MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 6, 2021

Ashleigh Barty

Press Conference

A. BARTY/P. Badosa

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Did your match in Charleston help you today? And then your opinion, your thoughts about Paula's game.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, of course I think you have to learn from every game, every match you play against an opponent, particularly if it's quite new, the first time or second time you've played someone. I definitely learnt a lot from the match we played in Charleston.

She's had a fantastic week here at home. I know it's been a big tournament for her, she's played an exceptional level of tennis. She served particularly well, being able to control the court with her forehand. I think that was a challenge today. I was trying to neutralize that as best I could.

I think this is certainly going to be the first of many big tournaments and matches with her, particularly this year, without a doubt.

Q. Were you able, from having played Paula recently, to put together a different kind of game plan for today that differed from what you might have done in Charleston on green clay?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: There was a small adjustment. I think just the learnings from some of her patterns, tendencies that came through and shown through in that match in Charleston. I think I was just able to control the court a little bit better. I was able to look after my service games a little bit better, build pressure on return games. That's a massive part of it: not always winning points, but building pressure. Scoreboard pressure can be a big thing. That was a focus for me today.

Glad to be able to respond quickly once I got broken and keep the monument in my favor.

Q. Seems on many of the key turning points throughout the match, many of them went your way, taking advantage of the double-fault, responding after you were broken. How important was it to be able to pretty much stay on top of the score throughout the match?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think it's just about building pressure. Like I said, I think it was a really good response early in the second set. I just wanted to keep that pressure on and be relentless with that, knowing that I would eventually create an opportunity, whether that was in the first set, in the second set or third if it went that deep.

I was always going to create an opportunity for myself. It's about giving yourself time, being patient to allow yourself to work into the match.

I think it was important for me to get that early break back in the second and kind of just keep my nose in front, almost force her to come up with something that was going to be at a really, really high level to be able to get back into the match.

Q. Obviously winning breeds confidence. If you were to sit down with Tyz at the moment and analyze things with your game, where do you feel it is at the moment? Do you need to adjust anything as more and more matches are played?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think a lot of the confidence I've gained this year was from the work that I'd done with my team prior to even playing my first match. Without a doubt, you grow with each match that you play, every opportunity you get to try something new or try and rectify a few mistakes that you made in previous matches. That's all learning.

I think the confidence comes from the practice and the preparation. Then the match is the opportunity to go out there and hone your craft. I think with more matches that you play, it's always a different opponent, different conditions. I think there are so many different variables in tennis, that's the challenge, just trying to bring your best regardless of those conditions, regardless of who you're playing, what surface, whether it's windy, cold, rainy, whatever it is, trying to adapt to that as best you can. I feel like we've had a really good balance of that this year.

Every day, regardless of whether I win or lose a match, Tyz and I are analyzing. We chat about the match straightaway afterwards. Sometimes when the emotions are high, which is what is necessary, you need to have those crucial conversations.

For us, the growth never stops. When the growth stops, the game stops for me. It's a massive part of me, always trying to get better every single day.

Q. An off-court question. Madrid is an amazing city, so many fantastic things to see with the museums and galleries, whatnot. Have you taken any opportunities to do that or is it just because of the world climate at the moment you don't want to take any chances, you just keep confining yourself to the hotel and the site?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No, we're in a bubble. We're in a bubble here. Like all the other players are doing, we respect the rules and abide by the rules.

Madrid is a beautiful city, but it's not for me to see this year. I'm trying to do the right thing, as everyone is. We've got an opportunity to play tennis here in this beautiful city if we do the right thing. So I think that's a really important part of it.

I know Madrid is not going anywhere. We can come back and visit all the spectacular parts of the city. But for now we do the right thing. We respect the rules that have been put in place to give us the opportunity to be here, to have kind of that opportunity to play and do what we love. That's for next time.

Q. Going back to the match. You were saying having played her a few weeks ago was a benefit today. Was Charleston in your mind as you walked out on court today?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No.

