BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

November 10, 2022

Sylvain Bruneau

Leylah Fernandez

Gabriela Dabrowski

Team Canada

Emirates Arena

Press Conference

DABROWSKI-FERNANDEZ/Paolini-Bronzetti

6-1, 6-1

Team Canada - 3

Team Italy - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Leylah, two games dropped today, just 90 minutes on court today. Couldn't have gone any better for you, could it?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, no, I think today was just a great day overall for everyone. Bianca played a great match. I think I was just so happy that I was able to follow it up with a great performance.

Just the support I was receiving in the crowd, the support I was receiving by the bench behind me was incredible. It definitely helped me to keep focus and keep improving every game.

Q. You had a real battle when you played Trevisan at the French Open earlier this year. Did you expect today's match to turn out the way it did?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I expected it to be a tough match. I knew Trevisan, she was going to come in and she was going to fight for every point. It wasn't going to be easy.

I was just glad that I was able to maintain the level, and I was able to get the win for our team and get us in the next step of our plan.

Q. Sylvain, you said earlier in the week this was the best team you had to pick from. They made it worth the wait, didn't they, today?

CAPTAIN BRUNEAU: Yeah, great day. Both Bianca and Leylah played really well in singles. Gaby played, as we know, really well in doubles. A really good day.

Yes, I think it's the team that has the most depth that I have been involved with, although we had teams with Aleksandra Wozniak and Eugenie Bouchard and a bunch of really good teams, but I think this year is a team, with all respect, with a lot of that including in singles and doubles.

The girls played really well today. Yeah, well done.

Q. Are you expecting a very different challenge when you take on Switzerland tomorrow?

CAPTAIN BRUNEAU: You never know. You never know how it's going to be. We were expecting a very tough challenge with Italy, which could have been. But, you know, the girls played just like so good.

So, yes, we expect a tough, for sure always, a tough match with Switzerland. They have very good players, very powerful players, and it's going to be a different day. We've got to be ready. Enjoy today, but tomorrow is another one.

Q. How were the courts playing? I know you guys like indoors, being from Canada, we all play indoors most of the year, but how quick are they compared to a normal indoor hard court?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Oh, they are not quick compared to our Canadian indoors. They are very slow (smiling).

Yeah, I think they are bouncing -- to describe it best, is like instead of the ball bouncing through the court as it normally would, it's kind of bouncing a little bit up. So my first hit, I was catching a lot of balls early, because I was actually too early. The ball hadn't come to me yet.

So I think it's just more about getting your feet in the right place and your body weight through the ball even more important than probably on other surfaces that we play, because the court is not going to give you a lot of pace coming at you.

Q. There has been some noise made about the travel time from Fort Worth to here. How has that been for you?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Luckily I'm adjusting just fine. Yeah, the trip was smooth, so I'm lucky. That's not always the case for everyone traveling across the world.

But definitely two huge events back to back is probably not ideal, but at the same time, having a break in between is also not ideal, because then our season is extended even longer than it already is.

So for this year, I understand why they are back to back, and I think it's okay, but for sure difficult. I know for someone like Elise, who finished on Monday in Texas, that must be incredibly tough for her. I'd be interested to hear her perspective of how she feels, because I'm sure that's not great. I have a lot of respect for her still coming and showing up for her team, though, despite that.

So, yeah, I think it's just a matter of the governing bodies of tennis coming together and working together on creating a schedule that's healthy for the players so that you have the field show up that you want for these big events.

THE MODERATOR: We will check with media online.

Q. Leylah, just how good do you feel and when do you feel like you just can't miss a ball, you're kind of in the zone? Is there a way to describe exactly how you felt throughout that match?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: : I think I just felt extremely, just like kind of elevated. I wasn't really focused on anything that was going on around me. I was very at peace with myself mentally and emotionally, and then afterwards, I was just enjoying my time on court.

I made mistakes, but I was fine with it. I didn't feel too frustrated, and I was just trying to figure out ways to keep improving and keep imposing my game without letting my opponent get back in the match.

But that also came with the support from the crowd, from our support team. For them to cheer me on in those key moments definitely helped me and keeping my head in that zone.

Q. Sylvain, Bianca has a good record against Teichmann. What do you think the chances are they might substitute Golubic for Teichmann tomorrow?

CAPTAIN BRUNEAU: I don't know. I don't know. I thought Teichmann played well in her first match against Italy. Very close win. So, I mean, there is a chance. I know Bianca and Golubic played a really close match at the US Open, I believe it was in 2021, really tough match first round.

So I'm not sure which card he's going to play. We'll wait and see. But whoever that is is going to be a good opponent. We know that.