SYDNEY TENNIS CLASSIC

January 12, 2022

Garbine Muguruza

Press Conference

G. MUGURUZA/E. Alexandrova

6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: (Off microphone.)

GARBINE MUGURUZA: (Off microphone)...big serve can get you in trouble very fast if you are not very concentrated.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. When you say it's nice to be back and seeing your fellow players and all that, does it feel like you've come back from school holidays after a while?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Yeah, I mean, in the offseason is very short, so it feels a little bit like that. You just start, you're back to your habitat a little bit. You know, you have a little break, but you come to the same tournaments, same circuit. Yeah, you see everybody and we start from zero basically.

Q. Today's match, it got very tight. Can you just talk about those two sets and the difference that there was in those two sets?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Well, I think I started very good, playing the right way, making the shots. I feel she made a couple unforced errors very quickly, so that allowed me to escape in the score and close that first set very quickly.

The second set was probably was going to be tougher, maybe she started to play better. It got more equal, and I managed to save those set points that were very important and put pressure on her and force the tiebreaker, because once you're in the tiebreak, you know, you feel like anything can happen. I just stood strong there.

Q. You have been in I think three finals in Australia. What do you feel most comfortable about playing over here that you had such quality finishes?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Well, I feel like feeling that if you work so hard in the offseason and then you come and you have all these energy and all these things in mind to put in the game and some sort of freshness in the mindset.

I don't know. There is great tournaments, great environment. I feel like, Why not? Great tournaments.

Q. Why not? And the next round is Kasatkina. What are your thoughts going into that one?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Well, we've played many times. I remember long matches, very physical matches. So I'm expecting a similar match, although her game, it's long rallies and baseline player. I expect that that's going to, you know, going to be a long, tight match.

Q. What were you most pleased with today, your first competitive match?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: The most pleased I was that I stood very calmly in the second set when I was, you know 5-4 down and serving and having all those set points where you can get a little bit, you know, upset, you know, go to the third set. I was happy like I stood there and said, Listen, I'm still serving, I'm still here, and the set is not over.

So, you know, to manage the anxiety, playing the first match of the year and you want to win and you want to start with the right foot, like I said before, so just managing those moments that, you know, the last match was two months ago so it's been a while.

Q. And just in terms of that, managing the anxiety on those big points, that's always the thing that players say takes the longest to find again, is like that clutch level. What do you do in the preseason or in preparation, because it's the start of the year, that gets you as prepared as you can possibly be to face those big moments so well so early in the season?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I think there is two things. I think that the first one is working hard every moment, every day that you feel you're tired, every day you're like, Man, I want to go to the mall and I don't want to be here. These days that gives you the strength.

You know, the hard work and the security that you have done the job. You know, the homework, like I would say. That gives you, you know, some sort of certainty of, okay, whatever happens, I did the job and I'm ready to face those moments.

And I feel that the second is I feel personality of each player. There is players that, you know, they play aggressive and they go for the points. Some players that play more defensive and they hesitate maybe a little bit. That's the character that defines sometimes those moments.