WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 15, 2023

Peyton Stearns

Press Conference

D. KASATKINA/P. Stearns

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Obviously a tough opponent today, a really seasoned, experienced opponent. Just talk us through your thoughts on the match.

PEYTON STEARNS: Yeah, I played her at the French, so I knew what to expect. She's gonna put a lot of balls in and try to force errors out of me.

She did just that today. I think I had some chances. I started out slow, a little nervous. You know, I get those chances in the second set, and who knows where that goes.

There were some outside sources a little bit today, but that's my own fault for letting that affect me. But she played well and deserved it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Down 4-0 in that first game. You talked about maybe a little bit of nerves. Found your groove there winning back-to-back games. How did you find it?

PEYTON STEARNS: I think I settled down a little bit and just tried to stay in the rally with her. You know, I know she's gonna put a lot of balls in and she's not going to take chances.

Probably just play the same way until you feel like you have the right ball and then go for it. But until then, keep her back and just kind of push her around the court. I think I did a really good job of that.

Q. Last couple of weeks haven't been really results you wanted. What do you take from the losses going into New York in two weeks?

PEYTON STEARNS: That I have a lot to work on (smiling). I think, you know, my practices, the regimen needs to be focused on a couple of other things than what's been going on behind the scenes. I think that's been playing a big part.

A lot of practice matches, getting a lot of points in and maybe getting more confidence would help a lot.

Q. Talked about having the mindset in tennis to bounce back really fast and taking the good with the bad, learning from the bad. What do you take away from this match to turn around quickly before you play tonight?

PEYTON STEARNS: Yeah, we've got doubles in a bit. You know, I enjoy doubles a lot. I don't think there is a lot of pressure on that for me. It's kind of like college tennis. You know, you're out there with the team and having fun.

But, you know, coming from the singles match to the doubles match, I can take some things that I maybe need to work on and implement those into the doubles match. That way I'm in a real-life situation of when it's gonna happen.

Q. Being from Mason, obviously this tournament means a lot to you, your hometown tournament. How do you feel about the rumors of the tournament possibly moving to the Carolinas?

PEYTON STEARNS: Yeah, you know, everyone here really hopes that it stays, and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way.

At the end of the day, it's not in our hands. It's higher up than us. But all we can do is show how great this tournament is and how much Cincinnati loves having it. I mean, I think past couple of days even qualifying it was sold out. I mean, that's something you have never seen before.

So I think people are really getting the memo and coming out to show how much this means for us.

Q. How do you feel playing in Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open? You're from here. Is it something special for you playing here? Could you tell us something more about it compared to, like, other tournaments like Indian Wells, Miami?

PEYTON STEARNS: Yeah, no, it means more than any other tournament, for sure. I think I would put it up at a slam level for me, honestly.

I grew up coming to this tournament since I was 9 or 10. My parents had tickets for center court. I remember watching the players, and we knew some of the players growing up, so they would stay with us or they would come over and have dinner.

It was really nice to kind of interact and see behind the scenes. But now to be playing in it and earn a spot, it's surreal. Little me is, like, Wow.