AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 25, 2022

Ashleigh Barty

Press Conference

A. BARTY/J. Pegula

6-2, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: It was a great performance tonight. How does it feel to be through to the semifinals?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, incredibly exciting. It's always nice to be at the business end of a Grand Slam and to give yourself the opportunity to play for some of the biggest titles. It was a great match tonight and looking forward to play Maddie in a couple of days.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. How does it feel to be upstaged by another tennis player tonight who's Australian?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Literally, we just FaceTimed Dylan, and what an incredible human being, genuinely. He's an incredible athlete second, but an absolutely just an incredible man first.

The way he's impacted the whole nation has been absolutely remarkable and I couldn't be more rapt for him to be Australian of the Year, absolutely unreal.

Q. Tonight when Jess has had a really good year again, what did you take out of that match?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Jess made me work very hard and I think the scoreline definitely wasn't an indication of how the match felt. All in all I knew I had to play my very best tennis tonight to match up with Jess and put her under the pump. I was able to serve well, find plenty of forehands, and just try and control the court. I was just trying to be assertive and be aggressive when I could and run and use the chisel and kind of defend when I had to.

I think I had a really good mix tonight, but that was definitely Jess forcing me to play some of my best stuff.

Q. During the broadcast, Jim Courier compared your slice backhand to Roger Federer. Just wondering what your reaction is to a comment such as that. Do you believe it's your strongest weapon?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: That's very kind from Jim. I think everyone's shots are unique. I think obviously Roger has one of the most exceptional slice backhands in the game. Mine's a long way off that. Absolutely, no stretch of the imagination we are even on the same page at all.

But I love to use my slice, I love to get creative with it, to use it offensively and defensively. Over my career I've learnt it is a weapon for me. I try and use it when I have to. Sometimes I try and use it when it's my choice and I can be really, really aggressive with it. But being able to use it with variety and have different options has been a massive part of my game through this last couple of years of my career.

Q. The score was pretty remarkable after five rounds. Have you ever felt more confident playing than you do now?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I'm just having fun, to be honest I'm having fun trying to problem solve out on the court, and each and every opponent has been different, each and every opponent has presented me with a different challenge and forced me to use another tool in my toolbox.

I think being able to do that really well and I have been able to execute, which is sometimes important, you can have all the right ideas but you need to be able to do it under the pump. I've been able to do that this week, which has been really exciting. Now we're in with a chance to go out there and play a semifinal at home, couldn't be more pumped and really, really excited.

Q. Does it change how comfortable you are out on court in the second week of a home open given that you have been World No. 1 now for over a hundred weeks, have two Grand Slams? Do you get used to it? Do you feel more comfortable with your prep, your lead-in, your hit before, and then you walk out or does it feel the same as it did three years ago?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: A bit of both. I think the process hasn't changed, but obviously the familiarity of knowing what to expect or expect how my body feels and almost be able to deal with those emotions a little bit better has probably changed and grown as I've become more experienced.

But the processes for us haven't changed regardless of whether it's a first round of the tournament, latter stage of a Grand Slam, it doesn't actually matter the process before we walk out on court.

But it's exciting, and I think also being able to embrace the excitement of being in with a chance to play deep in your home slam, it's pretty cool. I think going out there and enjoying that and really embracing that experience helps for sure.

Q. You have often talked about those things, problem-solving and embracing the challenge. Are you doing that better or are you having maybe even more fun than you've had other times when you've enjoyed those experiences?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think the way that Tyzz and I communicate is awesome. He's really clear and concise with a few different tactics that we try and implement with each match.

All in all I think a lot of the time I think I'm going out there and trying to play with freedom, trying to enjoy it and trying to get creative, and almost make my opponent uncomfortable with not giving them too many patterns or things they can predict.

I enjoy that challenge. I enjoy having options with each shot. But I also love the discipline of doing the right things in the right moment and trying to sticking to our tactics and sticking to our plans. I think the way that Tyzz is able to communicate that with me has been second to none. He's the best coach in the world, and I think working with him and working with our team, the communication is great and we are all, we all enjoy it together through the tougher moments and the brilliant ones but we all enjoy it together.

