AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2023

Rinky Hijikata

Press Conference

R. HIJIKATA/Y. Hanfmann

6-4, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: First of all, congratulations, Rinky. What a comeback for you. How do you feel now?

RINKY HIJIKATA: Yeah, I mean, I don't really know how to put it into words. Yeah, it was crazy out there. It's definitely the craziest match I've ever played in my life.

You know, I think, I don't know, I was struggling big-time there. 2-0 sets down. I think break points down. Then I don't really know how I got back into it.

I think, yeah, if it hadn't been for the crowd and everyone supporting me today, there was no chance I would win that. It so, yeah, I'm thankful for everyone that came out and stayed through a late night today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Well done. That was a crazy match, as you said. Really good watch. You spoke about the crowd. Just how much did that energy actually lift you over the line there?

RINKY HIJIKATA: Yeah, it was crazy. I think I was pretty done there in the third, to be honest. I think I was pretty anxious going into the match, and I think that showed for the first two sets, you know.

Yeah, I was really struggling, and I was just trying to find something, trying to find something. Then, yeah, once I finally got a little sniff, I think the crowd really just kind of picked me up and erupted.

Yeah, then I just tried to run with it for as long as I could. You know, if I was going to go down, I was going to go down swinging and with the crowd behind me.

So, yeah, I don't really know how to explain it. It was pretty crazy out there.

Q. Were you feeling confident going into the fifth set with your fitness and everything?

RINKY HIJIKATA: Yeah. To be honest, I was maybe struggling a little bit in the third, but I think more just from, like -- I was just a little bit anxious I think and really uptight.

I think, yeah, once I started to free up a little bit and started to play my game and started to be a lot more aggressive, I felt like -- yeah, physically I started feeling a lot, lot better.

Going into the fifth I was, yeah, feeling pretty good. I mean, it's hard not to feel good when you have got that many people kind of getting behind you and being that loud. It really just -- you have that much adrenaline that it just keeps you pumping.

Yeah, it was -- I felt all right in the fifth set. Again, I don't think I could have done it, though, without everyone there.

Q. You had a major match against Rafa in the US Open last year. What is it you learned from that match? Do you think that kind of experience helped you in terms of playing today's match?

RINKY HIJIKATA: I think for sure, yeah. That match against Rafa, that was by far the biggest court I've ever played on, the noisiest, the loudest court ever against one of the best or if not the best tennis player of all time. And the pressure that comes with that and trying to execute under that pressure is completely different than playing any other tennis match.

I think coming into this match I would like to have thought that I learned a lot, but clearly I didn't start well today. And for the first two sets I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I knew that I would get a look eventually. Well, I was hoping I would at least. Just trying to hang in there.

Yeah, just really backing myself in the big moments, I think.

Q. What were they saying when you got back to the players room. Was everybody getting around you? It was a pretty special effort out there.

RINKY HIJIKATA: Yeah, I think everyone was buzzing. My coach, Sharky, and my trainer, Al, and my family was there. Yeah, it was -- you know, I think it was a team effort today.

I definitely couldn't have been -- couldn't have done this without all of them. You know, especially Sharky and Al. Al has been working with me for a very long time now, and Sharky for almost a year now. Yeah, I think we've kind of come in leaps and bounds, and hopefully we can keep improving together because, yeah, I think it's a real team effort. It definitely wasn't just my win out there today.

Q. I was going to say you played Rafa and Medvedev in the last six months. You have Tsitsipas again on Wednesday, another massive one. How do you feel about that?

RINKY HIJIKATA: I'm pumped. It's the same thing when I said I played Daniil and same thing I said when I played Rafa. I'm very excited. I'm not going to shy away from these matches. These are the ones you dream of playing when you are a kid and why you work so hard.

Yeah, I'm going to come out and try to play my game. Yeah, I'm not going to leave any stone unturned. That's for sure. I'm going to go out there and give it a massive crack, yeah.

Q. So, of course, I know that you have a Japanese background, heritage. Maybe you are close to Yoshi Nishioka. Recently he made a huge progress. Do you think that kind of hits achievement pumps you up?

RINKY HIJIKATA: Yeah, for sure. You look at Yoshi, and clearly he is not the biggest guy. Neither am I. He is very, very good at finding ways to win and making guys feel uncomfortable on the court, and I think that's one of his biggest strengths.

He is an unbelievable mover, defends really well, and just makes life really miserable for guys out there. So I think that's something I can kind of take a leaf out of his book and try to implement it in my game a little bit.

But just seeing someone like that reach the heights that he has and I'm sure he is going to go up from here still, it's really -- yeah, I guess it's encouraging for someone like me that I can keep pushing, keep pushing, and keep improving. There's no real ceiling, I guess, on how far you can go.