MELBOURNE SUMMER SET

January 7, 2022

Ann Li

Press Conference

A. LI/K. Rakhimova

6-1, 7-5

Q. Welcome back to the semifinals. Seems like a pretty good spot for you. Talk about your match today.

ANN LI: Yeah. Definitely happy with the start of the year for me. I feel like I'm always going to say this, but I've had a really good preseason, so coming off of that, just a ton of hard work, and I'm glad it's paying off right from the start, which is good.

Yeah, the match, I started off really well, and then second set kind of had some iffy moments and was able to stay tough and kind of battle it out in the end, so I'm happy with the win.

Q. You two have played some really, really tight kind of epic matches. Did that kind of get into your head a little bit as you were kind of cruising the first set and then it got a little complicated in the second?

ANN LI: Yeah, we've definitely played a couple times pretty recently actually the last time I played, of last year. But yeah, she fights really well, and she's always in the point. So for me it was just to stay tough and play my game. I was lucky to do it in the end.

Q. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit now that we're months obviously out of the 2021 season, but just kind of what's your take on last year for you because obviously it started so well, lots of promise, and injuries here and there, but I just wanted to hear from you what your take was on what happened last year.

ANN LI: Yeah, definitely started off really well here in Australia. Yeah, the beginning was tough for me just dealing with the injuries, little things here and there, but I also had a strain in my ab. I was out for a couple months, and then coming back from that, I've never had a huge injury really, so that was kind of the longest one for me that I was out.

Just for me mentally, it took me a little bit of time to get back into it, even though I ended off well, stopped playing. So I had that confidence in me somewhere, just took a little bit of time to get it out.

But yeah, in the end I finished the season really well, and now I'm coming in a with a lot of confidence, too, so I'm really happy with that.

Q. Was it frustrating to have to endure that sort of injury right when you were playing so well in Mexico, all that sort of stuff, and then for a while there it was kind of like, where is Ann Li? What happened? It was a few months there.

ANN LI: Well, I will say that after having to quarantine, I didn't expect anything -- I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up doing really well. I wouldn't really change anything. Obviously if I didn't have to quarantine, that would be cool, but it's fine, it is what it is.

Yeah, it was definitely frustrating because I felt like I was kind of going uphill on that path, but I mean, I guess everything happens for a reason, and time does its own thing. Right now I'm really happy with where I am, and hopefully this year I'm looking forward to doing some damage.

Q. The three matches that you've played here in Melbourne as well as the practices that you've had at Melbourne Park, how are you feeling in terms of transitioning all the work you did in the preseason into the match court? You haven't dropped a set, which is great, seems pretty efficient, but just in terms of the level that you're playing at now, is this what you're expecting? Are you still behind schedule, ahead of schedule? Where you do you feel?

ANN LI: Well, yeah, when I got here, I guess I underestimated the travel a little bit, just like every year, I don't know. But the first two days of practicing it was really hot, and then it cooled down, so it was nice with the weather there.

Yeah, I was practicing well, and I felt like every day was getting better and better, so right now competing, you know, I definitely feel a lot stronger physically and mentally. I am where I want to be, but obviously I know it's going to get better and better, and I'm going to keep improving. Obviously the second set was a little shaky, but I'm definitely seeing a steady path forward.

Q. Goals for 2022? You're still working with Henner, right?

ANN LI: Right.

Q. What's a good season for Ann Li in 2022?

ANN LI: Yeah, I'm not going to say anything too specific, but I think just it's obviously always trying to get better every day, and for me it's just solidifying my game style and playing that every single time I step on the court, so that's probably the main thing.

Q. Sasnovich in the semis; can you talk about what you expect in that match?

ANN LI: I haven't watched her too much, but I know she's a great competitor and she fights and she hits the ball really well. Yeah, like I said, I'm just going to try to go out there, play my game and find a way and compete really well, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Your week so far, does it give you some -- because the first week of the season can be tricky for everybody because you all have worked so hard in the preseason and then now you're trying to figure out where your games are at. Does it relax the shoulders a little bit, kind of getting these matches in, getting the results and kind of feeling like, okay, I'm good to go?

ANN LI: Yeah, it's always nice to start the year off like this with wins, so I'm just going to keep playing one match at a time and hopefully -- I have a lot of confidence going in, so hopefully it just keeps building.