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SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN

October 27, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Shenzhen, China

A. BARTY/B. Bencic

5-7, 6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk about the match and how you were able to turn it around.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think it was obviously a very tight first set without too many opportunities for either of us. I think we both served particularly well at times. I think in the end I gave Belinda too many looks at second serves in the first set.

That was the key for the second and third sets, try to dominate a little bit more with the first serve and also depth off the ground, which was a massive thing on that court.

Q. A lot is made of all your stats and records. I think that was your 11th win this year from a set down. How much pride to you take in being able to turn matches around, finding a solution to your opponents?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, that's a nice stat to have. I prefer not to be a set down more often than not. It's certainly nice to know. I mean, I want to hang around. I don't want to roll over and give my opponent an easy win.

I think it's important to notice what's not working, what is working, adjust the game plan accordingly. I think in particular in these matches, for tonight it was important in the first two or three games in the second set to try to reset the tone. I was able to do that with my first service game, first return game, and roll on from there.

Q. I'm waiting on confirmation, but I think you have secured the year-end No. 1 ranking. Do you know about this?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I do now (smiling).

Q. Your reaction to that? The fact it's out of the way the beginning of the tournament, even though you don't pay that much attention to it?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's pretty neat. It's been an incredible year, it really has. I think it's a bit of a bonus to be able to finish year-end world No. 1. It certainly wasn't something that was in my realm at the start of the year. It's really exciting.

I think first and foremost, we'd love to finish off the week here really strongly, then we can worry about celebrating that little thing. Very, very cool for myself, my team. The amount of work and effort we all put in, it does take a village. I have an incredible team of people around me. I think this is more for them than for me.

Q. Obviously the beauty of this format is it's a round-robin, two more matches. How much does this win take the pressure off, or did it at all?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: It doesn't really change it, to be honest. I think you come into this format, you're playing three matches. Regardless win, lose, whatever happens, you're playing the three matches.

I think it's a bonus now knowing I've started well. But it doesn't change my preparation for Tuesday's match in any regard. I go out there and try and do the exact same thing: try and implement the game plan we put forward for the opponent that's on the other side of the net. That's all you can do.

Q. WTA Zhuhai tournament just finished today. It reminds me you are actually the defending champion of that tournament. Talk about how the win in Zhuhai last year maybe boosted your confidence and laid a good foundation for this fantastic year.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it was a nice progression. I think I would have loved to have tried to defend my title in Zhuhai, but I think it's nice to be here also. It was nice to finish in the top 20 the last two years. But now to be here in the elite eight, I think that's much better. That's the goal that we're after. That's the goal we set at the start of the year, try to test yourself against the very best.

It's certainly nice to be here this year. For the first edition in Shenzhen as well, it's very special.

Q. Talk a little bit about your serve. We normally think of people who ace being six foot. You're third on the list for the WTA this year. How did you develop it to be such a weapon?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean this is something people talk about a lot, that I'm a little bit of a shorty. I'm not much of a shorty. I think I'm pretty much a normal height.

It's certainly an area of my game that I work on a lot. I've always grown up wanting my serve to be a weapon. Even though I'm not the tallest out there, I think it doesn't change the fact that my serve can be a weapon.

It's a shot I work on a lot. It's a shot I have full control over. I know where I can put it in the court, how I can use it effectively. It's been a massive part of my game over the last two or three years.

Yeah, I mean, it's just something that I work on. It's like every other shot to me that I want to create as a weapon.

Q. Next up is Naomi Osaka. It will be a big battle for both players. What do you think about the next match?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's obviously a very tough one against Naomi. It's refreshing knowing that I get to play her now having just played her a few weeks ago in Beijing. It's very different conditions. Indoors, and the bounce of the court changes that a lot.

I mean, I learnt a lot from the match in Beijing. I'll try to take as much as I can into the match come Tuesday. I think first and foremost it's about going out, trying to adapt to conditions. It's a different match. Go out there and try and learn as much as possible, change a few things tactically. I'll keep a few things tactically the same that I thought were effective. It's an opportunity for me to go out there and try a few different things.

Q. You played the WTA Finals before, but as a doubles player. You left tennis to play cricket professionally. You come back and now you're world No. 1. Do you sometimes look back to see what an incredible journey you've had?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think I'll look back at the end of the year and think, wow, what an incredible journey it has been for 2019.

Every day is a part of my journey. Every day is a part of my story for myself and for my team. We've worked so hard over the last three or four years to try to get to this point. Now it's about trying to continue to work just as hard if not harder, to try and maintain our position at the top of the rankings.

That's not what drives us. It's about each day getting better. For me, it's about becoming a better tennis player and a better person.

I think I have a great team of people around me that help me do it. It's been a bonus that we've had the results and the year that we've had. It's certainly through a lot of hard work.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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