THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2021

Craig Tyzzer

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling? How is Ash feeling the day before the final? Could preparation have been any better?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I'm feeling pretty good, thanks. Ash is feeling great. We had a good, like, workout today, just a light hit, went over a few things for tomorrow.

But both feeling pretty good.

Yeah, look, I think it's been a nice, slow build for her through the tournament. Yeah, I thought yesterday was a different level altogether. It's nice to be building and also to make it through to a final here. Amazing.

Q. When what happened in Paris, when that occurred, could you see this being the scenario with Wimbledon?

CRAIG TYZZER: No, look, I think we prepared really, really well for the French. I mean, one of the goals was to go there and obviously do well from what she'd done there in 2019. I actually felt she was in the best form I've seen her in prior to a tournament coming into that, the lead-up, all we'd done.

Look, it was a bit of a freakish thing that happened and put her out. It's been really different here. We weren't able to do a lot of court time in the buildup coming in on court. Did a lot of rehab and a lot of building her strength back up. So it's been a different preparation.

I feel like it's built really well. It started a bit scratchy. Felt she played well in the first match. Didn't play so great in the second match. Played better in the third. It sort of got better each time.

Sometimes it's hard to pick. I felt like the French was going to be a blinder for her and it ended up not working out at all. We didn't know what to expect coming in here. It's been an amazing journey so far.

Q. It's obviously been a long stretch on the road now since March. How have you as a team handled being on the road for so long? Have there been any tricky moments in terms of Ash feeling homesick, a bit of a grind?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I mean, it's really different. This is the longest we've ever been away. It's always been, I guess through the clay court season leading into Wimbledon, in normal years our longest stretch. This is an extraordinarily longer time.

Look, because we missed all of last year, in the end Ash really missed playing tennis, the competition, that side of it, she really put her head down and said, Okay, if this is what we have to do, this is what we have to do. She's accepted it a lot better.

It's still never easy leaving home. I don't think it is for anyone. It's a long time away from family and friends. But we've got a good support network around us. We're making the best of what we can. Would be nice to be able to pop home and have a week or two off and then come back, but we can't do that. We're trying to make the most of what we've got.

So far it's been enjoyable. Yeah, it's a long journey, long stretch, but we've made it as enjoyable as we possibly can. So far it's been great.

Q. We spoke with Ash before the tournament about a statement she said a few months ago that it took her a long time to have the courage to say out loud that she really wants to win Wimbledon. How do you feel she has reached that moment? Where is her confidence level right now?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I think it takes a lot to come out and make a statement like that, to say this is what I want to do. I think it's always been on her mind. It's probably on every tennis player's mind that this is the tournament they want to win.

But to come out and say it is a big step. You put it out there. But Ash has been the sort of person who will put it on the line. She'll do her best. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Yeah, she's not afraid to try. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. If you try and fail, that's still okay.

Yeah, look, her confidence level has been really good. She's been playing good tennis. Like I said, she's been building, it's getting better. We've got one more job to do. Hopefully she comes out and performs as well as she can again tomorrow.

Q. I think for the fortnight Ash said everything had to go right given all the question marks coming in. Could you talk through what have been the keys to managing the challenges of this fortnight to get her into this position and how much was it physical, mental, kind of managing the tournament so far.

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, it's been mainly the physical side. We've had a bit of an unknown at the start of the tournament, not knowing how her body would hold up after all the rehab and all the work. It was sort of, Okay, if she can get through a couple of these first couple of rounds, then we might be in the right place.

She didn't play doubles here. It was managing those days off. We actually had in the early rounds where she was having a day off, we took a complete day off and didn't play, didn't come in to the courts. It was trying to make sure she was fresh enough and her body was good enough to be able to play each match. It's got better and better each time she played. She's sort of hitting the tournament at the right time.

Q. Can you contrast or compare at all, they seem obviously like two different runs to a major final, Roland Garros the first time around and the shock of it all, a very different type of tournament then in Paris, rainy, versus what this has been in terms of what has looked on the outside to be a very businesslike march towards things? How different has it felt compared to Paris?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, I think it's just being a bit more of a known for Ash, knowing what it's like to be in a quarterfinal, a semifinal of a Grand Slam, how difficult that's going to be.

I'm not sure it's been different with the weather. We've had a fair bit of rain. It's nice having the roof here to be able to play for Ash under that. It certainly hasn't been the warm weather we've had previously here in the past.

Yeah, look, the buildup, I think it's more she's expecting what will come. I think yesterday's semifinal sort of showed the level that she was ready to play against Angie and knew what was going to come. I think just rising to that occasion in a semifinal was a pretty good effort for her.

Q. What are your observations over the years of Karolina, how she got to be No. 1 and what your thoughts are on the style of her game now?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I mean, she's an incredible player. I mean, she's got a phenomenal serve, got a big game off the ground as well. Her and Ash have had some battles, particularly on grass.

