THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2022

Jason Kubler

Press Conference

T. FRITZ/J. Kubler

6-3, 6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Just your initial thoughts on today's match.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, I'm happy with the experience. You know, I'm pretty fortunate that I was able to play on Court 1. When I do look back on today, it's not going to be, Damn, I lost. It's going to be, I'm happy I got to play one of the biggest courts in the world, and I got to play Taylor who is playing very well at the moment and I fought till the end.

If anything, now I can build off this result and hopefully do some other things in the future.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Just on that, what do you take from your whole experience? Obviously it surpassed your initial expectations, but has this really given you motivation now to continue playing on grass?

JASON KUBLER: I don't know on grass, but like just in general, I sort of feel like the opportunity I can give myself now, I can get a physio on the road with me maybe every week for the rest of the year. I'm not so worried about paying the coaches to come to tournaments on their expenses.

If anything, I can almost go -- not that I wasn't already, but I can go full in, invest in myself, and then sort of just see how good I can get.

Yeah, like these last two weeks have been unbelievable. I wasn't expecting anything like this. I was just hoping if I can qualify, do something similar to what I did in Paris would be great. But, yeah, just the fact that I was fourth round and, you know, playing pretty well, especially against great players, yeah, it's only a positive.

Q. You do walk away without ranking points. How does that sit with you now?

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, in the situation I'm in now, yeah, it's tough, but, you know, I just go back to thinking where I was two weeks ago. I was just happy to get the prize money.

Yeah, in the position I'm in now, then I go, Yeah, damn, I wish did. That's just because of the result.

Two weeks ago when I was coming to this tournament, I was more than happy to have the prize money up for grabs. When I qualified, I was more happy for it to just be the prize money. Even then I didn't worry about the points.

Yeah, fourth round, it would have been nice, but, you know, at least there is prize money (smiling).

Q. We have written a few times about your bank doles. What does it do for your career now?

JASON KUBLER: Like I was saying, now I can almost go fully, fully in. It's almost like I can, you know, put a lot of money into seeing how good I can get.

Even if another result like this never happens, at least I can put all my efforts, all my sort of own financial backing into it, and then sort of see how good I can get. Hopefully, like I say, full-time physio, hopefully that stops the injuries and I can remain being consistent on the tour and hopefully my ranking keeps rising.

Q. Now you can aggressively change your setup for a long period of time?

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, big time. Yeah, for me, always sort of feeling like I will play, play pretty well, then get injured with a little thing; play, play well, get injured with a little thing.

Hopefully now after this tournament I can sort of invest, have people with me all the time that are looking after me. Probably schedule a bit smarter in terms of my tournament load. Then, yeah, just keep being consistent.

Q. Did you ever think this day would come?

JASON KUBLER: Like a fourth round?

Q. Yeah. Such a dream finish.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, it hasn't really sunk into me. It's a bit of a weird feeling, because the last probably, I don't know, whatever, before Paris, week before Paris, quallies, it's weird saying I have won a lot, so it was almost weird saying, I'm only in the fourth round?

Just because I went semi, won so many matches in Paris, went challenger final, challenger, fourth round. I want to get something with a "final," in it, because it was something in my head.

But, yeah, I think after a couple days when I can look back, then realize how many matches I played and then sort of like for someone like me how big a fourth-round achievement is, then it will really hit and I will go, Okay, this is pretty cool.

Q. I saw you just chatting to Nick on the way here. Last Aussie in it. It's been 20 years since an Aussie won it. Does Nick have what it takes to win the whole thing?

JASON KUBLER: 100%. I hit with Kygs maybe the day before he played Jubb and then the day before I played Evo, and then I said to my team, Man, Kygs is playing well at the moment. If his draw opens up or he's playing well, he's dangerous. When we were hitting, he was smashing me.

Yeah, I think so. You guys know Nick's level. I think the whole world knows Nick's level. With his serve and with just the amount of power he can generate, I think he can beat anyone on any day, and especially on grass where, you know, sort of his strengths are maximized.

Q. You guys obviously have a good rapport and you're mates, but he's not everyone's cup of tea, he's had a lot of criticism. Stefanos the other day says he's evil and he's a bully and all that sort of thing. Is he good or bad? Is he misunderstood?

JASON KUBLER: I would say maybe misunderstood just purely based off, you know, you're not maybe around him as much as the other players. When I'm around Kygs, it's nonstop laughter.

For me, he's one of the nicest guys I know in the locker room. Every time I see him, he's smiling. Every time I'm around him, it seems like I'm laughing. So it's kind of weird when I read or see the comments about him, knowing him the way I do, but yeah, I think he's just one of those people if you were to hang around him or spend any sort of quality time with him, you'd fall in love with him. He's a very good guy.

Q. This whole run, just the last couple of months, 23 wins out of 26 matches, has it actually changed your belief and the thoughts of where you could go in this game still? You're coming into your 30th birthday.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, yeah (smiling).

It's given me confidence in sort of what I have been doing. I don't know how good I can be. I don't know if this is the max I will be, but it's put a lot of confidence in sort of the work I have been doing.

You know, I have been doing a lot of stuff after matches, a lot of stuff in preparation for matches. Then if anything, I choose to believe I'm on the right track.

If I can keep doing that, like these last two weeks and even before this, things have been going well. So hopefully I continue to do that, and then, yeah, hopefully the results come? They may not, but I'm pretty confident in the process I'm in at the moment.

Q. What's your schedule now?

JASON KUBLER: So I'm going to Newport next week, which is the first time I got into a main draw of an ATP tournament, which is kind of cool. Cool for me, anyways.

Then I will probably end up playing Atlanta and Los Cabos, I would imagine.

Q. You mentioned earlier about your preparation. Is that the thing that's changed? Is that what you have attributed to this run of success? What is that key thing that's different now than what we saw a year or so ago?

JASON KUBLER: I don't know right now what maybe the exact key is, but I definitely feel like when I'm out on court the mental side of how I'm performing is a lot more consistent.

Yeah, I feel like my preparation for matches in terms, writing down specific things in matches that I want to accomplish, which it's not determined by if I win a point or lose a point or if I win a match, lose a match. I think that's probably been one of the main things where I have tried to take the result out of, I don't know, like sometimes I feel negatively because of an outcome, where like as long as I do a certain thing, I'm happy and I can sort of move on from it.

So in the matches that's been massive. I'm not holding onto things, Oh, I should have done this, should have done that. No, I accomplished what I wanted to do and now I can move on to the next. If anything, that's helped me with my fitness on the court, like I'm able to last longer now. My emotional fitness, I'm not screaming or whacking balls everywhere.

Yeah, when I'm out on court playing matches, I feel a lot more calmer and sort of more able to handle situations.

Q. Have you had a sports psych that's helped deal with that recently or is that something that's developed over time?

JASON KUBLER: I have worked with a couple of coaches like the last probably three, four months. Then it's been sort of I would get something from this coach and then I will implement that into my tennis.

When I started working with Stephen Haas, that was, I don't know, like maybe two-and-a-half, three months ago, I feel like that's one of the things we have tried to look at the most. When he first started working with me, he said, I think your tennis is at a pretty good level. If anything, it's maybe the up-and-downs you have during the match.

Then, yeah, we have gotten along very well, and we are working well together. So I think having him in my team has definitely helped me.