AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2022

Madison Keys

Press Conference

M. KEYS/P. Badosa

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Talk us through your thoughts on the match and how you're feeling generally.

MADISON KEYS: I'm really happy with how I played today. I think I served a lot better than I did in the last match. I think I returned well. I think overall I just started off either neutral or kind of ahead in the point. I had a lot of opportunities to try to move forward.

Overall really happy with the match, happy I get to play another one here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How good does it feel to play tennis like that in such a big match?

MADISON KEYS: It definitely feels really good. I think just my mindset really let me play that good tennis. That's really what I've been trying to focus on, just giving myself the opportunity to allow myself to play tennis like I did today.

Q. What is the mindset? What's changed? When did it change?

MADISON KEYS: My biggest mindset change is just trying to enjoy tennis, take some of that just internal pressure that I was putting on myself. It was honestly freezing me. I felt like I couldn't play at all. Just taking that away and putting tennis into perspective: that it's a sport, something that when I was little I enjoyed doing and loved doing it. I was letting it become this dark cloud over me. Just trying to push all of that away and leave that behind last year and start fresh this year.

Q. You were talking about vibes in Adelaide. That seems to be going forward. Does that get at all tougher now that you're in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, keep the pulse low, keep things chill?

MADISON KEYS: I think it obviously gets harder just because you get tighter and it's bigger moments. Even in the finals in Adelaide, I started incredibly nervous and I felt that. Just acknowledging it, accepting it, not trying to fight it and pretend that it's not happening has been probably the best thing that I've done. Almost kind of just like force myself through it instead of trying to fight it. Not just pretend that it's not happening, but just accepting it I think has been the biggest thing. Knowing that it's going to happen, just be prepared for it.

Q. Your run has obviously shown how quickly things can change in tennis. When you're trying to find your form, feel like you're doing the right things, how easy or difficult is it to remind yourself, remember how things can change and be on the right track quite quickly?

MADISON KEYS: I think it's obviously easy to say it now, that as long as you keep doing the right things, things will work out and all of that. I felt like I was doing a lot of the right things last year, I was doing my best, and it just wasn't happening.

Like you said, tennis can change in a week. Just knowing that it will eventually get better, you just kind of have to hold onto that. Obviously when you're in week four, five and six of not good results, it gets a little bit frustrating.

Just knowing that you can get yourself out of it and it can switch very quickly, I think you just have to keep reminding yourself of that.

Q. Alize Cornet is going for the record of most Grand Slams played. You played her a bunch throughout your career. What do you make of that record, what it takes to have that kind of longevity and durability?

MADISON KEYS: It's funny that you ask that. I was watching her yesterday thinking I feel like I see her deep in a slam at some point virtually every year, winning a title, deep in a big tournament. It's so impressive.

I think I wish that I could say I had that kind of record. But to see that she's been able to enjoy it, I mean, she still competes at the highest level and you can tell that every single point, she wants to win it. It's very, very impressive to watch.

Q. Where do you see the enjoyment when you watch her?

MADISON KEYS: I just love how much she loves competing. I don't even know who she plays. Yesterday I was laughing thinking, I want to see Danielle Collins and Cornet play each other. I had them next to each other in the gym. It was like one would win a point, the other one would win a point.

I just love their fire. I love how much she wants every single point.

Q. Have you been doing anything other than eat, sleep, watch and play tennis?

MADISON KEYS: That's pretty much all I've done since I got here to be totally honest with you. I always love the food in Australia, especially in Melbourne. I try to have virtually every restaurant that I can possibly fit into my trip. I'm going to keep that up.

Q. Not seeing you live for a while, when you're hitting the ball well, people gasp in the crowd. How old were you when you realized how big you were able to hit compared to a lot of your peers?

MADISON KEYS: I'm not sure. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I still totally appreciate it. It feels fairly normal for me, just kind of like my average ball. I think that's part of the reason why I overhit sometimes.

Growing up I didn't understand the concept of tennis, but my grandpa is a massive baseball fan, so I would try to hit home runs, which I think really makes my tennis game make a lot more sense (smiling).

