ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2021

Ajla Tomljanovic

Press Conference

A. TOMLJANOVIC/K. Kozlova

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Must be nice to finally get a first-round win on the board here since 2015.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Oh, my gosh, has it been that long?

Q. It has been that long, I'm afraid.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, it feels really nice, especially being first up on Sunday. I do like starting early, but I always get nervous that I'm out before the tournament even starts.

So I'm really happy that I got through today. I don't think it was the prettiest match, but I toughed it out. I was really not pleased with the way I served. I thought it made everything tougher. But from the back I was solid, but it kind of affected my game a little bit in the second set just because I was always on the defense on my serve, and it translated to my baseline game. I played a good game at 4-All two breaks.

So all in all, I'm really satisfied. I didn't know it was that long, but I felt like I needed a win here.

Q. You've played her before, but would you say she's a bit of a scrappy player?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I mean, she makes you work for it for sure, but I really do think that when she's on the ball, she can go for it and put pressure on you.

I do think her game is more maybe a little bit defensive, but that's her strength, I think. Like, she made me work for some points I thought were over and they kept going for multiple more rounds.

Yeah, I mean, scrappy, I don't know if that's -- I don't want to insult her game. I don't know if "scrappy" is the nicest way to describe her, but she's creative, I would say.

Q. 5-Love up in the first set, what happened there when you lost those couple of games? Did you just get a bit tight or was there something else?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I was 5-Love up, but I didn't feel like I was dominating. I mean, all the games I won were quite tight, and then the serve was the thing that kind of got my focus away. I started overthinking and I started looking ahead, Oh, my God, how am I going to play the second set? I've been holding but I've been playing with second serves.

And it definitely played in my mind, and I kind of stopped moving, stopped going for my shots, playing my game from the baseline. Yeah, it definitely got tougher from 5-Love until the end of the match.

Q. What's the difference after four consecutive first-round defeats here? Does that play on your mind when you go into a game like this?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Honestly, I was surprised it was that long just because I don't really think about past results. I will say just every Slam all I want to do is get as many wins as possible. It's the four tournaments a year where we as players, we want to play our absolute best, and you kind of base your year on these results.

I know I've gotten a couple of tough rounds, as well. One was Halep, one was Sakkari, and that didn't help. But at the same time every first round at a Slam for me is always a little bit nerve-racking just because I want it so much.

Q. This is the Slam that you've done best in in terms of reaching the last 16 a few years ago now. Do you still feel as though in a sense this is perhaps your best chance of going a long way in a tournament?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Not really. I feel like my result when I was quite young -- I mean, in a way I was kind of a baby on tour. I just kind of was a little more fearless maybe. I didn't think too much. It was a great result, but I feel like I'm a better player now, but somehow I haven't had a run like that for different reasons.

That result does give me confidence that I can also do it here because I don't really consider clay my best surface.

Q. Do you think it could be this year that you get a good run?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Absolutely. I mean, I'm one step closer than last year (smiling).