WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 19, 2021

Jil Teichmann

Press Conference

J. TEICHMANN/N. Osaka

3-6, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Have you ever been that happy after a match before? If you could just talk us through the emotions and the feelings you had when the final point was won.

JIL TEICHMANN: Yeah. I have been more times happy, I gotta say, but this is definitely one of my highlights.

You know, as I said on court, it has been a very tough year for me. I had many injuries. Get being this win, knowing inside of me that I had this level and showing it finally on court, yeah, it's like, it's a really nice feeling.

Q. What were your feelings after losing the first set? How confident did you feel that you could bounce back and come back and win this match?

JIL TEICHMANN: You know, I started actually really bad, two breaks down. I did breaks on my own. I wasn't serving good. I was doing unforced errors. So when I sat down after first set I was, like, Okay, I started off bad, but I'm actually close. I didn't really feel like, how do you say, I didn't really feel like she's much better than me today right now.

So I took this confidence into the second set. I was like, Okay, let's serve out well, and I will get my chances, and to break her and that's a little bit what happened.

Q. You mentioned you know you had this in you, so how good did it feel to show that? Especially in the second set, we saw you celebrate that win in the second set a lot right after that. How good did it feel to be able to perform that and show it?

JIL TEICHMANN: Really good. I mean, I've got to say after second set I still knew there is one more set to go, still a long way to go.

But I was, like, Okay, I'm here. It's a fight. Let's go for it. And I'm ready.

So, yeah, these were my thoughts.

Q. You had such a great start to the season, as you said on court: Adelaide, Dubai, and everything. The injuries, can you just talk through a little bit of what the last five months have been like? What have the injuries been? Why do you think you have been able to find this level here this week in Cincinnati?

JIL TEICHMANN: I'm not gonna lie to you. It has been really tough, toughest moment in young career still.

As you mentioned, I started off really well. Australia, Dubai, and then Miami. I was feeling good. Then I got my first injury. I came back after five weeks. I think I played Madrid pretty okay, had a great win against Elina.

Wept to be Strasbourg, happened again, another injury. Lost the chance to play Grand Slam there at Roland Garros. I arrive to Wimbledon, but, I mean, come on, I had no preparation. I was really looking forward to play the Grand Slams. Didn't have the chance to play them the way I wanted.

Yeah, again, has been tough. Been working really hard. Every time coming back from the injury. Long days, long weeks.

Yeah, so I came into this, okay, last week in Montreal I played okay, pretty good. I had good feeling. I mean, I played against Danielle, she's coming with very good rhythm. Came off court. Felt it has been close. Took this confidence into this week, and, yeah, this week it's just working out. I just needed to be really patient and here I am.

Q. Just looking ahead, you'll play either Belinda or Karolina. Wanted to get your reaction to Belinda's amazing Tokyo. Just your thoughts on playing each opponent.

JIL TEICHMANN: Yeah, Belinda has been amazing, Olympics, as well as with Viktorija. I'm very close to both of them. I was actually calling them right after the matches.

Yeah, I'm just like really, really happy for Swiss female tennis. We really need that. We are very good players, and we are showing it. It's perfect, actually. It has been perfect.

About my next opponent, actually, it's tough because I'm really close to both of them as well as with Karolina. I'm very, very good friends. So, yeah, I don't know what to say. It's gonna be tough. But either way I'm ready. I'm gonna just enjoy the match. Obviously going to go to win, but for sure it's going to be emotional either way.

Q. You just made a comment about your feelings every time you go into a match that you obviously want to win every match and you feel you could win every match. But when you go in to play somebody like Osaka, who has been, let's just say, fragile over the last few months mentally, did that sort of give you an extra bit of confidence or feeling that you could beat her?

JIL TEICHMANN: Honestly, I haven't thought much about it, because, I mean, Naomi has been playing very good in the past few years, has won Grand Slams. Even when she wasn't really in rhythm, she's coming into a Grand Slam and she wins it.

Yes, of course she has had, I guess, tough months. I don't know. I haven't talked to her. But I really didn't think much of it. I was just focused on my side.

Q. You have probably been asked this so many times, so apologies, but could you just talk about Roger? In particular, did you have one really special moment with him?

JIL TEICHMANN: Yeah. I actually have had a funny moment. It was in US Open. I'm not sure if, I think 2018, I'm not sure. I was playing last round of qualifying.

I was actually set on first round. I was walking out of the locker room, and there is this really small hallway. He was coming the other way, I'm not kidding, with three, four or five cameras. I'm, like, I'm not going to disturb, so I just went on one side.

In the moment of crossing, he's, like, "Good luck," in Swiss-German. I was so in shock. I didn't answer in that moment. I was, like, Oh, my God. Did he really just say that?

I was waiting next to Patty Schnyder. She was also playing last round of qualifying that year. I told her, like, Patty, this happened. She's like, Relax, it's okay.

Then he walked again, and he said again "Good luck" to both of us. I looked at her, Now it's impossible. Did I lose? And I actually qualified that year.

Q. So now you can go on with the rest of your tennis career?

JIL TEICHMANN: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I was, like, Okay, that's it. Twice Roger telling me "Good luck." That's a sign.