WTA FINALS

November 10, 2021

Karolina Pliskova

Press Conference

K. PLISKOVA/G. Muguruza

4-6, 6-2, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Karolina, would you start us off and talk us through the match and how you feel about your performance.

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I thought first set was not the best from me. Lately I just improve my game a bit. Of course, the serve was amazing in the second set, many free points on the first serve. Then, of course, it was a fighting third set, about a couple points. Of course a bit lucky.

I thought I just had too many chances, didn't make it really, but happy it went my way in the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. As the match was progressing, you said you weren't playing as well as you liked the first set, what adjustments did you make mainly in the second set? Looked like you started returning better.

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, exactly. I actually think I started the match quite okay, not like feeling amazing. But with 2-0, losing two of my service games in a row, I think that's like huge mistake. One can happen, but two I think is too much. She just make sure I don't really get another chance to break her.

Still, I mean, it was 4-6. It was pretty close the first set. I was not feeling the best. But then I just went for it a bit more. I thought I was, like, a bit too passive in the first set and still making mistakes. I said, okay, just go for it a bit more. If I'm still making mistakes, at least I will have some winners. Especially the second serve, I wanted to put like really pressure on it. It paid off. I think I really played good that second set.

The third, half it was good, then it was back to the old game. Of course, also a bit nervous by the end. You don't always play what you should play. But happy that I pulled through.

Q. You said yesterday you don't want to talk about how you're playing in practice, that you always play better in matches. Did you surprise yourself in terms of how well you were able to hit your level today?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Yeah, I mean, actually yes. Especially the second and third set I thought was actually quite good tennis for how I was feeling in the practice. That was not even half of it, believe me, in the practice.

Also my behaving was horrible, which I thought tonight was actually quite, like, positive. Not all the things went really my way, and not everything was amazing. I just thought the attitude was quite good from myself, which was really not in the practice. It was really big depression (laughter).

Yeah, this is positive thing. Hopefully I can keep that.

Q. How much of a difference does it make, given your experience in the Finals, different situations, of starting the round-robin with a win? How much does that change the pressure of the group stage for you?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Honestly I think it's huge because, of course, like you can relax a bit more. It's not like you can lose the next match. Of course, nobody wants to lose any match. But it's like, okay, you have at least that one win, there's not such a pressure that you need to win every other match.

If I just lose this match tonight, I think I'm gone because it was big, like having couple match points, breakpoints there, I was so close to making it even before the tiebreak. Then, of course, I was quite close to also losing it. This match, for me, I mean, even if you lose, what else can you do? You still have to come the next day and play again.

I think it's huge. Of course, the experience... We both played already, so it was actually tough start because I think some of the girls, they can be nervous in the first match, but we both played. I think we had that experience from playing WTA Finals, but also the record which I had against her, also playing her at the Finals, quite helped me.