US OPEN

September 3, 2022

Petra Kvitova

Press Conference

P. KVITOVA/G. Muguruza

5-7, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Tough three-set win. Memorable tiebreak. Can you just give us your thoughts on your performance today.

PETRA KVITOVA: Actually, I would love to forget the tiebreak (smiling).

Oh, my God. Yeah, it's been very tough match today. I actually didn't expect that tough. I think Garbine played a really great match. I didn't see her playing like this for a very long time. Especially from our previous matches, she was really showing great tennis today.

She was serving very, very well, keeping fighting. Same with me. I really had to fight, fight, fight, to, you know, win this match, especially with a break down in the third one. Facing few match points in my serve, and then the tiebreak was just nightmare.

I'm glad that somehow worked out, and I'm glad, you know, it was a big relief after the match points. Yeah. Finally (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I know you might want to forget most of the tiebreak but there was that really great shot towards the end. What you remember of it and if it helped you over the finish line?

PETRA KVITOVA: I think you are talking about the forehand down-the-line winner. I was waiting for that whole tiebreak, actually. I was telling myself, even my coach, like that I have to go for it. That's my game. I can't really push it until surrender and playing for safe.

But I actually just had one winner probably (smiling). So really I was pushing a lot. But this forehand down the line I think helped me in the end of this tiebreak. It was a good rally with a winner in the end.

Then I was going for a serve. So I think like this rally helped me to have a good serve in the end. Even I was really not breathing very hard before that serve. Yeah, I waited pretty long for this.

I even went for the net like a serve and volley and she just return it unbelievable. Yeah, so everything like whole tiebreak was just really tough, nice, tight, everything.

Q. You talked about not wanting to "surrender," to not push. Seemed like late in that third set almost like it came in your mind that you did kind of need to take a little bit off a little bit, hit some slices, some forehand slices. How were you managing that logic, that thought process as that time was going?

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, it was tough to manage it. You know, my game is a totally different game than I was showing today in the third set, which I think it's nice, nice thing to have, for sure, as a plan B. Probably you see me running side to side, playing some slices.

Actually, it's nice, and I'm very happy that I could show this. I think Garbine didn't really expect this, so was a few mistakes from it afterwards.

But even in the second set I think I was a little bit calming down. Didn't really do many, like, going for the winners, because I made some mistakes, and I couldn't really help that.

Trying to put some returns into the court, I wasn't really that aggressive, but I was just trying to put it and play some rallies. This I did in the third set, as well. I was working pretty hard. Even in the tiebreak I think I was putting some good slices into the court, and it was just tough changing the momentum of it.

I'm very happy that I could use it, and it's came to my mind.

Q. When you face match points like you did today, what is your mindset and do you approach those differently than a regular point, or do you try to convince yourself it is a regular point?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I think the people actually showed me it's not regular point, that it's match point, because they are always been very loud for those big points.

I was actually approaching those match points as I'm going for the first serve, I'm going for the ace. That was always my setup.

I know it not was always the first serve, which I think I did even few double faults as well. Was just hoping not to do that. We had few rallies, not big ones, but we played some, and Garbine like miss it as well.

You know, it wasn't really easy. I was sweating, and I couldn't really go for a towel because it's pretty far so I didn't have the time then to prepare for the serve.

It's always tough with these conditions to be like 100% ready for the serve. So, yeah, I have to choose going for the towel and be late a little bit or be focusing but having a sweaty hand.

Yeah, I tried to really hard with the serves, and actually I don't really remember what was happening over there, but that doesn't matter really, I think.

Q. You mentioned on court Serena. I'm wondering how much of that match did you watch? Where did you watch it from? What were your thoughts both in terms of the end of it and the match points which you referenced today, but also maybe in the bigger picture thoughts on her moving on?

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, I watched probably almost whole match. Not the first set actually. But I watched obviously the third set from my hotel room.

I saw those match points when she didn't give up obviously. She always hit a beautiful return. Yeah, it was very special, she didn't want to leave the court, for sure.

That was the same case with me today actually. I didn't want to go out of this tournament, so I was just there hanging somehow.

But I think that's what Serena showed last night, especially facing a match point was something very nice. Actually, she's playing aggressively, as well. Me too. So I was trying to go for it with these first serves or for aces.

Yeah, I think it was nice to see her yesterday fighting until the end.

Q. Jessica, your next opponent, said that she thinks in some ways you're a better player today than when you won Wimbledon twice. How would you compare yourself today to the player who won then? If you don't mind, what are your thoughts about facing Jessica?

PETRA KVITOVA: Oh, I think it's very tough to compare me this time and being younger, many years back. On grass, it's different story than on the hard courts. I think that on the grass, it's one, two points, and that's it, done. But today I had to work very hard, even with the rallies.

Yeah, I think I'm not playing badly, for sure. That's important. I don't know really to compare it. It's very tough.

Facing Jessica, I will face Jessica and the crowd, for sure. But on the other hand, I'm really looking forward. I played her a few times, and it was always great match. I think that she is really playing very solid game. Not only here but even whole season she was really going deep in these tournaments.

It will be nice matchup, for sure, especially here with the crowd. Yeah, I'm looking forward.

Q. Specifically about her game, what impresses you most about the way she plays?

PETRA KVITOVA: I'm going to tell you, for sure (smiling).

Q. The tiebreak, I was wondering how you were feeling in those late moments, how you were managing your emotions, what made it such a nightmare?

PETRA KVITOVA: Nightmare was how I was tight. I think I moved pretty okay, but my hands were very slow. Pushing it there. So that's why I even played few slices. One slice was like middle to the net, so it was really tough.

But, yeah, I mean, the beginning of the tiebreak was like a man tiebreak, really. We served well and it was like 3-All, and then I really step up a little bit, and then tried to hold this, but I didn't really.

But, yeah, I think the nightmare was the nerves, the tightness. Actually, I think both of us were pretty nervous, actually tight. When you have a deciding tiebreak of the match, it's always very tight.

So, yeah, I think that was, you know, the feeling of it.

Q. Jessica again referenced that there are so many people, women left in the draw, that are right around your age, 32, 33. We feel last year the US Open was all about the teenagers, and now we see really a group of women who are your contemporaries succeeding this year. What are your thoughts on why you guys are coming back so strong?

PETRA KVITOVA: It's not easy questions today, guys (smiling).

Definitely I'm glad that I'm one of them, for sure. Yeah, Coco Gauff, it's a little bit putting us very low, but otherwise, I'm very happy for me, for Vika, and this kind of age, I think that that's something what we are still working hard and playing tennis.

I think we do have some successes from the last years, so we are maybe using even the experiences from our career maybe. But it's actually it's nice. I feel like it's good to have, for sure, because we are on the tour so many years, and I'm just happy that we could still, you know, manage it and still, you know, facing young generation.