YARRA VALLEY CLASSIC

January 31, 2021

Petra Kvitova

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How were your preparations over the off-season? How do you feel coming into this week?

PETRA KVITOVA: Hello, everybody. Nice to see you all again. Happy New Year (smiling).

Yeah, I think my off-season started pretty well. I did everything what I need to do I think. I was trying to improve everything on my tennis and my fitness especially as well.

Yeah, I've been one of the luckiest ones who could be out for five hours, so it's been good to be out definitely and to have a little bit of practice and get used to the surface and the balls and everything.

Looking forward definitely for the matches. It's pretty long time which I played my last match in Paris. Yeah, it will be nice to be back on the court.

Q. Extra long break, do you think that may have been beneficial for you mentally and physically?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I think it was my longest off-season, longest preparation I ever have in my career. I will still see.

Definitely it's good that, you know, I'm not overplayed or everything what I did in off-season. I took some time off after Paris, then I started. Obviously at the beginning we were planning to go here in the middle of December, so that was our original plan. Afterwards, it was kind of tough to change it. I just went still going and practicing and everything until the time we left for here.

Hopefully it will be beneficial, yeah, of course (smiling).

Q. Pretty unprecedented circumstances playing in a pandemic. Do you think your experience can kind of give an advantage and help you cope with the challenges of playing in a pandemic?

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, I mean, we already have this experience last year playing in a pandemic, which we went in a bubble all the time, playing without the fans, being very sad. I'm looking forward to having the fans back here.

I think it's different for everybody. In some ways I found some good positive things on everything. I'm always trying. So, yeah, I still will try to look everything nicely.

Q. How has it felt just initially, kind of being out of quarantine, being able to just live normally for at least, what is it, 24, 48 hours now? What is your focus in terms of what the keys are in preparing to get back into competition?

PETRA KVITOVA: First of all, it feels very weird to live normal life after year, I would say. It's kind of weird to walk in the city, see all the people, have restaurants open. That's very nice to see, definitely.

Actually, we spent almost whole day outside, so that's been very great. We've been running outside, as well. We really enjoyed that a lot. Of course, the tournament is coming soon for me.

For sure I will take it as a preparation, that's no doubt about it. I will see how many matches I could play. I'm really looking forward to the matches, they are different to practices. I really need to have couple of them, but I will see how everything will go.

Yeah, it's just about the matches right now.

Q. You mentioned that you already have the experience of playing during a pandemic from last year. When you were preparing for this season, what are some of the things that you maybe will watch out for this year, knowing what you know of the experience of playing in a pandemic? Are there things you will struggle with or watch out for?

PETRA KVITOVA: I think I found out probably in those tournaments playing without the fans that it's more up to me, I would say, that I still have to pump myself all the time and not to be more relaxed, because the fans can pump me up. That's probably the biggest things I find out in the preparation for the US Open in Cincinnati.

For me, of course it's more tougher. On the other hand, it's more up to me. That's good sign, as well. Yeah, that's probably the main one.

Q. What is the first thing that you did with your freedom in Melbourne? Is there a go-to place for you, anything you usually like to do as soon as you get to Melbourne that you were able to do?

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, we've been in the Munchen German restaurant, which is very close to Czech. Florian is German, so we will enjoy the time over there. When I been in the final here two years ago, we been there every night before my match. It was nice memories to be there out again.

Q. I know your season has not started yet. I wonder if I could ask you about something later in the year, the Olympic Games, which will be important for many people. You've played in two Olympics in the past. What is it like playing at an Olympic tennis tournament compared with any other event? How different is it to playing at the Australian Open or Wimbledon, for example?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, first of all, I hope that the Olympics really will happen, for sure. It's a great event, not only for tennis players but of course for everybody.

I know that for tennis players are a little bit different because we have our peaks during the year, we have four of them. For me Olympic Games are very important, as well. For me it's like a fifth Grand Slam.

I really wanted to be part of it this year. It's just different because you are playing for your country and you have the support from your fellow athletes, your colleagues from Czech. Probably that's why the tennis was that successful in Rio. We had three medalists. The other athletes always came to us and watch us and support us. That was really probably the best what I ever experience from the Olympics.

It's been great. I hope it will be very, very similar.

Q. Is it more difficult at an Olympics to focus on the tennis? When you're in Melbourne, you're there for the tennis. That is the big thing. When you're at the Olympics, there's a lot else happening.

PETRA KVITOVA: It is, of course. But you are still there because you wanted to do the best of your sport. Of course, that you have to be still focusing. That's how my experience is.

Unfortunately in London, we staying in Wimbledon Village, so I did not have an experience from the village. In Rio, of course, we been sitting with the other athletes and talking about some other things, as well about the sport and mental side of the sport. It was very interesting for me.

Definitely I was there just for the medal. That's why I didn't go for the opening ceremony, as well. Yeah, I think you are still there because you have to focus on your sport. Of course, the other things are nice, too. But you have to find a balance about it.