ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

February 27, 2021

Alexa Guarachi

Desirae Krawczyk

Press Conference

GUARACHI-KRAWCZYK/Carter-Stefani

6-7, 6-4, 10-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk through the final in particular, how you were able to get it done and what adjustments were you needing to make on the fly to get the win.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Yeah, I think we knew they were going to be a tough team to beat. I think we just went out there, kind of just played our game, kind of stuck to what we do best.

I think unforced errors weren't a big thing today, which definitely helped. Yeah, I think we both played well and I think we just had to keep sticking with it. Even on the deuce points, it could go either way. We kind of knew we had to keep doing the right things. It went our way, for sure.

ALEXA GUARACHI: We knew we had to play our terms. We knew they're a really scrappy team, they end up winning a lot of those long points, they end up deflecting a lot of volleys, lobs, they get a lot of balls back. We knew we had to try to keep the point short.

We knew they were going to have some good moments. Just play through it, not get too down on ourselves for anything, wait for our opportunity.

I think that second set we just kind of took the break early, then we got up. Then we got a really good start in the 10-point tiebreaker, which helped a ton.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: I think we were just pretty aggressive in some of our shot-making, kind of just took chances. I think it favored us for sure.

Q. Reflect on the week. What was your team mindset going in? Adelaide is a nice place to be, to play an event. As you kind of got the matches under your belt, what was the key to getting the title this week?

ALEXA GUARACHI: I think we started the tournament with some really tough matches. If you look at our scores, the first match was 7-6, 7-5 something. Second match, 10-point breaker --

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: 10-7.

ALEXA GUARACHI: -- in the third. We didn't necessarily play our best tennis in those matches. We just kind of stayed tough. Mentally we played well under pressure. I think we used that to our advantage, especially today in the big moments: we've been here before, we've had some really tough matches this week, so this is no big deal.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Yeah, I think in those first couple matches, they were tough. I think we just kind of stuck, like we said, doing the right things, kind of just getting gritty. Those teams played well, too. They gave us a run for our money.

I think even after yesterday's semis, we kind of got some confidence. The more matches you play, the more confidence you get. I think we just started to play as a team.

ALEXA GUARACHI: If I had to think of a couple words to put together for this week, it was like we had each other's back, we played like a team through the good and the bad, we stuck together.

Q. You finished off last year with a great result in Paris. To start this year with a title run, what does it mean to get a 500-level title?

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: I mean, obviously we didn't do well the first two weeks. Those 10-point breakers just didn't go our way. I think we just went through quarantine, kind of worked on the stuff.

I think that first match actually we played, Bencic and Kenin at the AO, that was a long first match.

ALEXA GUARACHI: That gave us a lot of confidence.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Got the ball rolling a little bit, got us some confidence. I think the more matches you play, the more you get the experience.

ALEXA GUARACHI: Getting back in a match, we were like three months without matches. Kind of getting back into it. It's really nice this week to have back-to-back-to-back-to-back wins. Really helps our confidence.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Yeah. It's definitely been great here. We're just going to piggyback on that for the next couple weeks.

Q. Today's final had four different collegians in it, NCAA folks. Is there a different vibe when there's four college players on the court? Something familiar? Different than playing a non-collegiate team?

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: I mean, for me, we've played our friends. We see them every time at tournament, we hang out. You don't like playing your friends. Everyone knows how each other plays.

I don't think the collegiate part of it is a difference to it. We knew they're a good doubles team. Everybody has experience of playing doubles in college. That's the major focus in college, getting the doubles point. You know they're going to know how to play doubles.

Yeah, I don't know.

ALEXA GUARACHI: I think it's awesome obviously having all these college players being represented in the finals at a big event like this. Yeah, I think it's a testament to the NCAA and the college route, that it's still a really good idea for girls to do. It really helped us all to get to where we are now, so...

Q. Jen Brady in the AO final as well.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Go Jen.

Q. A little Pac-12 love.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Yeah.

Q. All four of you talked at the trophy presentation about how amazing it was to play in front of such a big crowd. The scheduling of this final, often the doubles comes off the singles, but in this case it was before. You almost played before a full house. What was that like? Was the reaction after winning of being joyous part of that?

ALEXA GUARACHI: I think it was amazing playing in front of all these fans. Especially going through AO, having the fans, then not the fans, it was great. It just brings a different kind of energy out there. It kind of helps you pick up our level up almost, our game level, because of all the energy.

So, yeah, it was great. It was a great atmosphere out there. I think it definitely helped us. We tried to use it to our advantage.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Once the 10-point breaker started, everybody was up, excited, cheering, I got kind of got chills. As a doubles team, we really don't get that many fans. It was awesome to have that experience, to get this crowd going, give them a good match. I think we did that. It was definitely a fun, fun match, yeah.

Q. When you made the Roland Garros final last year, it was your best slam result. You had made some second and third rounds. What clicked for you two as a duo to take your game to that next level? How much has that carried on into 2021, that confidence or form?

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: I mean, going into the finals, I think we just took it match by match. Obviously you want to make it to the finals, but I think you got to take it step by step, match by match.

After that, after the break, I don't know, I think we came back, just had a lot of matches.

ALEXA GUARACHI: I think our anthem was, It's 2020, anything can happen. Any team can win. No one has been really playing. Anything can happen. Let's just play each point, each match, see what happens.

Q. Desirae, your Australian connection with Andrew. You spend a bit of time in Australia even when you're not competing. Does that help you when you play in the conditions, the courts, or is it a happy coincidence that you won here?

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: I mean, yeah, I definitely love being in Australia. Obviously I didn't get to come here in December, which was a bummer. We had to go through the quarantine, which I totally understand.

But I actually just love the vibe in Australia. It's just so, like, laid-back.

ALEXA GUARACHI: She spent most of her quarantine here actually. She got used to the courts.

DESIRAE KRAWCZYK: Exactly.

I think just being here, yeah, the environment. I just love being here, for sure, yeah.