AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2022

Ashleigh Barty

Press Conference

A. BARTY/A. Anisimova

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Amanda has obviously been one of the form players of the swing. How does it feel to get that win under your belt?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, I felt like tonight was different to the other couple matchups I had had. I felt there were new challenges and felt overall did a pretty good job of being able to control my own service games and put a lot of pressure on her service games, which in the end just kept building pressure over time.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. You said you enjoyed being tested. Is it important at this stage of the tournament to be tested?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I'm tested every single match in different ways, in unique ways from every opponent. I think tonight was just another test of -- I know Amanda has played some really good tennis over the last couple of weeks, is obviously feeling really confident on these courts. It was nice to be able to get through today, be really clear with what I wanted to try and do, enjoy it.

Felt like I hit the ball well and was able to control it and put it in areas I wanted to today.

Q. In terms of styles you have overcome so far this week, how does that prepare you for what Jess might offer in the quarters?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Each and every player is different. Each and every player, there are some similarities, but certainly tactics and the way that I want to play is unique to each and every player. I try and adapt my game as best as I can to try and make my opponent uncomfortable, and that will be no different when Jess and I play in a couple days' time. My job is to try and make her uncomfortable, and hopefully I can execute that, have some fun with it, and make life difficult for her.

Q. Rod Laver this week said the way you have been playing, when you're playing at your best, you're unbeatable and you have something special coming up for the next week now. How does it make you feel to hear those words from a legend like Rod?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's so nice to have Rod here, first and foremost. It's so nice to have him enjoying his own house, enjoying his own court. He was unbeatable. I'm certainly not. I'm just out here doing what I can, enjoying it, like I said, try and make my opponent's life as uncomfortable as possible. That's my job ultimately, and do it with a smile, have some fun with it. We try and keep it really light, just have lots of clarity, go out, have fun with it, get after it and see how we go.

Q. Have you had much to do with Rod, by chance? Have you had many conversations?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: A little bit. Rod, he doesn't travel as much these days. Obviously he's an exceptional human being. He's an amazing champion of our sport. He's iconic. It's just amazing to be in his presence. And in the same breath he's also a down-to-earth Queenslander who just loves his sport. As Australians we are extremely lucky that he still is able to enjoy the tennis with us, and, yeah, hopefully has a few more left.

Q. Playing Jess, you said you actually couldn't remember the time at the French Open, but you said you'd also practiced with her a bit. What does she do well?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I remember it now that Jim told me. I remember we played in the bullring in Paris. So it did check my memory.

Jess is able to control the baseline. She's able to take time away from you, take balls particularly off her backhand. She loves these courts, she made a quarter here last year. The last couple years her progression and her confidence with the way that she plays has gone and absolutely skyrocketed.

She's a great competitor. Again, one of her best attributes is the fact that she can compete point in, point out, and irrelevant of the score she's able to turn up time and time again. We just have to compete, go out there and have fun and see how we go.

Q. You were broken for the first time in what feels like a lifetime tonight. How did that feel? And in general, how happy were you with your service game?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: Yeah, it didn't bother me too much. Honestly, I'm not counting how many games I hold in a row or not. The fact I was able to reset, break straight back, was really important, just to be able to reset myself, go again and continue to do the right things.

In that game Amanda saw a few second serves that she was able to punish, and she also had some really good returns off first serves. You tip your hat and you say, Too good, to your opponent when they come up with returns from the baseline, and move on pretty quickly and continue to try and do the right things.

Yeah, it's a part of my game that I continue to work on. I enjoy trying to be aggressive and assertive with my serve, and yeah, in pretty good stead.

Q. Have you been following Kyrgios and Kokkinakis in the doubles? Are they a genuine chance?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I saw they won today. I didn't see any of it but I saw they did win. So I'm not sure what round they're up to. Yeah, good luck to them. I don't know where they are in the draw.

Q. It's often said you've got to peak in the second week of a major. We are now at the start of the second week. Where would you suggest you are, and how much more do you have to move?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: I am right where I am. I don't have to move at all for the time being. All I have to do is try and bring my best on that given day to try and upset my opponent and do what I can to try and win that tennis match.

There's no focus or concern about the level. It's just about going out there on that day, trying to give you the best that you can on that given day with the conditions, with all that's going on, and accepting that, having fun with it, enjoying it, and trying to beat your opponent one on one.

Q. Just a question, a non-tennis question. Today I saw the commercial you did with Ashvin Harrison. What was that like, making that commercial? And how much input did you have in it, and any comments about it?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: It was an incredible experience. Ashvin was just amazing with the way that he was able to do his drawing and present his art. For me to be able to contribute in a very small way with hitting tennis balls and creating a flare, was incredible. It was a lot of fun that day.

There was a period where Ashvin and I both forgot there were cameras in the room. It was so natural for both of us just to watch how it evolved. It's for an incredible cause, for Make-A-Wish Foundation. I really hope that it does do well and it's able to provide for people that are in need. It's going to be an incredible auction once it is finished, but it was a lot of fun that day.

Q. Just speaking on Jess, as you guys have practiced, how different is her type of power, her ball off the racquet? You know, you're coming in, coming off two very powerful players who hit the ball differently, as well. Can you give us an idea what makes Jess's ball particularly dangerous and special.

ASHLEIGH BARTY: It's a bit different because she's able to hold baseline really well. Her swings are quite linear and she gets a racquet behind the ball and swings through the path. The ball comes at you at a different trajectory, and her ability to absorb pace and then add to it when she wants to is exceptional. It's going to be a challenge for me to try and push her off that baseline and make her uncomfortable and feel like she has to create.

But I know that she's also going to be doing the exact same thing to me and trying to make me uncomfortable. That's the chess game that we play. You go out there and have fun with it, see who can execute better on the day, and that's about all there is to it.

Q. Just going off what you said on court about just being yourself, and that's how you kind of acted after being World No. 1, I'm curious was there ever a moment for you where it got difficult or you felt that the pressure was a bit more than other times? Or has it been the same the whole time?

ASHLEIGH BARTY: There have been learnings, without a doubt. I think being able to accept that we had a fantastic season in 2019 and were able to achieve the dream of reaching World No. 1 was incredible.

I think being able to continually challenge myself and challenge my team to be better every day and to grow every day was a massive part of that, but it's never been difficult. It's just been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of fun trying to continue to grow and get better every day, develop as a person as well as a tennis player, and I think they definitely go hand in hand for me and my team the way that we're able to communicate, work together, and lighten up, have fun with it, but also really switch on and go to work when we need to.

I think our balance is brilliant. It's been able to allow us to have fun with it over the last three years, take it for what it is, and just enjoy it.