THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2022

Jason Kubler

Press Conference

J. KUBLER/J. Sock

6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Your initial thoughts on today's match for everyone.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, second time I played best-of-five sets, so to be able to win it like that is pretty cool.

Yeah, I've never played a match in conditions like that before. So super, super happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Obviously yesterday you headed straight to the practice courts, needed more of a workout. I imagine you're feeling pretty spent now.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, I won't be doing that today. A bit different where I played best-of-five today than four points yesterday. I think I really needed to do it yesterday, and definitely I think some of the things I worked on yesterday worked well today.

But, yeah, sort of after that match today, gonna try and recover as best I can and get ready for Monday.

Q. How are you physically? Are you up for another one?

JASON KUBLER: Well, I'm going to try to anyway. Other than a few slips on court, I'm pretty good.

Yeah, but to be honest, regardless how I feel I'm going to try as hard as I can on Monday and then just sort of see what happens.

Q. Coming in, what were your realistic expectations? Did you genuinely give yourself a chance of getting through to the second week? Ajla was in before saying she didn't book her accommodation for the second week. Did you book accommodation for two weeks?

JASON KUBLER: Well, I didn't even book accommodation till after quallies. So when we quallied on the Thursday, I think the accoms finished Friday. I was stressing that Friday trying to find somewhere. I'm staying at the official hotel now, which is fine.

But, yeah, with my expectation, I remember before quallies started and then I may have got interviewed and they asked, What do you think about the points? I said, I'm just happy to get that $10,000. That's all I was thinking about. Now in hindsight, I'm kind of like, Oh, wow, those points would be pretty cool.

That was sort of my expectation. I'm coming here to sort of if I can get past a couple of rounds, hopefully qualify. With my ranking only being like 98, 99, 100, that's sort of the expectation you go in with.

So to reach the second week is, yeah, like I probably didn't think it was going to happen.

Q. Just wanted to talk a bit about your journey, been pro 11 years, obviously junior world No. 1. This success you are having now, does it feel like a long time coming or does it feel like something that was never going to come? Where does this come from?

JASON KUBLER: Well, if I could tell you then I'd just keep doing it (smiling).

It's a weird one because I only really started playing very good tennis the past couple months. Before that it was one of those ones where I sort of felt like I was floating around to an extent. I was doing okay, getting injured a little bit, but I was always just doing okay. Sort of the last couple of months has been pretty good in terms of my results.

Yeah, I think this is definitely something that I can build off. If anything, this is just going to add more confidence and sort of give myself a better opportunity to hopefully do this again in the next Grand Slams.

Q. Why do you think it's clicked this week, or is it a case of the cards have just fallen the right way?

JASON KUBLER: I think with all tennis matches there is a lot of little moments in each match. So I can go back to my first-round quallies, and I was down a set and breakpoints, to go down a break obviously.

There's a lot of little moments in matches that, you know, even if you're winning all the time, there's little moments you need to win.

In my first-round quallies there were moments. In my second-round quallies there was definitely moments where the other guy could have won, as well.

So I could say I'm fortunate they've all sort of gone my way. But I also think maybe the last couple months I've really tried to work on sort of the mental side and really trying to think more long term instead of so short term and so right now. I think that's definitely helped.

Q. Are you ever upset? Demon was in here a moment ago and said he's never ever seen you in a bad mood.

JASON KUBLER: That's because every time I'm around Demon I'm happy. Yeah, that probably explains that. Definitely.

Today, after maybe middle of the third set, I could definitely get the feelings of agitation when things aren't going my way, but luckily the last couple of months I've really tried to improve that side of me.

Obviously off the court I'm a pretty happy guy, so that's probably normal. But yeah, on court I've been really trying to work on staying calm, sort of doing certain things, and then I'll sort of be happy with that.

Q. Can you just explain, how many grass court games have you actually played? How many surgeries have you had? Because I understand that you concentrated on the clay court for a long time because of your knees.

JASON KUBLER: Yeah. So with the surgeries, I think I've only had five on the left, I think, five on the left, one on the right. But it hasn't been, like my last -- my last one was maybe when I was 23, 24. I'm 29 now, so it's been a little while since.

What was the first part?

Q. How many grass court games have you played?

JASON KUBLER: At this tournament I've played six now. But then, I was talking to some of my team before, before this tournament I think I played a doubles event in a challenger, and then other than that I was playing on hard court and then before that on clay.

So sort of my lead-in to this event wasn't even probably as much time on grass as I wanted. But I feel each match I'm slowly trying to not get more comfortable, because I definitely feel comfortable, but like I'm sort of committing to the way I think I need to play.

Q. You spoke about the $10,000 you couldn't wait to get your hands on. You're now getting 330 or something like that. You spoke about looking for a house yesterday. It's a life changer, right?

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, well, a life changer to an extent, yeah. If anything, now, you know, I think I said it after I qualified for Paris, I can sort of invest more in myself now with that large amount of money for me.

