ROLAND GARROS

May 23, 2022

Ajla Tomljanovic

Press Conference

A. TOMLJANOVIC/A. Kontaveit

7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Congrats. Tell us about the win today.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I feel really happy, these are the matches that I love to get up for and I think in my career I played a lot of top players first rounds in slams and I always feel like I can win, but it never really matters until you really do it.

I think this mostly does a lot for my confidence, just to, when you really come out with a win, it's different than just putting up a good match. So that makes me happy.

Q. Is that the best win of your in your Grand Slams that you can think of or which is your best win?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: You mean like ranking-wise or just?

Q. Yeah, ranking-wise.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Well I actually don't know. I played Radwanska here one year, I don't know what she was ranked, maybe 3. I mean, it's up there definitely, yeah.

Q. And especially after your recent injury problems.

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I was going to give everything today no matter even if I was in pain and I luckily wasn't, so I'm happy that the decision last week ended up being right. It's never easy to retire, but this definitely was the priority.

Q. You said on court that you recognize your first win on that court. Are those the sort of things that stick in your mind and how much more special does it make it when those things happen?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: I wouldn't say that it's going to make a difference, but when I do see the schedule it does, I realize it, I'm like, Okay, I haven't really won there, ever, so it just makes me want to do it even more.

Q. When the draw came out and you saw that you were playing the 5th seed and she's had some pretty good form this year, what were your immediate thoughts?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: "Okay." It was like that, kind of. I landed in Paris and the draw came out and my coach told me and I tried to keep a poker face to not have him think that I'm not up for it. And then he could tell, he knows me well enough and he's like, Like it doesn't matter who you play, as long as you do what you have to do. And it's true, but it did take me maybe like 10 minutes to accept it and be like, Well, if I want to go far, which is always what I want to do, you're going to have to play top players eventually.

So winning one round against someone lower ranked isn't really going to satisfy me, so in the end, yeah, it doesn't matter who you play.

Q. What do you think made the difference today? I mean both sets were obviously pretty tight, what allowed you to get through the match?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: There were a few key moments where I really could have mentally lost it a little bit and when it was happening I felt like this is where I in the past have screwed up a little bit. And I definitely, I was like, I don't want to do this today, I want to be there for myself in that way and if I lose this I want her to beat me with her best tennis and not give her cheap points. I think that those moments I stayed really calm, but eager to step up.

Q. Late last year when we were in Indian Wells and we were talking and you said the biggest thing for you is you need to get that belief in yourself, that you were doing various things to develop that aspect of your game. How far have you progressed, do you think?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Well, when we spoke then I think I was in a good path, but the thing is with me is that one, two, three bad weeks really sometimes puts me back further than it really should, because I'm a perfectionist in a bad way and I get really disappointed and negative. And that's where I don't help myself.

I think this year hasn't been the greatest, I haven't had the greatest moments yet, but at the same time I could focus on a lot of positives and be in good spirits, which I've been trying to do when I came to Europe.

So, yeah, it's really, no matter what I do, if I don't come out today and really believe that I can do it, it doesn't really matter what I've done before. So I've kind of grasped that thing that it just matters in the moment where you are with your head.

Q. It's been a good day for Australian women today. Daria has gone to, I think she now becomes No. 2 on the rankings in Australia and she says, I'm going to go for No. 1. You were saying the other day you welcome the competition. What do you think about her performance and looking forward to that kind of rivalry at the top?

AJLA TOMLJANOVIC: Yeah, I think her comeback has been really impressive. I mean, she didn't take much time to get back up there. And I wouldn't say I'm surprised, I remember her first match that I think was even a little bit early was the Fed Cup and she performed under pressure.

So I knew that 2022 was going to be a big year for her and I definitely welcome the competition and especially with Dash, we're pretty good friends off the court, so it's all in good spirits, but I think we both definitely will fight for it. So it will be a nice one.