US OPEN

August 30, 2022

Paula Badosa

Press Conference

P. BADOSA/L. Tsurenko

3-6, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: If you could, take us through the match from your perspective, how you played, what you thought about your first win of the tournament.

PAULA BADOSA: Well, I'm happy about the win. I think it was a tough battle there today. She played pretty well. I played, depends. First set wasn't that good, second and third was better. It still took me some time to adapt to the conditions. It was a tricky day today.

But I fought until the last point. So, yeah, that gave me I think the match and I'm really happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This is your 13th tiebreaker you won this year, the most since Sonia Kenin a couple years ago. What makes you so good in clutch situations?

PAULA BADOSA: I read that the other day. I don't really know. I think I like that kind of moments. I like the pressure moments when you're like at the limit.

I think I try to play my best tennis there and I compete pretty well. So I think that's what's giving me maybe that many tiebreakers.

Yeah, but I don't really know. I don't have, like, the secret key there, to be honest.

Q. The conditions, leading up to the tournament, was that on your mind at all?

PAULA BADOSA: To be honest, I felt the court really, really fast. Maybe I wasn't feel that on the practice courts. But today, of course, with the nerves and everything, maybe you see it a little bit more.

But as well with the wind and, yeah, the court, I felt it was pretty fast today. Yeah, it took me some time to adapt and to know what to do in that moment because, yeah, I was struggling a little bit at the beginning.

Q. You've spoken about how you like this city a lot. Does it help you as you come here? Do you feel comfortable?

PAULA BADOSA: I love New York. I love Manhattan. I have a special relationship with it. And I do love the fans here. I can feel the love from them. Today the energy on court was very special. I felt so many people supporting me. That, of course, motivates me.

Of course, I love to be in New York. Yeah, I love to be here.

Q. Does that affect do you think your confidence level when you come to a tournament in a city you really like?

PAULA BADOSA: No. To be honest, I love the city, but maybe I don't like that much the conditions here (smiling). So it doesn't give me confidence, to be honest.

But it's okay. I accept it.

Q. I was asking Aryna Sabalenka about you this morning.

PAULA BADOSA: I hope she said positive things (laughter).

Q. She said you were very different once she got to know you. Do you feel that around the locker room, when girls get to know you, they feel that way?

PAULA BADOSA: Yeah, I remember talking to her. We both had, like, the same perception from both of us at the beginning because we didn't know us, know each other.

Then when we got to know each other, we felt that we had, like, quite similar personalities. Yeah, maybe at the beginning I thought she was a little bit different. But then I got to know her and I saw she's super nice with a big heart and very humble. That's what I really like to see, players like that.

Yeah, we have a very good relationship.

At the locker room, I don't know. I don't know what they think about me. I think if they get to know me, they see that I'm quite normal. That's what I try to be.

To be honest, I'm lucky to say that I have very good relationship with most of them. So, yeah. I think it's nice.

Q. Have you spent time with Aryna off the court?

PAULA BADOSA: We talk a lot. We try to spend time. To be honest, we have one dinner here in New York. Let's see if we can make it happen. So, yeah, it's nice to spend time with them as well off court.

Q. Andrea Petkovic was in here before, played her last slam. One of the things she said was that she felt as though her and kind of her generation, their kind of story on the tour was over, that now this tour kind of belonged to Paula, to Iga, Maria. What is your reaction for a veteran player saying that, to shout your name out as well, and whether or not you feel that as well?

PAULA BADOSA: It's nice to hear that words from her. I really respect her. I mean, I remember seeing her play when she was 9 in the world. I think she's an amazing player, such a hard worker, very nice person as well.

She's always a tough opponent to play against. So it's nice to hear words from that, from Andrea. I wish her the best in her new chapter.

I don't know. I hope so. I'm working for that, for be the next -- well, now the next generation. Being here for a long time, I think I'm having a pretty good year. Tough moments, of course, with a lot of new challenges, but I'm still here, I'm still trying to win matches, fighting, trying to enjoy it as well.

I hope I can be here many years and inspire the next generation that will come.

Q. What is it about the conditions that you find challenging?

PAULA BADOSA: The balls, the court. It's too fast (smiling).

Of course, the heat and the humidity doesn't help because it makes it faster. Of course, today the wind. So, yeah, almost everything (laughter).

Q. You've talked about how the ball flies. That sounds familiar to Indian Wells. Is it just the combination? Is there an ideal combination for you in terms of court speed very ball?

PAULA BADOSA: You think in Indian Wells the balls fly?

Q. A slow court, but the ball flies.

PAULA BADOSA: I think, to be honest, it gets heavier, it gets bigger, the ball, when you keep playing with that at Indian Wells. 90% of the tournaments it gets a little bit bigger. Here it gets, like, smaller. That's what we're talking about.

We're studying this with Wilson and everything. They said that it gets smaller. So you feel more like you're playing ping-pong sometimes. That's why you cannot control that much the ball here.

Of course, if it was a slower court, maybe you can find the balance there. But it's not even that. It's super fast. The ball sometimes gets out of control when you start to use it a little bit more.

So, yeah, for me it's tough because you know I like maybe slower conditions, heavier ball, because I'm already strong enough. I think I generate quite well at the baseline.

Yeah, for me it's a little bit tough and it's a big challenge for me to play this swing with these conditions.

But, well, I only have to accept it, to try to adapt myself. Maybe hopefully they can change it soon (smiling).