BNP PARIBAS OPEN

October 11, 2021

Alja Tomljanovic

Press Conference

A. TOMLJANOVIC/T. Zidansek

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Ajla, if you could talk us through the match.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Today was really not fun. I mean, the forecast last night didn't look promising. I hate playing in the wind. It played on my mind a lot.

Once we started I kind of was a little bit tentative. But in the end, I mean, it was a fight. Even though I won those nine games in a row, I still felt it could have gone either way.

I didn't do anything wrong to lose the next three when I was up 3-Love. It was just one of those matches where you had to find a way.

Yeah, I think the craftier player won today, so I'm glad to be through and hopefully tomorrow play in a more normal match than today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Was that one of the more crazier matches you played when you looked at how the scoreline was progressing?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: No, I think I played a few of those. It was more just the conditions and the reason behind it. I think as soon as one player got comfortable, the momentum shifted so quickly with the wind. Yeah, like it was just everything together weird.

Also we've had such incredible weather since we've been here, then that kind of came out of nowhere. Now it's raining. I think it threw us all off a little bit.

Q. You said you hate playing in the wind. When you heard what the forecast was going to be today, being in the midst of that, how do you calm yourself down to produce the win?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Well, it's the same for both of us. I kept thinking about that. If I'm going to struggle out there, it's going to be the same for her. I can't control the weather. So I tried to take care of everything on my side as best as I could.

In the end if I lose because of the wind, I mean, that's not a good enough excuse. It just means she dealt with it better. I didn't want to end up like that today. So I just kind of kept telling myself -- actually, Diego was telling me you have to be best friends with the wind today. I didn't really know what that meant. In the end I kind of figured it out. You just had to use it in your advantage the best you could.

Q. You became friends anyway?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: We're friendly.

Q. What about next match?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Next match is going to be tough. Angie, I think my record against her isn't great. I don't know how many times we've played, but I don't think I've ever beaten her.

She's crafty. She kind of plays very different than me. But I'm feeling good. I'm just looking forward to the fact that I have a chance to make the quarters. That's exciting. I've never done that here.

Yeah, whatever happens after this, I'm just looking forward to it.

Q. Playing a lefty, is that friendly to you?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I used to find that frustrating. Again, not something I can control. Yeah, I try to practice with lefties a lot just so it becomes a little more normal to me. But obviously the serve is always the trickiest part. I think at some point tomorrow I'm going to figure it out. Some will definitely surprise me. I'm going in knowing that. It won't be my comfort zone returning, but I feel I'll do the best I can.

It's never really as bad as you think it will be, so hopefully.

Q. The other day you talked about how tough you are on yourself, that you're getting over that. I was asking Matteo about this. He said he keeps encouraging you. This has been such a big year for you. How much of that confidence are you carrying into each match?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I do carry it into matches, but at the same time I take each match kind of like a new opportunity.

No matter how well I'm doing, I always try to see myself as the underdog because that seems to help me a lot, going in knowing that I can beat anyone but I don't have to, just because I'm playing well, that it's going to happen. I take the pressure off a little bit like that.

But as I'm saying, when I'm playing well during the year, I know my ability and I feel it. As long as I have that in the back of my mind, once the match starts, of course you're nervous in the beginning, but like today, I found myself at 3-All in the second so down on myself because I just expected to win the second set quicker or easier. That's so unfair to myself because I'm playing a player that's really good and there's no reason I should win that set 6-Love just because I'm up 3-Love.

I just have to get out of that pattern in my head where I imagine something in my mind that it's going to go one way, and if it doesn't I'm not flexible to go with it and let it go.

I struggled with that at 3-All. I gave myself a little pep talk and it worked.