AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2023

Leylah Fernandez

Press Conference

L. FERNANDEZ/A. Cornet

7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Leylah, just talk to us about, it's obviously tough conditions out there on court. Just tell us how you're feeling at the moment.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, I'm feeling great. I'm happy that I was able to get my first win here at the Australian Open. It definitely wasn't an easy match. Alize is a great player, great person too. It wasn't easy to play against a friend.

I think I did well to manage my emotions, and then especially manage the heat, try not to get too hot-headed. So I was very happy with that. I'm happy to be on to the next round (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Seemed like there were so many chances for you to really break that match open. 30-Love, 30-All on your serve and then something would go wrong. Finally you obviously broke away. Seemed like you could have done it a bit sooner.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, of course. There are so many things that I could have done sooner, but I think first matches are always hard. It's the first round of a Grand Slam, of the first Grand Slam of the year. Nerves are there, and I was just trying to get my rhythm of the match again. I haven't played a match for over a week, so it's not easy to get the rhythm again.

But I'm just happy that I was able to kind of find solutions and keep patience and not to get too crazy up in the head, and my emotions was well intact.

Q. Did it feel like a milestone for you? We say, Oh, it's her first win at the Australian Open. Did that ever factor into your mind? Does it feel more special or was it just another match for you?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Before the match and during the match, I wasn't thinking about that, but after the match when I did hear it was my first win at the Australian Open, it did feel like it's a good step in the right direction (smiling).

I've been playing this tournament for a couple of years, and I always fell short of a first-round win. It wasn't easy to accept, but I was just happy that I was able to get through it and to just get another chance to play here at the Australian Open.

Q. If I could ask you going back a few years to your development years, being from a country where there hadn't been a huge tradition of great champions, was it hard to convince yourself that you could play and compete and win at the highest level when it hadn't been done so much before among Canadians?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: No. I think where my parents did a good job was that they kept my innocence, that they kept the dream for me, and that they didn't really break me down, like, with, No, you can't do it. They kept giving me positive sentences, positive reinforcement so that I can keep working and keep enjoying this sport as much as I can.

As I was growing up, I kept seeing opportunities for me to play in this beautiful sport. Just to keep improving. I have seen some great WTA players who maybe aren't Canadians, but they are similar sizes as me or similar game style as me, and that has motivated me.

It has given me confidence that I'm in the right path and that I can keep going in this crazy adventure.

Q. How much of your success do you think is mental and how much of it do you think is physical?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I saw a video a couple years ago that talks about coaches. I think they were asked the same question. For me, the answer is that the mental to the physical is three to one. Mental is extremely important.

I'm very grateful that my parents, especially my dad, has reinforced that. Hasn't really taught me about tennis or tennis technique but more of the mental side of the sport. Because, you know, it's hard. You're all alone out there on court. Most of the time you don't have a coach with you or the coach can't talk to you during the points. I'm, like, you have to figure some things out, you have to be your own cheerleader, your own biggest critic, your own biggest supporter.

So I'm just happy that he taught me those values from a very young age and that I was able to kind of implement that now.

Q. Can you talk about Julian Alonso?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, Julian Alonso, he's a great coach. We met a couple years ago, but just talking. Then the opportunity came just a couple months ago before the preseason, we were talking. I think we were also looking for a coach to be added to the team to work with my dad and to kind of expand it in a way that he can travel with me and my dad can travel with my younger sister, because she's also in tennis, trying to fight her way into this sport.

I think Julian is a great addition to the team. He understands our values, understands our philosophy. I think the only thing that he's contributing is his experience as a player and as a coach, because he's worked with various top athletes. I think that has given not only me but also my dad confidence in this team.

Q. (Off mic.)

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: It's hard. Sometimes I just have to close my eyes and hope for the best (smiling).

Q. I don't think you have played Caroline, if I'm not mistaken. Have you played her anywhere?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: No, I don't think so.

Q. How do you see that matchup? She's obviously in fine form. You're coming in strong to the season. How do you see that challenge?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I see it as a great opportunity, to see where my tennis is at, and to see where I am mentally and physically.

She's a great tennis player. I feel like she has found her groove once again, and I think it will be an interesting matchup, and I can't wait to play her.

Q. Just a question about scheduling. When you were a lower-ranked player and a young-ranked player and there was more of a thought process about chasing points, chasing money, things like that, how did you make your scheduling decisions? What was the trickiest thing about deciding which tournaments to play and where?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I think the tricky part is which tournament am I getting in (smiling). Because a lot of the times I remember I would buy tickets very last minute, literally a day or two before my first-round matches, and qualifying or main draw.

It wasn't easy. I think for us we were just training as hard as we can, and once we get the opportunity, we go. We play the tournament. That tournament was extremely important for us just to get the points. It wasn't really about the prize money or anything. It's the points so I can move up the ranks and make it a little easier for my parents to make the decisions for us, because it can't always be last minute.

Q. Have you watched the Netflix series yet?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: No, I have not.

Q. Talking about mental things, it really paints a tough portrait of the sport in many ways and how difficult it can be mentally to keep it together out there. You said your parents protected you and kept your innocence. Do you think that's in general true in tennis that it's like that?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, it is. I think it's not only tennis but it's about life all around us. It gets hard. You have to be strong mentally to go through the adversity, the challenges that's in front of you.

My older sister, for example, she wanted to be a dentist, wanted to get into premed, but she wasn't able to, like they rejected her. What did she do? She had to find a different path for herself.

It's not only in tennis, but it's also in like everything you do outside of sports. I know a couple of friends who are in school and they are still trying to figure something out of what they want to do in life. That's hard mentally, not just emotionally or physically, but mentally it kind of breaks you down because you don't know what's gonna happen.

So I think the Netflix series, a great introduction for fans to see how hard the sport is, and then I think some young athletes, young students can relate to us and can see, like, that they are not alone, that we are also going through that, and that maybe if they see us, like, succeed or figure something out in these moments, they won't feel like they are defeated. They can get through it too. I think that's what I love about the Netflix series.

Q. How are you feeling about your form at the moment? Obviously that injury forced the layoff, and you started the season really nicely. How close do you feel like you are to your best level?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: I don't know what my best level is. I just know I want to improve and I want to get better every day and I want to see what my body and mind can do. For the next couple of years I'm just happy that I'm in top shape, that I have worked hard in the preseason with my coaches and fitness coach, and I just feel ready for the challenges that's coming in the next round.