Q. You have spoken about how you have played quite different players this week and you have another different player next up. How do you tackle that matchup?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, Maddie is an exceptional athlete, she has a great serve, great first strike off the return and off her first ball after her serve. A lot of the time it's about trying to put her in an uncomfortable position, try and get her off-balance, because if she controls the center of the court the match is on her racquet.

I need to be able to find a balance, problem solve my way through it, try and work out a way to nullify her strengths and bring it back to my patterns if I can, and understand it's not always in my control, we accept that, move on, go again to the next point.

I think it's about being really clear in that process and just trying to do the best we can each and every point.

Q. I just wanted to ask on Peng Shuai. Earlier this week some activists wore shirts that said "Where is Peng?" and they were asked to remove them. They're now raising money to make more shirts and hand them out at the women's final. Do you have thoughts on that or would you care if people in the crowd were wearing the shirts?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: To be completely honest with you, I haven't followed it or haven't seen any of that coverage. I'm not one to really flick on the tennis when I'm home or away from site, so I haven't seen that one to give you an answer, sorry.

Q. With tonight's match, obviously you wouldn't have expected it to be with a scoreline as it was, but what do you think made the difference and were you surprised at how -- how surprised really is what I'm asking with the way it went?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think the scoreline was a poor indicator of how the match felt, to be completely honest. I felt like Jess forced me to play my best tennis right from the start. She made me play a lot of balls and made me be really clear and concise with what I wanted to try and do. I was able to execute that well tonight. I served well. I did a good job in returning games of putting her under pressure and at times I was able to control the court with my forehand.

I thought all in all I did a pretty good job of that tonight.

Q. Do you have any comment on Dylan Alcott being named Australian of the Year?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it's incredible for Dylan. He's an amazing human being. The impact he's had on our entire nation, both in the community and the sport, has been incredible. Incredibly pumped for him and rapt for him as a person to get Australian of the Year. There is no one more deserving.

Q. A great win. On the topic of your intention of going out there to make your opponent uncomfortable, it's a word that comes up a lot when you have been speaking about your game plan. And I'm curious when, if at all, you kind of shifted your mindset to see the game plan, primary game plan in those terms, going out there to make my opponent uncomfortable, because it's not a way that a lot of players talk about playing their game. Curious if you could give some insight into that.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I think it's about understanding the one-on-one battle. I think you can do all the preparation in the world and, you know, have all of the stats, the tactics, everything preplanned, but your opponent has the ability to adapt and change and come out and do something completely different to what you expected.

So I think being able to learn on the fly in a match is really important. If there's a shot or a pattern that's hurting me and kind of putting me under pressure, I try and figure out a way how to get out of that pattern before, and not necessarily just hit my way out, I try and think my way out a little bit more first, and then try and find a way where I can hurt them.

So I think it's just a little bit of cat and mouse but not cat and mouse in a way of just trying to understand the game in a different way, not always feeling like I have to be forceful or force my hand to make a change.

Q. I don't know if you followed at all in the juniors, there has been a Kenyan girl, Angela, who has won two rounds, and there is an Iranian girl who won her first round. It was a star day for their respective countries and stuff. Just as the World No. 1, I want you to weigh in on what it means to you to know that tennis is reaching these kind of countries.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: The growth in the women's game is exceptional. That's just the best way to put it is that the depth in our women's game now on the professional side, there have been so many players that have inspired others to pick up a racquet or to dare to dream.

One of the ones that comes to mind straightaway is Ons, the way she's been able to inspire a nation. I have known Ons for a very long time, and she was a lone wolf for a long time in her trade and, now there are more people, more players on the men's and women's side or the girls and boys coming through, understanding it's okay to dare to dream and to chase after it and have a go.

I think the reach now that the women's game in particular is getting across the globe is incredible. I think the growth, we are going to start to see that in the next five or ten years of players from countries where maybe tennis isn't such a common sport coming through. It may be slow to begin with, might just be one or two players here and there, but the growth is there and the foundations are set. I think that's really exciting for the women's game.

I know that a lot of the players that are playing now are really proud to represent that and be a part of that, because it is a really cool change and a cool way to integrate the game into so many different countries all around the world.