ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 12, 2024

Taylor Townsend

Beatriz Haddad Maia

Press Conference

HADDAD-TOWNSEND/Garcia-Mladenovic

7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the victory and a fantastic week. Is Adelaide going to be your second home after winning two years in a row here?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I love it here. It's so relaxing. It's so peaceful. It's really such a great stop to come here after an off season where it's cold -- at least where I am it's cold, so just to be able to get outside and just relax, it's like -- I love it, honestly, just to walk around the city. It's great food. I love it.

I always look forward to coming back. I was really excited when I saw the schedule, and to see that Adelaide was here once again, I knew I wanted to come back. So maybe.

Q. Talk me through the match. The first set especially, you went down an early break, then got two breaks back of your own. What changed in that first set?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I think we were doing all the right things at the beginning. I thought we were playing very well. They're a great team, and they're very difficult to play because it's different game styles, different contrasts. They take time away very powerful from the baseline, but we were doing all the right things, so I think it was going to click eventually. I thought we did a better job of returning and putting pressure on the returns and staying strong from the baseline, not feeling like we had to rush. I think that was what changed the most.

I don't think we did a lot of things very differently because I thought when we came out we were doing the right things, it was just a couple of shots here and there that made the difference, so that was my opinion.

Q. Your thoughts on Adelaide as a whole this week. Have you enjoyed your time?

BEATRIZ HADDAD MAIA: Yeah, I enjoyed my time here. I think while the weather was closer to Brazil, it wasn't that different, but it feels special. I think also we can go and come back from the hotel to the club walking and passing to the river, which is a very special moment also for us. I think that is why it is so relaxing. It's like a meditation to come to the club, and there's no traffic, so everything is like working well. Everyone receives us very well. The facilities are great, as well.

I think now I'll wish I can come back next year again.

Q. As a double team, and Taylor, specifically for you, two years in a row with three titles with a different partner, how hard is that as a doubles to have a different partner, readjustment, learning each other, and then still winning? How hard is that to do?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I mean, I guess it's not hard for me (laughing). Oh, my gosh, clip that and send it to me.

No, it's a little bit of an adjustment. I think from our first match -- all of our matches we played, we played good players, so we had to come out with a certain level. I've played against Bea quite a lot last year so we were familiar with each other. We've known each other for years, just have never played on the same side. I think we were very familiar with each other's games.

But it's more of just figuring out how you win together. I think it's more so just we got along, our personalities were very similar, we work hard, we have a great attitude on the court, so that stuff was easy. It was more so just figuring out how to play, what to do, how to communicate. Those are the type of things -- it's like very small things that you have to change depending on the person that you're playing with and their personality. You kind of just have to learn the person.

Yeah, I mean, I'm a people person, so for me to be able to sit and have a conversation and to talk and say, hey, what do you like or what works well for you, that's easy for me to do and kind of have that understanding before going out on to the court, I think that's really important. That's what we did, and it worked out well.

Throughout the tournament, we talked before, we talked after and tried to try to just improve individually and as a team, and I think obviously us being able to win the title, it showed.

But it's only the first tournament. I think it's only going to get more the more comfortable that we get with each other, the better it's going to get, but it's a good start.

Q. Should we expect some more tag teams with you two together?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Yeah, we're going to play the whole season. Yeah, for sure. We're trying to get that year-end championship.