NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 9, 2024

Gabriela Dabrowski

Press Conference

DABROWSKI-ROUTLIFFE/Linette-Stearns

6-7, 7-6, 10-5

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and make this quick. Do you want to talk getting through your first match here in Toronto.

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Getting through? Yeah, we got through (laughing). It wasn't pretty, but we managed. Could have been easy in a sense to chalk up today to opponents starting to play well and us being pretty fried with the last month and a half, I guess, and Erin's been going non-stop from end of April, mid April, actually.

I'm proud of how we fought through because it wasn't an easy one. We've obviously lost to this team before in the first round of Beijing, so we knew that they could be tricky, but in the end we stuck together and it helped us get through, so, yeah.

Q. What makes this partnership work so well?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: I think a lot of different things. I think the work we've put in together on the practice court, I think the work we do scouting. I think trying to be as coachable as we can be, listening to feedback from our coaching team.

I think even today was tough for a couple moments, end of that first set, I would say, as a team communicating, but we found it in the second, we came back together strongly and carried that through to the end. I think it's kind of a matter of managing a business partnership, a relationship, it's not easy, especially when we've been connected now for so long, but there are pros and cons to that, and I think the pros are that we can fight through days like today easier than maybe a team that hasn't played together as long.

Q. Talk a little bit about, I know Bruce and Dan are not here, if I'm correct.

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, no.

Q. Talk about playing without your coaches here versus playing with your coaches here, what do you do differently to prepare for the match, and what do you, I don't know, how does it change things, I guess?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Well, they, regardless if they're present at a tournament or not, we have a sort of routine of receiving a scouting report from Dan and that helps us prepare for the matches, even though he's not here. Bruce also, if he has any comments, he weighs in. So even though they're not here they always support us, even remotely.

Here I have Andrea Rabzak who's been, I guess you could say, part of the team for a very, very long time. I've known her since I was probably about 10, 11 years old, so she's been through a lot of my tennis history, and so I do have coaching support here. She was there in Paris with me as well.

In Florida I have my coach Pat Daciek too, so I kind of have a lot of coaches spread all around the world a little bit, and I receive feedback from every single one of them. That's something that I appreciate greatly because everyone offers a little bit of different insight. But, yeah, so we still receive support from Dan and Bruce, even though they're not here, and that's really great.

Q. Curious, how do you approach mixed doubles differently than you do women's doubles, and do you feel like there's a place for more mixed doubles events on tour?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, certainly a little bit of a different approach. Obviously guys tend to serve bigger and return bigger, so sometimes the points being a little bit quicker is kind of fun. I personally really like the challenge of returning a guy's serve, when I do it well it's very satisfying, so I kind of like that dynamic.

Also sometimes it's interesting to see how the men struggle to return the women's serve, because it's coming at a different pace and trajectory than they're used to, so that's kind of interesting as well.

I do think there's a place for more mixed doubles events. I think probably in our two-week 1000s, probably room for some more content there, whether that's professionalized in a sense or exhibition style, I'm not really sure, because there are also some other doubles trials going on right now trying to see what sticks, if you've noticed the ATP doubles trials through Madrid, Rome, and DC, and trying different initiatives to see what can help the doubles game gain some more exposure. Not a fan of all of it, to be honest, but, that said, I do think there's room for some mixed doubles content at these bigger events where you have more time. In the one-week events it's a little bit tough just because we're already so short on days off and all that, but maybe in the two-week events there's something that we could add in.

Q. You talked about the grind you guys have been through. You've had a few days, I'm sure you've been on the practice court, but just to reflect on Paris, you've had some time to do that. How do you look back, with a little bit more time to reflect on that experience, and what do you take away from that moving forward?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Have I had time to reflect? (Laughing). I'm not sure if I've had enough time to reflect, to be honest. I feel like I've just, you know, sort of thrown myself into another event and wanting to play well here, so I've put different pressures on myself, for sure.

I mean, it was, I posted about it, it's literally the honor of a lifetime to represent at the Olympics, it's such an amazing experience. Winning a medal is incredible, to do it alongside someone like Felix is really special too, he's such a nice person, works really hard, so I'm happy for his success too.

Obviously he played very well in the singles and came close to another one, so that was painful, but he deserves to be there, so I'm glad we could do that together.

Yeah, I don't know if I have another, you know, Olympics in me, I don't know where my tennis career will take me. If I am mentally, physically, emotionally healthy enough to do another one, and be in a position where I can qualify, I will absolutely do it. If not, I think one day I can retire happy that this result came, and I'm really proud of, you know, third time's a charm, I guess (laughing), it's my third Olympics and getting a bronze medal, so, yeah, I have a lot to be thankful for, for sure.

Q. Wonder, did you bring your Olympics bronze medal here, have people been asking to see it, and then also do you have friends and family that came here to watch you?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, it's where I'm staying, it's at home right now. I had it the first day, but I don't carry it with me everywhere I go, it's actually really heavy, and I want to kind of protect it as well.

Yes, one of my best friends, Nora, she lives in Toronto, so she watched today with her mom, which was lovely. My mom is here watching as well with her cousin, so that's special. Having that sort of family feel around, it's not something I'm used to, so that's been really nice to have their support. I haven't seen her in quite a long time, so it's great that she's here supporting.

We have some extended family was watching today as well, which was really nice. Actually hadn't met them before, so that was really cool.