I think their most recent match was Stuttgart on clay. It was indoor fast. Again, it was another enormous battle, three-setter. Whenever you play her, you know it's going to be difficult. You know she's going to serve big, you know she's going to hit big shots. You got to be able to be ready for that, hang in there and handle it.

She's obviously had a great tournament. You don't get to the final of Wimbledon without playing well. She's been playing some great tennis. It's going to be an extremely difficult match. I know Ash is looking forward to it.

Q. What about you? How are you feeling? I watch you sitting in the box courtside during the matches, and you look very calm, reserved. No doubt everything is churning inside. Can you provide a little bit of an insight of what you're going through and how you're feeling?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I think once the match is underway, I'm actually pretty good. It's just for me all the preparation leading up, then making sure I've covered off whatever I can do for Ash in regard to her preparation coming into that particular match.

I just really want no surprises when she walks out there. I'll watch the last few matches of the player she's going to play, and if there's any changes to the way they played so Ash is sort of aware of that stuff. All I can do is give her all that information. Then we work towards a plan, some alternative plans.

Really, once it gets underway, it's up to Ash out there to execute with what she sees. She's intelligent enough to read what's happening a lot of the time and know. Sometimes it's just out of your control and it just becomes frustration.

I can't control any of that. I know that. So I just, like yesterday, sat back and watched just a great tennis match between two fantastic tennis players. Even though I'm on one side, it was just enjoyable to see both of them play such a high level, such a high standard.

But, yeah, I'm traveling all right (laughter).

Q. When you give that information, is it just verbally or do you write things down and give her a note? How does that work?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, generally usually send something through like tonight. Even though we've discussed most of it, I'll still write it all down and send that through so she's got it if she wants to refer back to it.

Then tomorrow it will just be a little couple of things to keep an eye on to say, Hey, keep an eye on these things, remember this. That's about as much as it is, yeah.

Q. Is there anything Ash has done on the court these past two weeks that has taken you by surprise? If not, what has impressed you the most in these two weeks?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, nothing ever surprises me with Ash. She's an incredible athlete. Her ability to do things on the court is -- it's just, I think, all the players here on grass, it's such a different surface. We don't play on it for very long. Especially Ash, this is her one grass tournament for the year.

To be able to come out and play, it's a really different surface, it's different than other grass here, too, other tournaments you play. To see the quality of what she's able to bring, what she's able to play on a big stage, and like I said, I thought yesterday's effort, when things got really tough, she stood up well. I think that was just a testament to her ability to cope with those things.

Q. Looking from the outside, obviously we don't know as well as you, but it does seem Ash has a really good general level of confidence in her own ability. Doesn't seem to be one of those players that dips in confidence even if a result goes against her. Even keel confidence-wise. Is that fair to say?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I think so. That's been one of the things we've worked on. You can only go out and do your best on that day. You will have good days and you will have bad days. Still, she has less bad days now with the way she plays, and that's just in the constant work she's done to minimize the lows and the highs.

But, yeah, she knows that. She knows every day is different. You go out there, do your best, and she understands that. All you can do is your best on that day. It may not work out; it may work out. If you give your best, you just accept it. I think that's probably been a big change in probably the last few years for her.

Q. Would she have a different attitude to three years ago? Did she have to sort of kind of develop that within herself?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, definitely. It's something that she's worked on over the years and we've identified. There have been times when she just questioned herself. I think all athletes go through that sort of thing. I think there's a lot more acceptance of that and understanding of all that.

She's handling that stuff a lot better. It's an ongoing thing. It's like hitting a forehand and backhand, you just keep working on it, you keep building. She's getting better and better at those things all the time.

Q. I wanted to tap into your vast knowledge of tennis, the men's game as well. Everyone is saying Novak is unbeatable. How would you advise a player to approach a player like Novak Djokovic over five sets on grass?

CRAIG TYZZER: I haven't watched any of the guys, I must say. I haven't seen any here. They're all in the same boat. I mean, it's a semifinal of Wimbledon here. It's a grass court tournament. If they're not playing well at this stage, then I'm not sure how they got to the semifinal.

Yeah, it's obviously a tough ask. He's been in this situation and won so many Grand Slams before that it's obviously a big hurdle. But they just have to back themselves, play the tennis they know they can play. Yeah, it's obviously not an easy ask, otherwise everyone would be beating him.

People have got to take on what they can and then if it's not good enough, then it's not good enough. Yeah, that's certainly a mountain to climb.

Q. Is it partly convincing yourself that you can do it?

CRAIG TYZZER: I think so. Someone like Novak, those sort of guys have a massive belief in their game. Doesn't look like they ever questioned it at any stage. Total confidence in what they do.

I think all players should have that. If they're good enough to do what they do, get to where they are, then they should have that belief in what they do and back themselves to do it.

You can all hit a tennis ball. Something has to make the difference, so...