SYDNEY TENNIS CLASSIC

January 11, 2022

Ajla Tomljanovic

Press Conference

A. TOMLJANOVIC/A. Schmiedlova

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Not your best time on Ken Rosewall Arena but first time under the roof. How did you find the conditions?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I'm big fan of playing under the roof, actually. But then when I go outside, it takes me a little bit, you know, to adjust. But, yeah, it was really nice. The crowd was, for being first match up, I didn't get a lot of sleep, but I like getting up at 11:00.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Do you realize this is your 150th career main draw?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Really? Oh, is that like a big thing?

Q. It would have to be a milestone. Does it make you feel old?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: No (smiling). I mean, my age makes me feel old, because I feel 18. Like, I really have -- I think my soul is much younger than my age, and being out for a few years on tour, I don't feel 28, even as a tennis player.

So, yeah, I mean, that's a nice milestone but definitely don't feel old.

Q. The last time you played Anna Karolina Schmiedlova it was very close. 2018, you had to save match points. What do you think made the difference in playing her today?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Actually I didn't even remember that. So going into it, I thought I never played her. But I feel like I have seen her on tour for such a long time and we know each other's games well.

But I did see her playing in quallies, and I thought she was striking the ball really well. I was just ready for a tough battle and I got it. Even though the score, you know, may seem easy, it definitely wasn't.

Q. Both thighs were taped. Was it just a precaution? It looked like you just couldn't wait to get that tape off at the end.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, Adelaide was, you know, a bit tricky in the second match that I played. I just have a tough time sometimes with my adductors and hips, and just trusting it is not coming easy to me, so I just felt like tape was the right way to go.

It was so humid out there, so I spoke to the physios before the match that, you know, if I could get a retape without getting the medical, which we did, and it was a little bit too tight in the second. But, you know, the tape does get a little bit loose. Once I finished, I just really wanted to get it off just, yeah, to let my legs breathe a little bit.

Q. Next round is Paula Badosa, first time meeting with her. What are your thoughts going into that one? Both of you all are coming off outstanding seasons in 2021.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah. Well, hers is a little better, a little more outstanding than mine. Yeah, she's playing really great tennis. I saw her progress last year and thought, you know, I mean, what she did in the end was incredible. I didn't see it coming, but she definitely has the game to play big matches and win.

I'm just glad that I'm putting myself in a position every week, you know, against the top players and giving myself chances to come out on top. The more you play, the better you're going to get. I'm looking forward to it tomorrow.

Q. You're not that far off your career-best ranking. Is that the target for this year, to get there and go further?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Of course that's always a target, but being better than my career high isn't really going to make me, like, Oh, my gosh, yes. It's not going to feel like that, because, in a way, I felt like I deserved it with the year I had last year. So not reaching it doesn't get me down or anything.

But probably getting into that top 30 would be something where I'd be, like, Okay, this is what makes the difference for me.

Q. So what is a specific goal or target for you for this year?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: It would be to get into the top 30, mostly just because I believe that I can do it. But it will take me to do something that I haven't done in ever, which is play better consistently, win more matches at the bigger stages every week, and it's definitely going to be a task for me just because it hasn't been done before, but it definitely isn't something that I feel like is too far out of reach. But at the same time, yeah, I just take it one week at a time.

Q. Following up on that question about goals for this season, obviously I imagine you had a goal in mind for the Australian Open and how you sort of are feeling ahead of that, and what do you want to see from yourself in the next week before competing at Melbourne Park?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I mean, as a team, we don't really set goals where, you know, Okay, we've got to hit this number or this round in a slam. But the objective always is to improve. For me personally I do set my goals of my own. Like I want to get as many wins over higher-ranked opponents as possible.

So that's why, you know, the loss in Adelaide stings probably more than it should, because I put way more at stake with matches like that, which isn't always the right thing to do, but that's just how much I want to achieve those things.

So, yeah, because that means if I beat players that are in front of me, I'm going to get further into the draw. That's just the logic of it.

Yeah, it's always just, I guess with tennis and every sport, you always want more and improve. That's what I always look for.