Q. Nothing at all?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: No. I think before the match we speak about some adjustments that we can make. Once you walk out onto the court now, it's a clean slate, a fresh match. Nothing from that match was kind of in my head, no.

Q. Quick question about your serve in Madrid. It's been quite effective. I think you've only been broken five or six times over five matches, which is pretty good on clay. What do you think is the reason for why the serve has been so effective this week? Is it placement? Are you doing your plus ones particularly well, winning it primarily through the rally?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think the conditions here in Madrid reward good serving. I think particularly when it's warm, like it has been the last couple days, it's lively, the balls are quite hard. Yeah, you know what I mean. But I think it rewards getting up and hitting your spots, getting after your serve.

I think traditionally you see a bit of a mix of people that have won here in the past, a mix of game styles. All have done a really good job looking after their service games, whether that's free points or in the rallies. I think that's a massive part of it.

Second serve is a big part of my game. I probably practice my second serve more than I do my first. I want to make sure it's solid as a rock, I can defend, back up my second serve. That's a big part of my game. I think I've done that particularly well this week from a feeling point of view without having looked at the stats.

Q. Next round, Pavlyuchenkova, Sabalenka. Sabalenka, this would be the third straight tournament you'd face her. Can you talk about, again, the challenge of facing her. If you play her on Saturday, she would be coming in off of two losses from you at two big tournaments. A lot of motivation on her side. How do you plan to manage that?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, she's played an exceptional week thus far. She's been extremely dominant from the scorelines I have seen. I haven't seen her matches, but from the scorelines I can kind of picture what's been going on. I've been on the back end of it times before.

Like I said, for her it's serving and first shot, being able to control the point. That gives her freedom on return games to be more aggressive and to really knuckle down. The balance for her must be really good this week.

The challenge is to get yourself into a position where she's not controlling the court. It's about neutralizing as best you can for me, changing the pace, being aggressive when I have to be, running when I have to as well. It's a massive challenge.

The conditions here change the matchup marginally, like they do for each tournament. Each tournament has different challenges. Certainly here there are new challenges to, say, from Stuttgart which was completely different clay, indoors, different ball. There are a lot of variables, yeah.

Q. If it is Nastia on Saturday, talk through that challenge.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, been a while since I played her. I think this week she's played some quality tennis, beaten some quality opponents, found a way out of some really tight sets and tight matches.

Again, it's a similar thing: look to serve well, get that first strike to control the center of the court, control the ball. I think it's another challenge, without a doubt a big challenge, one that I look forward to if it is Nastia, having not played her in a long time.

It's pretty cool when you can play almost fresh faces in way every now and again.

Q. I wanted to find out from you, as you've gone on this remarkable winning streak on red clay going back to Roland Garros two years ago, has your attitude or approach to playing on clay changed or is it the same?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I've learnt a lot more about it, without a doubt. I promise you, I'm still counting down to the grass court season. It's one of my favorite times of the year. I think the memories and the learnings now that we're getting from the red clay has been really cool, to be able to challenge myself in different ways.

I think it's just an acceptance of knowing that each time I step on the court, I'm going to learn. I have to take it as a learning experience, not get too wound up on results, the good or the bad. It kind of is what it is and we kind of chip away each day.

Q. We all know you're a no- fuss person, just get on with things. What is the best thing of your life? What is the best part of your life, the career that you have?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I think that's a compliment, saying I'm no-fuss.

Q. It is.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Thank you (smiling).

The best part of my life, without a doubt, is my family, my team. All of these amazing experiences I get to experience, and they get to enjoy it with me. I wouldn't be half the person I am without them. I wouldn't have anywhere near the enjoyment if I couldn't do it with them.

Being able to share all these cool moments with Tyz, with my physio, my trainer, my professional family, because they are my family, but also my personal family, without them I'm nothing.

Q. Believe me, it was a compliment.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Thank you.