AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2022

Paula Badosa

Press Conference

M. KEYS/P. Badosa

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Why don't you just talk us through the match a little bit.

PAULA BADOSA: Well, it was tough today. I think it wasn't my day. Madison, I think she played a very good match, high level. Well, I was a little bit tired, exhausted of all these matches.

Well, credit to her because she played very good.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You played a lot of tennis recently. Did it feel like it caught up with you today?

PAULA BADOSA: Yeah, I think I wasn't on my 100% today. My serve didn't help either. Maybe days like today I needed to play a little bit, like, more big, go for it, but I didn't have a chance. I think she didn't let me either.

It wasn't my day. Nothing else to say.

Q. Both today and the previous round, right in the heat of the day. Was that tough?

PAULA BADOSA: Very tough. It was very tough. I was feeling it a little extra today. It was very hot. It was quite tough to play there. It was tough because I knew I had to play maybe long points, do a tough match. I had no chance.

Q. How reassuring has it been for you to start this year this way after finishing the year the way you did?

PAULA BADOSA: Very good. I think I finished the season very well last year. Of course, the beginning of the year you never know and you want to start the year well. I think I'm starting pretty well. I won very good matches. I won a tournament. I think I started almost perfect. I'm really happy about that. I think I'm doing a really good work on that.

Today, well, too many matches maybe. It's always tough in a Grand Slam because you have a lot of tension, you always have tough matches you really want to win. You have a lot of emotions there.

I have to learn maybe to control them a little bit more during the tournaments. It's all very new for me, as well. But for sure I will learn from it. I'm really looking forward for the next tournaments.

Q. In terms of the positives of what you take out of the first week, what do you take into the rest of the season coming out of Australia?

PAULA BADOSA: A lot of things. As I said I usually never played well on this kind of surface. They're too fast sometimes. I think I'm adapting my game pretty well. As I said last week, I'm trying to be more aggressive. Of course, I like to play and combinate a lot of things. I think I'm going more for it, trying to play a little bit more big on that case.

I think I'm doing very well. I won good matches here. I think today she played very good. It was a combination of a very good player and I was very tired. Wasn't my day today, but sometimes it goes like this.

But after all I think I'm playing a very good level. I started with confidence. I'm getting high on the ranking. I have really good tournaments ahead. I'm motivated and really looking forward for it after I rest now a few days, of course.

Q. Your thoughts on Madison's forehand. How do you describe her game when she's crushing the ball like that?

PAULA BADOSA: Nothing to say. What can I say? Sometimes I was serving 180. I had to look what the serve said because I didn't understand how a winner came back that fast. I thought I was serving bad. Then I saw it was her game, that she was playing very, very good.

Madison, she's like that. When she has confidence, she's very dangerous. She's playing a lot of matches, feeling the ball very well. As I said before playing her, she has a very good serve and very good forehand. I got to see it today.

Well, she had the day that everything goes in. Nothing to say. I have to congratulate her very good, wish her good luck for the tournament.