AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2022

Craig Tyzzer

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We've got Craig Tyzzer, Ash Barty's coach with us.

We'll start with questions.

Q. With previous experiences this deep in the Australian Open, do you use them much or do you treat everything as new? Will you address two years ago at all?

CRAIG TYZZER: No, not in this campaign. We've done that last time, addressed it when things happened last time. I think we've moved on from that and I think that shows in the way Ash is going about things as well, what she's done through last year as well as so far this year.

No, it's more keep to the same routine, prepare the same for every match. It's the same routine all the time, it hasn't changed at all.

Q. (No microphone.)

CRAIG TYZZER: I middled. Our strength and conditioning coach Mark Tyler, he is English. He's terrible. I was middling him. Ash didn't miss him any either.

Q. Given the scorelines she's had so far and time on court, are you stepping up more time on the practice court?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, we're probably doing more hitting than we normally would. She's also not playing doubles. Normally she'll play doubles in a slam. We're probably doing a little more hitting in between on the days off which gives us a chance to work on a few things in practice, but still not a huge amount. Still less than an hour. Yeah, a little more than we would normally do.

Sometimes she will have days off as well in between. Yeah, we're probably doing a little bit more just to work on things. She feels pretty good body-wise so we're able to do that.

Q. Tell us about her slice backhand, quite a point of difference. What your advice is on how to use it, when to use it, the advantage it gives her?

CRAIG TYZZER: I think it is a point of difference. There's not many girls out there that hit a slice backhand. I think the fact that they don't see it that often and then have to come up against it...

It's actually quite funny. When you see who Ash has to play, you see them out there practicing someone hitting a slice backhand to them. It's probably a bit late the day before to try to get that right. If you haven't practiced it enough now, you're probably not going to get that right.

We'll mix it. She'll vary it according to who she's playing. Against some players it makes no difference whatsoever. She doesn't use it tactically as much against certain players, but she will mix it in according to who she's playing and what she needs to get out of the slice as well.

Yeah, it varies a lot. She's probably used her two-hander a lot more in the last couple of years. When we first started, she probably used the slice a lot more. She probably uses the slice more effectively now.

Q. There's a long drought for Australian tennis. Do you talk about that with Ash? Do you block it out, take it onboard?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, don't talk about that at all. We do the same preparation for every match. Don't want to bring anything new in or make it more than what it actually is. It's really just what she needs to do in the next match is as far as we look because you basically could be out in your next match.

We prepare the same all the time. I do the same work, Ash does the same work. Yeah, there's really no difference for us in that sense. We try and keep things pretty simple and pretty streamlined.

Q. How important is that ability to change tempo when you're playing against someone like Keys who hits 157 winners, plays fast and aggressive?

CRAIG TYZZER: Look, I think she played Giorgi who hits the ball a million miles an hour and was able to absorb that pace and do something with it. There's lots of girl out there that do that quite well.

I think Ash has other attributes. Her forehand is actually a weapon. Her slice will set her up a lot for her forehand. Her serve sets her up a lot for her shots as well. It's all of those elements for me.

Yeah, I mean, you've got to be able to counteract those big, strong girls. Sabalenka is another one. There are a lot of those girls who hit big out there. It's being able to handle that pace but do something with your shorts as well.

Q. She loves warm weather. How much has that been a factor?

CRAIG TYZZER: I think the heat in the court really helps. There's a bit more bounce. She would love to be playing during the day when it's Queensland hot weather. We train in that stuff pre-season. She loves that sort of weather.

It's been good that it's nice and warm. Gets more bounce in the court. The balls are a bit nor more then. It certainly helps her with those conditions. Even though she's been playing late, there's still heat in the court.

Q. How difficult a job or enjoyable is it to keep coming up with new tricks to reinvent and improve and develop Ash's game to take it the next level?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I'm pretty lucky to work with an athlete like Ash. I must admit, she's the best athlete I've ever worked with, the best tennis player I've ever worked with. To have her as a coach is a bit of a dream in that you can put things together and she's able to execute that stuff out on the court. That makes a big difference with your coaching.

Yeah, look, I'm privileged every day to work with Ash. Very lucky with what I do.

Q. Is she in the prime of her career at the moment?

CRAIG TYZZER: She's certainly playing -- I think she's played better at times. I think she's just handled everything really well here. Felt like even last night's match I thought the scoreline didn't really reflect the match in the end. I thought it was a lot closer than that scoreline. I think she just played a good level and kept pressure on all the time.

Yeah, look, she's certainly playing good tennis at the moment, yeah.

Q. When Ash came back from the semi-retire few years ago, maybe she must have been frustrated because she knew she could have played much better. Back in that time how did you convince don't be in rush and one day you're going to win slams?

CRAIG TYZZER: I don't think there was any talk of that when she came back. She basically had done no physical training, per se, other than play cricket and a little bit of coaching. So physically she was miles off the mark.

It took us 12 months before she was back to a semi-decent level. Again, still then she wasn't, like, anywhere near where she is now. It's been a long process to get to the tennis she's been playing over the last few years.

I don't think she thought she was a Grand Slam winner back then. I think she just thought she was good at tennis, if she really worked at it, things might work out, but she was going to give ate try.

She's worked extremely hard in lots of areas to get to where she is today.

Q. The serve has been a big factor this week. Take us through the mechanics over summer. How do you build on it to get it where it is?

CRAIG TYZZER: Look, nothing really specific. We do spend a lot of time on it. We do a lot of targets, a lot of specifics about where to serve and what comes back. It's more around that sort of thing.

Then we work on building the technique and the rhythm for her so that she feels comfortable even when she is tired in the legs, or even when it's deep into a match, that she's still got that same rhythm and same feeling. We've done a lot of work through pre-season on those things.

Q. Jessie Pegula last night was complimentary of Ash's game. She said it's a unique style of game that you don't see on the women's tour. When they step on the court, it's confusing. In terms of developing that, maintain that gap, what's the key in terms of evolving her game and staying ahead?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I think it's developing all of her game. We're still working on parts of her game, still developing things that she needs to get better at.

I mean, all the girls are different. Each girl Ash has played here is different. Different balls have been coming at her the whole time. Ash, because she has a slice backhand, it's significantly different to everyone else who hits a flat, two-handed backhand. It's quite a standout.

Yeah, look, we'll keep developing all parts of her game. I'm not sure that we can develop where she keeps ahead of everyone. It's really matchups make a big difference how we apply her game to who she's playing. We'll continue to do that right throughout tournaments for sure.

Q. You said Ash has played better. Do you think she could elevate her game more in the semis and potentially the final?

CRAIG TYZZER: Yeah, look, I mean, I think last year, we were away seven and a half months. We talked about her best matches. Ash said there was probably four times where she felt like she played her best tennis. That was seven and a half months of tennis.

I think it's her ability to on the days when she's not playing well, still look like she's playing well and still be able to compete. Whether or not she brings her margins in or corrects something or tries something different, she's more capable of handling those days when it's not that good.

I don't think from the outside you can tell. It's probably the same with most of the top players. Their consistency level is huge. Even if you watch them, you can't tell a lot of difference.

Yeah, I don't feel like she's played her best tennis here yet, which is great in that sense. It's still building and she's still got to keep working and being ready for every time she steps out there.

Obviously Maddie is going to be a huge challenge. Such a powerful athlete and powerful game. Ash has got to be really switched on to be in a contest out there.