AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 25, 2023

Magda Linette

Press Conference

M. LINETTE/K. Pliskova

6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on reaching your first Grand Slam semifinal. What are the emotions you're feeling right now?

MAGDA LINETTE: I'm actually tired (smiling). Yeah, it's good. Again, I'm quite calm, surprisingly. That helped me last time, and I think that's also, like, a good way for the next one, especially that we are playing tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You did a lot of things well today. What do you think you did the best?

MAGDA LINETTE: I think just staying composed, really, mentally. When it was really tough on my serve, she was getting very aggressive. My first serve wasn't always there. I think I did really well not to panic and still stay in the rally and go for the shots when I had the chance.

That was, I think, something I did the best.

Q. Making the semifinals, being calm, why do you think you have been able to maintain this level of calmness, despite posting these career-best results at the majors?

MAGDA LINETTE: I don't know. Maybe I still don't really believe it (smiling). I don't know.

Just I think also I had so much experience on those big courts before, because almost every Grand Slam I ended up on a big court one way or another. I played so many big players already. It's just nothing really new for me. Just another match.

Of course it's a way, like, more far in the draw. But still, it kind of feels the same. Because usually I played Karolina in the first round already twice at the US Open, so it feels quite normal.

Q. Two years ago you withdrew from this event with the knee injury. I know you talked about it before, but could you explain what that experience was like for you with the knee and how you recovered from it and just the journey from that?

MAGDA LINETTE: Yeah, it was honestly the most painful experience of my life, I think. Especially because I couldn't be, like, nobody could diagnose me for almost 11 weeks, so I was out for total of five months.

It was something really basic. At the end of the day, I had meniscus surgery, but it happened, like, it happened like way ahead of the Australian Open, but just because it was kind of tricky where the injury was, nobody could really see what was happening. We really tried to avoid the surgery. We thought we got it, and then literally one day before my flight, the pain and the uncomfortable feeling that I had at the time came back with, like, some extra force. I felt like really bad and made the decision, okay, there is no way I can walk, not even thinking about the Australian Open.

Yeah, it came back, did the surgery, basically next day withdraw. Had already my flight, had my hotel room. Listened to everybody complaining about the isolation, and I was so jealous that they had to do it, because I really wanted to be there.

But I came back within six weeks. I was very determined to come back as soon as I can. I rushed it a little bit too much. But I was back in competition in six weeks, and, yeah, and since then it wasn't easy, because this time was very painful and a lot of things were happening in my personal life.

But it definitely changed a lot for me. I became a little bit calmer. I changed a lot in my life and made some tough decisions, and I think I'm getting rewarded for it now.

Q. Why did that make you calm?

MAGDA LINETTE: Why? Because I think it couldn't be really worse, right? I honestly didn't play for five months. Was dropping my ranking and also dropping points from pandemic time.

I didn't really want to freeze my ranking, because that would mean another month for me to be out of competition. I was just worried I'm gonna go out of 100, and I wasn't sure if I can really do it. I felt, look, I'm not that young anymore. If I drop out, I need to go a level down to ITF. I don't know what's going to happen.

Then basically finished with my long-time coach for, like it was like the decision from one day to another. Kind of was on my own as well. In a way I felt kind of okay with the fact that I might be done soon. I think that gave me a little bit more space to build everything from the beginning.

Q. Are you working with Ian and Mark still? Is that who is in your box? Just talk a little bit about your team. In the last press conference you talked a little bit about the mental work that you guys have worked together collectively. What is that like? What have they brought to your game?

MAGDA LINETTE: Well, I worked with Mark for already quite some time. We had that one-year break, and then we came back, which I was really happy about, because I always valued his knowledge so much.

I was happy that I could build my team from the beginning again and start again, because I felt once we finished, we weren't really done. I always had that feeling somewhere deep inside.

First of all really happy that he came back, because he's very knowledgeable coach. He really can coach at any level, any kind of player. He can teach a kid, you know, the beginnings, but he can also, you know, improve so much a player on the top. He's so versatile.

I have Ian that is so experienced and bring a lot of calmness in our team, brings a little bit different perspective. I feel like they have this amazing communication. Because it's so much up to them, really, right, that one is not really stepping on another one.

I'm really grateful for them being so good at communicating and never making me feel, like, I have to choose one of them. So I think that's very special, and not many people can have that and I'm really lucky with that.

Q. In terms of this fortnight so far, on to the semis, what's been the most satisfying thing of these last two weeks so far?

MAGDA LINETTE: Honestly all the work that we have done. You know, we had like so many tough times. We went for 125s last year. We had some tough losses.

We knew that we are on a really good path. We saw that I was improving and playing so much better. But obviously when you still go in 125s and sometimes lose still there, it's still difficult. We knew we were doing really good. So I think this is huge reward for not only me but also for them, that they see that they are doing really amazing job and, you know, it was really worth it going through those tough moments. It kind of boosts all of us, because they also need the reward.

Q. Towards the end of last year, at what point did it feel like momentum was really building for you?

MAGDA LINETTE: Yeah, and I think it was, in a way, nice that I kept playing, because I was tired. It was really hard to push myself to do it. I was really doubting a lot of things, because physically I'm not, you know, 20-year-old girl anymore. I'm really feeling it now when I play too much.

So I think pushing myself was really hard. I was really kind of trying to resist. But they kind of pushed me, like, Come on, we want to change a little bit that you play a little bit longer, you don't have such a long break. We want to just try something. You never had this opportunity.

Now with Billie Jean King Cup Finals, that was possible. It worked. I really felt the difference. I felt I didn't actually go out of that competition kind of zone.

But on the other hand, we still had four weeks, so I got fresh and we really decreased the amount of like mostly time on the court. I still did quite a lot physically, but I never got to the point where I was tired. I think in my previous preseasons, I got a little bit too much and I was just not as fresh.

Q. Have you been watching at all this other quarterfinal?

MAGDA LINETTE: Yeah, I did a little bit in ice bath.

Q. If it is Aryna who you end up playing, what do you think will be the key for you in that matchup?

MAGDA LINETTE: I will need to speak with my coaches. My last encounter wasn't the best at the Olympics, so I think I have really big room there, because it obviously can't be any worse than the last one.

I will just try what I'm doing this whole week. I'm being very consistent, returning really well, and keeping my serves. I think she will be, you know, just a little bit more consistent version of being aggressive on every single shot. I will just need to serve really well again.

I will try to do my best on the return, and I have been doing that pretty well the last two matches, especially when the opponent was kind of similar.

Q. Half of the quarterfinalists were player council members. Saw the tweets going back and forth, you all supporting each other. Obviously Vika is in. Now you. Donna is still out there trying to make it. What has that kind of meant? It's been fun for the rest of us to think maybe there is a player council bump.

MAGDA LINETTE: Yeah, we saw it. No, we appreciated your tweet.

Yeah, I mean, I think it's my first time in the player council, and at some level was a little bit too draining, I felt, because we had so much work to do in last year and a half. It was definitely much more than I thought it's gonna be. Much more frustrating that I thought that's going to be.

But on the other hand, first time I felt we have this camaraderie between each other, like we basically are on the chat together all the time every single day. Like I'm finishing practices and sometimes we have like over 200 messages. Yeah, so we really communicate a lot.

I think that was also helping me to be part of something. It feels nice, because I felt I have never made too many friends on my own. Usually it was my coaching staff that was more outgoing than me.

So I think for once it just feels nice that I feel like I'm doing more myself.