I can in that match. If I get through and have another opportunity in later rounds, it's a bonus.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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