AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 30, 2022

Barbora Krejcikova

Katerina Siniakova

Press Conference

KREJCIKOVA-SINIAKOVA/Danilina-HaddadMaia

6-7, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on taking out the Australian Open women's doubles championship. Tell us about the feeling right now, holding that trophy in your hands.

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: It's amazing. I mean, it's really nice. And after playing last year the final, we are so happy that we have the title. It was really big fight, and we needed to push hard.

It's really excited. It's really good.

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Yeah, I mean, I'm extremely happy, because like after so many tries that we tried here, we finish couple times in semis, last year we finish in finals, so just to get again like all the way to the finals and finally making it, it's perfect. It's a huge, like a huge, I would say, relief. We just extremely happy that it's finally our trophy (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. You talked about that relief and that you have tried so many times here. Was that crossing your minds in the third set when it was 5-2 and then they started to get a bit closer to you that here we are again, here's our chance? Did it make it harder to close it out or anything like that?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: No.

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: Not really. I think we were just fighting, you know, just, yeah, just try to win every point. Also, I didn't have it on my mind. It was just fight.

Q. We were in here last night talking to Ash Barty after she won, and she has now won all of her slams on three surfaces, and you guys have now done the same thing, as well. Was that a motivating factor for you, because you had so much Grand Slam success before, to win ones that you hadn't won and maybe try to start to complete your set?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, I think we are not really thinking this way. We aren't really thinking about it. I think it's amazing what we achieved and how good we are and how well we played this year, also last year, all the seasons that we did. I mean, I'm really proud of us.

I think we are not really thinking this way. Every time we go in a slam, it's the biggest tournament and we really want to do well. I think we try to give the main focus to all the slam tournaments.

I mean, let's see. It would be pretty nice if we can complete this, but I think it's not on our mind and we just going to go and try to play the next slam the best we can.

Q. I think last year the statistic was you'd played a hundred or over a hundred matches because you were doing so well in singles and doubles, and it seems to have started the same way for you this season. Quarterfinals singles, winning doubles. Do you think that's sustainable for you to keep playing such a high amount of matches? Because I know you love doubles. How do you think you'll navigate that this season?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, I think I can. I think I can. But, I mean, also, I know it's going to be very difficult. I mean, as I already said, the biggest focus is on all the slam tournaments and all the big WTA 1000s.

So when we gonna play together with Katka, I really want to do well. We are set for the whole season. We have goals that we would like to achieve, so I'm just gonna do everything to make that, to achieve that. Also, I'm gonna do everything to add to the singles, as well, and to be successful in both categories.

Q. Congratulations on a great tournament and a great match. Katerina, I'm curious, can you talk through the match a little bit in terms of how you were able to turn it around? They're a brand new team, so you didn't have a lot of data points maybe on them. What do you think was the key to turning that match around for you guys?

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: Yeah, I mean, it was really difficult match. I think they were playing really great. They were pushing us, and we couldn't really in the beginning like put them our game. They were really playing great.

Actually, everything was coming in from them, so it was really hard to find like our game our way. But I think the good stuff was we keep fighting and we were trying to help each other, just to support each other. You know, it's gonna come, it's gonna be good, we are still good, we are playing, and I think it was the key. You know, we were just keep playing every point, and they went a little bit down. They started to do the mistakes we were looking for.

I mean, it was really good that we kept fighting and we kept each other helping.

Q. Barbora, do you think there were any key adjustments that you and Katka made to turn it around?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, I think that, you know, the girls, they play well, especially the first set, and, you know, everything was going in. I mean, we had our chances, but we weren't able to convert them.

In the second set I was just telling Katka, Let's keep going, let's keep playing, we gonna get our chances again, and we have to convert them.

So I think this was pretty much the key in second set that we convert the chances. I mean, same thing was third set. This match was really tight and it was really long match. I think it's amazing, you know, what all of us did during the doubles. I mean, yeah, I'm very happy that we were the one that lifted the trophy at the end.

Q. Incredible lob to finish things off there, finishing it off in style. Can you talk through that match point? It was very entertaining.

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Oh, thank you. Okay, thanks. I guess we are just gonna talk to our opponents more about this kind of situation so we can play this more often so it's more entertaining (smiling).

No, I mean, you know, it was a point and, I mean, you want to win the point. You know, if this is the way how you have to win the match point, I mean, you just gotta go and you have just gotta play it.

I mean, I can say that this was pretty much my game when I was like under 12, because we had the tournaments back home, and the girls, they were quite small, because, yeah, we were young.

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: She was killing me with that (smiling).

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: There have been like courts that they didn't really have like that much space, like there was the fans like three meters behind the baseline. So playing this, you know, all the balls, like all these loops when they bounce, they were just coming over the fence.

Yeah, like I was kind of good in it, and then, I mean, I had to change and play a different game. But I'm still happy that I still have it in me, and, I mean, you see like balls like this are winning the trophy. I mean, it's really important to know everything.

Q. Katerina, for either of you, does this feel any different or special or anything compared to your previous major titles? You guys are winning them at a pretty good clip. Does it feel like something that you're used to do, winning Grand Slam titles, or does this still feel like a special accomplishment?

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: No, of course you are not used to it. You need to work hard for it. You practice every day. I think as we said already, we were fighting hard to get the Australian one, so it's just really exciting and super happy, because the focus on the Grand Slam, as Bara said, you want to get these titles, the big ones, so I'm just extremely happy that we got it.