MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 3, 2021

Ashleigh Barty

Press Conference

A. BARTY/I. Swiatek

7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your thoughts on today's match? There was so much talk about it, the two most recent French Open champions facing one another for the first time. What were your thoughts? Were you a little bit extra nervous? How do you feel you played?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, I was excited. I think you guys love to talk about it, you love that there was a story. I think it was exciting for both Iga and I. But no different to any time you get to play someone for the first time.

I think probably the first half an hour was a bit of an adjustment period for both of us. I think it took me some time to get used to Iga's weight of shot. Obviously we had a game plan going into it, but I had to adjust that and had to kind of learn on the fly a little bit.

It took me some time to get used to that and kind of nut down what I really wanted to do out there. Once I was able to do that, I became a lot more clear and was able to control the match a little bit more the way that I wanted to.

Q. What are your thoughts on playing Petra? 5-4 is the head to head. What are your thoughts going in against her?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I love to play Petra. I do. She brings out the best in me. I just said to Tyz that we're going to be counting in Roman numerals the amount of times we've played. It's another challenge, another test. She's won this tournament multiple times, loves the conditions here. A fresh challenge for me.

We go into it like any other match, try and execute as best we can, whoever does that better on the day will come out on top.

Q. You reached again the quarterfinals here in Madrid. What is the difference between 2019? After Madrid you won Roland Garros. This time do you feel more prepared to try to reach the semifinal or try to be in the final?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, of course, I'll try my very best. I can promise that. I'll do everything that I can. But that doesn't guarantee by any means that I'll win the match. But I'll certainly give it my best and try my best to try to figure out the puzzle that Petra presents.

I think it's exciting to be again in the quarterfinals here in Madrid. I feel like I'm still learning a lot about the conditions here, how dramatically they can change. So I'm enjoying every time I get to step out on that court.

Q. The last set you faced three breakpoints, saved them all, held your serve. Was that somewhat of a turning point in the match?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, a massive game in a sense of continuing to build pressure on Iga. I think that was a big part of it. I mean, a lot of my service games I felt like I was building pressure on her service games by being able to get out of some tight ones. I think that was a massive game to continue the momentum.

If I'd have lost that game, it's certainly no panic stations. It still would have been 2-All, 3-All, whatever the score would have been. I think it was a really important game just to be able to go back to what was working for me and to be able to kind of get I think it was five points on the trot. I think I held straightaway after that. I think that was important to get out of that game.

Q. You and Iga shared what looked like a pretty friendly exchange at the net. Can you share anything about that?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, you guys love to pry, don't you. Geez.

No, I just said, Mate, that was fun. It will be the first of many.

I really enjoyed myself out there tonight. I enjoyed the challenge. Iga's game is exceptional. It's really, really impressive. Yeah, I love testing myself and trying to figure out the puzzle tonight and the challenges that she created for me.

Q. You talked a moment ago about gauging the weight of her shots early on. When you practice with someone, does that help you have a sense at all of what you might expect when you first play them?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, of course it does. The more you practice with someone or the more you play someone, the more familiar you become with their game. I think practicing on a hot, sunny day on Rod Laver Arena is vastly different to what started tonight as quite a heavy obviously evening session on clay. It's very, very different. There were many months between kind of our hit.

In a way, it was a clean slate. I think for both of us certainly practicing is very different to match play, as well. I think the more you play someone in match play, you learn tendencies, you pick up on patterns and things like that under pressure.

I think it was a learning curve for both of us. Yeah, I'm sure that match tonight will be the first of many that we'll play.

Q. In general do you consider yourself someone who is able to suss things out quickly against a new opponent, someone that you're facing in competition for the first time? Is that something you consider a strength?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Certainly. I've always enjoyed that challenge. I've always enjoyed trying to try and work out a way how to beat my opponent. But I also have the best coach in the world who is the very best at what he does. Tyz does a phenomenal job, he does a phenomenal job of finding areas where I feel like, specific to my game, that I can hurt my opponent.

He's been a very, very good coach for a long time. He's certainly a massive part of that for me.

Q. You have always been presented like a very simple girl, even if you are No. 1 in the world. You didn't seem to change a lot. Do you think something has changed in your way of thinking since you are No. 1 of the world or not? For instance, I can see you have on your shirt the Jaguar sponsorship. Do you actually drive one because I see you driving a smaller car, less chic car?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I love my Jag, yes. I drive a Jag. It's not a shit car, I can promise you. I drive the F-Pace. I love it.

I've been very fortunate to have many experiences over the last two or three years in my growth and development as a tennis player. Yes, I've learnt a lot along the way. My experiences as a tennis player haven't changed me as a person. They've certainly helped me grow and develop and become a better person, but they certainly haven't changed any of my true values or anything that I live by.

Whether it's 1 or 100, as a person I couldn't care less how the tennis works out.

Q. If you go shopping, do you buy the most expensive and chic things or you dress the same as you were dressing three years ago?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, mate. I'm not a massive person to go out shopping. I'm a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl. I've had the same 10 or 15 T-shirts for five years. I rotate through. Sometimes I'll go out on a limb and get a different color that's not gray, black or white. No, no, none of that for me.

Q. In those first three games of the first set, were you maybe caught off guard or surprised by her game a little bit?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No. But there was certainly an adjustment period. Playing to conditions was different. It's the first time I played with an open roof for a couple weeks now. There was quite a bit of a wind coming from one direction. That was an adjustment period more so for me to try and find my range. I was dropping the ball short. She was inside the court, being able to control off both her forehand and backhand.

That was an important switch for me to try to get depth to neutralize a little bit more, to then try to figure my way around the match, how I wanted to play.

Q. Your general thoughts on her game, how she's been playing recently?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Brilliant. I love it. I love the way that she plays. I love the way she takes the game on. She plays without fear. I think the way she controls the court, has the ability to move and neutralize from defensive position is very, very impressive.

Q. I know there was no monkeying around in this match. Is there a story behind the orangutan mask? And which Jag do you drive?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I drive the F-Pace SUV. Yeah, it's brilliant. I love it. I've driven it for a few years now. Certainly it fits me, fits the tennis bags, fits the pups in the backseat. It's perfect.

As for the mask, no it's just an artist at home, a local artist at home. I have a few of her prints in my house. I saw she had done some masks, thought I'd bring some along. I thought the sea turtles were appropriate for Miami, and the monkeys om Madrid had a pretty good sound to it. That rolled well for me.

Q. One other thing on cars. Not meaning to cross your sponsor, but what happened with the Porsche from Stuttgart?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I don't know. I love my Jag, that's all I'm going to say (smiling). It was obviously a very cool gift. The tournament in Stuttgart has been doing it for a long time. Porsche has been a great sponsor to them. But I love my Jag.