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ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 17, 2020

Ashleigh Barty

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

A. BARTY/D. Collins

3-6, 6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You're my favorite tennis player. What is some great advice for some aspiring tennis players like me?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Great advice? I'm not sure about that. I think you have to ask someone a little more qualified.

No, look, it's about enjoying it. For me that's so much fun tonight. It's a competition. It's why we practice and why we work so hard to try and become the best that we can be.

It's about doing what's best for you. Never, I think never setting your dreams or believing that your goals are set too high. Dream. Dream as big as you want and chase after them, but believe in yourself and enjoy it.

Q. Could I just ask about your emotions after that? Is it relief or joy? What's the main emotion at the minute after getting through that one?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think it's excitement. Obviously it's not really a sense of relief. I think I worked hard tonight, and we got the result that we're after.

Obviously it was, you know, an exceptional crowd out there. You know, it was probably my first real taste of obviously some adrenaline late in matches. I think that's what we're after is to try to practice those things as best that we can. But I felt like I did what I wanted to do well tonight and got over the line in the end.

Q. You were getting into the crowd a bit, as you said. Is that because you're feeling better about yourself and your game?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Oh, that was, yeah, that was amazing. It's seldom that I'll get the crowd involved, but, no, it was a lot of fun tonight. I thought, why not? I was having fun out there.

I thought that they were, as well. So why not get everyone involved and make a little bit of noise? It was incredible.

Q. You come in as No. 1. You're going to be the hunted. Do you already got that indication now that you're going to be chased by everybody and you've got that feeling?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, but I'm also hunting, as well. Just because of the number next to my name doesn't stop the way that I prepare or the way that I kind of set my goals and my aspirations and my dreams.

Yeah, I mean, I'm still working as hard as I can to try to be the best I can be and try to improve every single day.

All in all, that's all I can ask of myself regardless if it's 1, 2, 3, 10, or 100 next to my name. It's not going to change the way that I approach it with my team.

Q. Did you jump the fence to have a look at the cricket before?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, we poked our head out. We watched the Heat batting innings, a little bit demoralizing for us. But, no, we had a bit of a peek but then were warming up when the Strikers were batting.

Q. What was going through your mind and emotions during the match? Because certainly it was a roller coaster.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it was. But all in all, I actually felt very clear. I felt like I had a lot of clarity with what I wanted to do, and Danielle has the ability to take the match out of your hands a little bit.

You saw that many times during that match. She was on top of the rallies and inside the court, and I think I was able to shift court position a lot better in the second set, make a lot more balls, particularly when I was defending, and just kind of try and push her over the edge that little bit more.

But, yeah, the third was a tussle, without a doubt, but I think that's what you kind of expect in big matches like that.

Q. Frustration? You break to go up 4-3 and then lose serve in the next game. What happened then? I mean, certainly she came up with some shots, but was there frustration in yourself at that stage?
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Of course I was, because it was a lack of execution from my point. You know, I missed I think four first serves in that game, and that just gives her court position instantly. It's a meter and a half change of where she's starting and striking the first ball.

I didn't miss my serves by much, but giving someone a look at four, five second serves in a game isn't good enough. I paid the price for that.

Q. Yastremska in the final. You've played her once and you beat her on that occasion. Your thoughts going into that? And the fact that this is a third year running you have reached a final this week.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, hopefully third time lucky at home for me, I think. It's about putting yourself out there each week, trying to bring the best that you can.

Yeah, looking forward to the match tomorrow, obviously. Dayana is an exceptional ball striker, as well. She wants to be inside the court. She craves that court position and thrives when she's ahead.

It's about me trying to keep as much scoreboard pressure as I can, and, you know, I think it's still sticking to the way I want to play.

Doesn't really change too much for who my opponent is. It's about me trying to bring the game style back to kind of the Ash Barty brand that I want to play.

Q. What would it mean to you to win a WTA title on home soil? It's something that you haven't done yet.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Well, like I said, I pledge third time lucky. All I can do is keep trying to put myself in this position.

Yeah, the last two years I have been close, and agonizingly close last year. But, you know, the two finals I lost I played great tennis. I lost to quality opponents.

Tomorrow potentially is no different. All I have to do is go out there and try and do the best that I can. If it ends with a title, great. If it doesn't, it's not really going to change my mood too much going into the rest of the year and particularly the next few weeks.

Q. When she took the medical time out, dealing with that situation at this point, is it experience? What were you telling yourself? At some point you were also looking at the crowd, smiling a little bit, moving around. Can you walk us through how you handled that? You had the momentum up until that point.
ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I mean, I think I'm experienced enough to deal with that. I have been dealing with that probably since Under-12s. People take breaks all the time and it's within the rules and it's within their rights to do that.

But for me it was about coming out in those next couple games, next couple points in the start of that game and doing what I do well and controlling what I can control.

Yeah, there is no point me, you know, getting frustrated about it. It's within the laws, but, yeah, in the end it was a great quality match. I think she seemed fine.

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