If anything, I just see sort of maybe a physio on the road more often, definitely more weeks with a coach. You know, I have my coach Jarrad Bunt. Maybe I can get more weeks with him on the road.

If anything, it's just I give myself more opportunity to hopefully do something like this again.

Q. (Off mic.)

JASON KUBLER: I would love to do that, but hopefully I can sort of do both. Because as important as getting something, which would be unreal, I think I could remember it's a team effort, and then I didn't do this by myself. If I would have done it by myself, I probably would have done it ten years ago.

I've got to remember it's a team and I've got to remember sort of the people around me that have helped me into this position.

Q. When Alex was talking about you, I think what he was referring to was also through the difficult times that you've had, you've always managed to smile, Mr. Sunshine. Is that how you've been, even through the dark hours?

JASON KUBLER: Oh, there's definitely been tough times, just like I'm sure with a lot of tennis players there's been tough times. There have been times where, you know, after getting injured -- it wasn't even with my knee. With other injuries, as well.

There have been times where I go, Maybe I look into something else, which obviously I'm sure a lot of people think.

But back then I made a promise to myself when I had my last knee surgery, I really just wanted to enjoy what I'm doing. Obviously it's been an up-and-down sort of career for me.

But especially since that last surgery, I can definitely look back and go, I've definitely enjoyed the tennis. Maybe not like how I've played it at certain times, but in terms of traveling with some of my best friends, always rocking up to tournaments and being able to hang out with all the Australians, I've really enjoyed it.

Obviously the injuries suck, but I wouldn't really change what I've done. In the position I'm in now, not with this tournament, but with the relationships I've got with the other Australian tennis players, like, I know if I'm struggling with anything, I can ring one of them, I can message one of them, and they've got my back.

Q. Is there a moment where you were closest to calling it a day and doing something else?

JASON KUBLER: Well, the closest would have been when I was doing the coaching. I did a bit of coaching and hitting with some players. I probably did that for two or three months when I didn't have so much money.

Then, yeah, I was actually enjoying it. I enjoy helping other people. I enjoy trying to give some sort of, maybe I know a little bit about tennis, some expertise that I may know, so I was really enjoying that.

It sort of luckily turned out that there were some tournaments in Australia, I did okay, then that sort of springboarded me into -- I think I played Aussie Open a few months later. That was probably the closest.

But at the same time, after I finished doing that, I was doing pretty well in tennis.

Q. In theory, you think you could be now coaching rather than playing?

JASON KUBLER: Yeah, no, for sure. For sure. Like if I didn't do as well back then, then I doubt I would have, yeah, kept going. Just because I didn't have any money, you know.

And then, not to brag, but I was doing all right with the hitting and the coaching stuff. I was actually enjoying it. I was starting to make, for me, make some all right money, and I was like, I could really be happy doing this. Obviously I'm happier doing this sort of stuff.

Yeah, no, that was definitely a moment where I could have definitely stopped.

Q. Who you were coaching? At the moment, how fit are you? I notice that you slipped there, one particular nasty slide on your left leg. Are you feeling 100% confident in your body at the moment?

JASON KUBLER: So first with the people I was coaching, it was just really, like I say "coaching," but I don't know how to coach. It was sort of just hitting. Then if I see something, then I say something.

It was an open opportunity for anyone. You know, if they wanted to hit with me, as long as they maybe paid me, then I was happy.

Yeah, you know, I hit with some juniors, I hit with some guys and girls, it didn't really matter. I did some stuff where people were learning how to play tennis. A lot of different things.

Then with my body, yeah, no, it's feeling good. I think I did 4 hours 15 on the court today. Obviously I'm going to feel a little bit tight, a little bit stiff. But for me, as long as I'm mentally sort of ready to go, it doesn't matter too much how I'm feeling physically.

Yeah, then at the moment I feel strong, I feel like I'm ready to go again on Monday. We'll just see what happens.

Q. You touched there on it there a bit, but does this sort of run feel a bit sweeter considering the injuries you've had before? How did you stay positive when you were going through your surgeries when you were younger?

JASON KUBLER: I wouldn't say it feels, because of this, it feels sweeter. You know, obviously it sucks that I have had that many surgeries but I have never looked at it like, Oh, because of that I wasn't able to do any of this. It was just sort of, that's how it is. That's how it happened for me.

Obviously this is a great moment for me and hopefully I can keep doing similar things. But, yeah, I definitely don't look back -- like I don't feel sour about what's happened. Maybe if I had handled situations differently when I was younger, maybe this could have come earlier.

I don't blame my knee necessarily for -- what would be the right word? -- for keeping it this late. I think there were definitely other things I could have done better.

But, yeah, I'm super happy that something has finally happened, and then, yeah, sort of see how we go from here.

Q. When was that period when you were coaching?

JASON KUBLER: I think it was like maybe like mid-2017, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think so.