ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 2, 2022

Maria Sakkari

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Adelaide and Australia. Talk us through getting ready to start the season again and your thoughts on being in Adelaide.

MARIA SAKKARI: I'm super excited to be back in Australia. As I said previously, I'm very excited it's under different conditions and circumstances than last year, which makes me very happy.

I've said many times how much I love Australia and how much I enjoy playing here because of the large Greek community.

It's great to be back in the sun after freezing in Athens.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. To recap from what feels like yesterday in terms of Guadalajara, how much time were you able to give yourself in terms of an off-season? When did you start getting back into training, doing all the work? How did the pre-season go?

MARIA SAKKARI: So I had two weeks off from the day I arrived home. I had two weeks off, then three weeks of training. It was a short break. I was not used to it. Tom said, Please start getting used to it. We'll see, you know, if at the end I will have to (smiling).

It was nice. It was nice to spend time with my family and friends. But it was very short. It feels like we were yesterday in Mexico.

As I said previously, I'm very excited we're back in Australia.

Q. When you did sit down and start talking with Tom about this upcoming season, goals, even debriefing from the 2021 season, what were those conversations like? What was ultimately your take on what was a great season, and looking ahead how do you set the goals as the world No. 5?

MARIA SAKKARI: 6, right?

Q. 6.

MARIA SAKKARI: Well, thank you (laughter).

Q. I'm sure it will be 5 soon.

MARIA SAKKARI: It's been an incredible season obviously. I know that, my team knows that, my family knows that. It was sometimes tough to believe that I was actually No. 6 in the world because it was a dream coming true, as I told you many times.

I think me and Tom both were in the same page as far as on what I have to improve tennis-wise and mentally, of course. I've been telling a lot of people how I want to become a better version of myself last season this year. So that's what my goal is and that's what I want to achieve.

I think with the right people that I have around me, I can do that. Of course, by pushing myself a little bit more than last year, I hope I'll be able to achieve that.

Q. Last year there was a lot of focus on your serve. Was there anything similar in terms of going into your pre-season this year in terms of something very specific you felt like you spent a lot of time on?

MARIA SAKKARI: I still spend a lot of time serving. Returning was one of the things that we did spend a lot of time, which was very boring, but it was needed.

But pretty much everything. I wanted to improve my footwork. I wanted to improve my transition to the net, my slice. We didn't have enough time to, you know, change everything. That's why, one of the reasons why, I have Tony, my hitting partner, with me traveling now is because we believe even in tournaments you can still improve and still work on things.

We're still working on things. I'm a big believer that you can actually on your free time between tournaments work on these things.

Q. Do you feel, given the short pre-season and break, you're cutting yourself a little more slack going into the start of this season? I don't know if you feel like the preparation was less than you like. We're two weeks away from the season, a slam you enjoy. Is this the same pressure that you're putting on yourself to start the year or is it a little bit different?

MARIA SAKKARI: Yeah, a little bit more relaxed. I'm, of course, here to win the tournament. I'm not saying that I'm here just to get some matches for Australia.

It's just that I know that I might not play my best tennis - it's the first week - even though I only finished my season recently. But it's still a long season to go. I don't want to put any pressure on myself for this week. I'm just going to try and do the things I've worked on my short pre-season. We'll see where it goes.

I just want to be ready, of course, for the Australian Open, which is everyone's biggest goal for this month.

Q. Do you feel different? Last year at this time you would have been in Abu Dhabi. Given everything that happened in 2021, where you are now, top-10 player, world No. 6? Do you feel different going into the season? Is it the same as any other start of the season for you?

MARIA SAKKARI: It feels different just because I had, as I mentioned, little time off, little time on the court. I see some players that played Mexico, they skipped this week. I don't know if this season goes really well, I'm playing the Masters again, maybe it's a thing to think about for next season just to give yourself a little bit more time. But it's a problem that I'm not going to think for the next 10 months.

I feel like I'm ready, I'm excited. I'm here. I'm here to play. I'm here to win. Whether I'm ready or not, I have to be. But I feel I'm in a good place right now.

As I said, even though I had two weeks off, I went back to the gym and I was quite fit even though I was two weeks doing nothing. That was a very good thing to feel. It gave me confidence.

Q. As the season starts, another long season, different pressures, what are you the most curious about with respect to you in 2022?

MARIA SAKKARI: That's a tricky question. That's something I haven't really thought about.

I think a player can be curious to see, especially after having a very good season, if I can do that again and if I can do that even better. That's one thing that we all have in common. It doesn't really change from player to player because, yeah, I'm confident, I believe that I can do even better, but who knows.

I mean, you never know what happens, but that's one thing I'm curious about. At the same time I'm confident that I can do it.

Q. What was the highlight of your off-season? Did you do something you were able to have a good time, create a break?

MARIA SAKKARI: Well, it was that I could spend two weeks with my boyfriend after not seeing him for a while. It was very nice to be with him again, just get some quality time with him, which was the best break I could have, you know. It was very nice to just disconnect and don't think about tennis and just spend time with him and just rest well and rest the right way.