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SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN

October 29, 2019

Ashleigh Barty

Shenzhen, China

K. BERTENS/A. Barty

3-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You always say the sun will come up tomorrow. A rundown of where you feel it changed for you...
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I was in a lot of Kiki's service games, probably up until a set and 3-2. When you give a player of Kiki's caliber a chance to get back into the match not once but twice, she's going to make you pay.

That's probably the most disappointing thing. Twice in the second set I was up a break and wasn't able to consolidate on mine.

Obviously a tough one, but understanding kind of the momentum swings in that match was probably the biggest thing.

Q. Must be some swirling emotions. Secured the world No. 1 ranking, but you don't know where you sit in the tournament. Can you talk us through what you're feeling at the moment.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I don't think the world No. 1 ranking comes into it at all. It's a bonus, but it's not something that I've really been thinking about. It's still a few days away yet, and it's certainly not something that I'm worried about.

I'm probably most disappointed tonight in just not being able to kind of work my way through that, continue to do the right things. I went away from what worked in the middle of the second set there.

Overall, we know we're still alive in the tournament. That's the beauty of round-robin. It's a different format. But it's not going to stress me out too much. We'll hit the practice court tomorrow and come back on Thursday, try to play for a spot in the semis.

Q. Obviously you played Petra a few times this year. You're very familiar. What is the mindset for that match?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I've played Petra a number of times this year. Each match has been exceptionally tough. We've kind of split them a little bit.

Conditions are different here. Changes things a little bit. We'll sit down tomorrow and figure out a way we'll nullify her strengths and get it back to my patterns as much as we can.

Q. When did you find out that Naomi pulled out and you'd be playing Kiki? Did it have any havoc on your preparations?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, I found out kind of mid afternoon. I had more than enough time. I've played Kiki a number of times this year. Each match that we've played this year has gone the distance, very close. I knew she missed out on playing here by the skin of her teeth by qualifying.

It was a little bit disappointing that I wasn't able to play Naomi. I think exciting that I got another opportunity to play against Kiki. Overall, I know how I needed to try to play. At times tonight I wasn't able to execute as cleanly enough when I was up in the scoreline.

Q. Until today, you had a great record against Kiki. What is it about Kiki's game that you did match up to really well? What has she changed the last couple of years?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think Kiki's development over the last two or three years has been incredible. I think you saw how destructive she was during different parts of this season. But every single match that we've played against each other has been high quality. There hasn't been an easy one. Particularly the last three times, the three times this year have all gone the distance. Hasn't been much in each match at all.

First time playing indoors as well, which changed it a little bit. A little bit of a different kind of feeling to normal. But overall I was in the match more than enough times. I think overall it's just the fact that I let her back in numerous times.

She's played enough matches this year. She's an extremely high-quality player. She knows when she gets her opportunity she can take it. I think she did that particularly well through the middle of the second set and the start of the third there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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