Q. You're still on the players council.

MADISON KEYS: No.

Q. A WTA question. The decision to suspend the tournaments in China, what did you make of that as someone who knows how important China has been to the tour?

MADISON KEYS: I think the biggest concern is that Peng Shuai is safe. I know that Steve has had some incredibly difficult decisions to make. He's our CEO. I think his first concern every single day is all of his players' safety. I as one of those players really support him and appreciate that's what his stance is.

Q. You were talking a bit ago about the power that you have. Could you describe how you feel about that power today, how it might compare with other times in your career?

MADISON KEYS: I don't even really think of it as far as power. I think today I was really focused on just trying to get the ball kind of deep and at her feet just because she is kind of a big first-strike tennis player. I knew if I let her get that first ball the way that she wanted, I was going to be in trouble and/or running.

I just honestly kind of think out in front and swing at it.

Q. A few moments ago you were talking about a 'dark cloud' as far as your tennis was concerned. Did you find the sport had become a bit of a grind for you, to use a corny expression, that you had fallen out of love with the sport, but that has been rekindled?

MADISON KEYS: I think last year was just difficult. It started off with not being able to come to Australia. I felt like I was behind because everyone else had done so well. I kind of just started comparing myself to everyone who was doing well and feeling that kind of panic of I have to catch up, I have to catch up.

Then being in bubbles was really difficult for me personally. I don't really thrive when my entire life becomes about tennis. I start thinking about it too much. It just starts becoming a little bit overwhelming for me. Not being able to kind of get out, go for walks, separate myself from the tournament a little bit, got really difficult. Then it kind of spiraled from there. It just felt like it was just another brick on top of another brick. Everything got a little bit heavier and heavier and harder to deal with.

The latter half of the year, not being in bubbles, helped a little bit. Then having the off-season to reset, take some time. I got to go to Montana and enjoy the outdoors a little bit, which really helped me just clear my mind, just get back to being a happy person off the court, then enjoying tennis again on the court.

Q. We were joking about your record post Berlin. You mentioned that Bjorn sat you down and was like stop doing this to yourself. From midyear through the end when wins weren't coming, what did it look like? How was it actually bleeding into home life, off-court life?

MADISON KEYS: I was just at a very high anxiety level all of the time. I wasn't sleeping as well. It just, like I said, felt like there was literally a weight on my chest just because I became so focused and obsessed with it that I wasn't enjoying really anything because it's all that I was thinking about.

Yeah, like I said, I just became a much higher anxiety person than I already kind of am. It was probably not the easiest to live with me at that time period. I'm very appreciative of the sit-down, stern talking-to that I received (smiling).

Q. We don't know who you're playing next, but I wanted to talk to you about Krejcikova. You only played her in doubles. What kind of challenge will she pose for you?

MADISON KEYS: I think obviously she's really found her rhythm on the singles court along with on the doubles court. I think she's kind of just making tennis look easy. It seems like no matter what people are doing, she very quickly figures it out and has, like, another game plan to quickly implement. So that would be tough to play against.

Then I think the other thing about her is that she's also an incredible doubles player. She moves forward so naturally that I feel like if you give her the opportunity, she's just on top of you all of a sudden, then she's at the net. Obviously it's not easy to pass her. That would obviously be an incredibly difficult matchup.

Then also you have Vika, who is a Grand Slam champion and also a player who, if you give her even a ball that's what you wouldn't normally consider a short ball, she can make it into a short ball.

Honestly, I think either match is going to be really difficult. I think they both play a little bit different but also similar in some ways where they're both trying to come forward, they're both trying to be the aggressor, they both have great returns.

I mean, honestly either matchup is going to be difficult.

Q. You can give us a couple top restaurant recommendations for Melbourne.

MADISON KEYS: What would it be? I love Chin Chin. Rockpool if you're feeling the steakhouse. That's kind of not boring, but I feel like everyone always says Rockpool. There's Tonka, which is really good for Indian food. There's a really good Mexican place that if you ask me what the name is, I cannot tell you. If you want me to give you specific details of how to get there, I can give you those (smiling).