AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2023

Caroline Garcia

Press Conference

C. GARCIA/L. Fernandez

7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Caroline, well done today. Straight sets, but very close, tight sets. Talk us through the match and your thoughts.

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, for sure I'm very happy to be through that match. It was a good challenge, good test. Leylah played great. Many times in slams.

I'm very happy with the match. The scenario was very tight. To get it through in two sets was... A good comeback in the first set, and it was definitely very important for me to finish it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. To get a big matchup like that, Leylah has played in the US Open final, to get that early in a tournament, come through it, how much confidence do you get out of it?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, I don't know if it's good to get it at the beginning. It is what it is. It's just the draw. It's definitely very important to be ready for every single match. Every player is dangerous. Every player know how to play tennis. You have to be ready for every single match.

Today was very important one. Very happy with the way I fight. I was able to stay positive, to try to find some solution. I was not always happy with my tennis, but definitely happy with the way I tried to find solution and fought through the match.

Q. Your next opponent, Laura Siegemund, not only praised your tennis, she also praised what you said about the previous topics and about mental health in general. She has also a background that she studied psychology. Just wanted to know if this gives you something positive. You said on the Media Day you wouldn't have said it if you knew the big media outcome in the end. Players praise that you spoke publicly about such an important topic.

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, I think a lot of player now are feeling more comfortable to open about it and to express how they are. It's a simple question.

Many times when we answer, when you are asked 'How are you', you just answer 'I'm fine', but we don't really know what is behind that.

For everyone, doesn't matter what your job, you have some good days and some bad days. We are traveling a lot. We are having issue. We want to have result, but we are not the only one. We have to go through wins, through loss. Everyone deal with it a different scenario.

I think we feel more able to be more open. It depends a lot of everyone.

Q. You were 2-5 down in the first set tiebreak. Can you play a better five points than you did in a row?

CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't know. Actually I don't remember many of the points. I just felt like I remember the set points.

After the set points, I don't know, it feels like it was almost like a robbery that I win the first set. I was down always. I couldn't make a point on her serve. Every game was very fast on her serve. Me, I was struggling. I was, like, saving break points.

5-2 down, I arrived to be a little bit looser and play better tennis, just win it on my first set point. I was like, All right, I take it. It was very important for my confidence, for sure.

Q. You saved eight of nine break points. Only once she had a chance. Is that why you're being so successful recently, you're really stepping up to the big points? What's changed?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, I mean, definitely today was pretty obvious: when I was down, I was successful to be aggressive and to be more relaxed, to go to the net, to take the control of the points.

When I was down, like, when it was equal, she was more doing it. That was the main point for me last year. That's what I have to keep working on and be very comfortable with it.

Today was definitely important, in the important points, I served very well, and I went a little bit more for it.

Q. One more about opening up about some are of your ups and downs as tennis player. Has there been anyone on social media or anything like that has reached out to you who might be going through something similar, saying thank you to you?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, you can find some messages like this. I already saw a couple of times. People can relate a little bit to your story, what you have been living. Sometimes they say thank you for it. It helps them to give energy. Probably it happened to me when I read also a couple of people living the same in tennis, in other sports.

I think it helps always to have people live the same experience as you, and you realize I'm not the only one living it. You do know you're not the only one living it, but it's sometimes nice to read it and to maybe share experiences with.

Everyone is different. Everyone is going to deal with it differently. But sometimes it's good to have example of people who went through it and improved.