NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 11, 2024

Amanda Anisimova

Press Conference

A. ANISIMOVA/E. Navarro

6-3, 2-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Who would like to ask our first question?

Q. First WTA 1000 final of your career, maybe just describe your emotions, what you're feeling about that accomplishment.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I'm super happy. This is a huge accomplishment for me, and something I've been working really hard towards. I'm just super happy, honestly, with my week here, and, yeah, I'm pretty surprised with how well I've been able to do so far. I'm still hungry for more, and I hope that I can really do well tomorrow.

Q. Obviously you were in control of the match through the first set, and then things changed a lot in the second. What did you maybe tell yourself going into the third to kind of get control again?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, she started playing a lot better in the second set, was making almost every ball back. I was struggling to move a little bit. I was struggling with blisters, so that wasn't easy either.

I really gave it my all in the last set, and, you know, I was trying to fight as much as I could and just try and play my best tennis, so I'm just happy with how I was able to pull through.

Q. You talked about that hunger, and the other day you also touched on becoming world No. 1 one day, and eventually winning a Grand Slam. Is it safe to say coming back to the tour you kind of had some unfinished business, and you wanted to strive to achieve those goals?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, for sure. I think it would be very hard to finish my career without achieving those goals, so I really just want to give it my all, and hopefully in the years to come I'll be able to achieve that.

Yeah, just knowing that if I try my best and just keep playing that hopefully that will come one day. All I can really do is just work really hard every day and just do my best, and hopefully that will happen, and if it doesn't, at least at the end of the day I knew that I did all I could.

Q. You mentioned the blister, and there was a little bit of a break there. How has your mental approach changed since your time away, and did you take an opportunity in that moment to reset yourself, I know you lost the point, but then you came back strong in the third.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I was kind of pissed that I didn't get a medical timeout earlier, because it had been bothering me for quite some time.

Yeah, I mean, I was just trying to relax and calm my nerves down in that moment, it was 2-5, so it wasn't that great of a place to be in. I was just telling myself to stay calm and just try and push through the pain and try to forget about it.

Q. How has your approach changed since you've come back in those tougher moments, have you seen a change in yourself and how you approach when things maybe aren't going well?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I think that even in juniors, like for many years I've had a lot of matches that I've been mentally strong, and I've obviously pushed through so many difficult things. There have been moments in matches where I haven't been able to do that as well. Yeah, like taking last year off, I think that I really had the time to prepare myself for hardships like that, or challenges that I could face, and I have the tools to help me in those moments, but I think that deep down I've always had that mental toughness to push through pain or a challenge.

Q. How much has your phone blown up since you got off the court today, and what do those messages from friends, family, and tennis fans mean to you?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, it means the world. I'm just happy that my whole family got to watch my match today, and all my friends, so, yeah, it's really nice to see all of that love and that feedback after my match. Yeah, I'll just talk to the people close to me and just try and focus on tomorrow.

Q. Yesterday you spoke about taking that time off, your own decision, you hadn't had time away from the sport since really you picked up a racquet. During that time away were there moments where you wondered if you would come back to the sport, or question whether you would be able to get back to this level of tennis that we're seeing here this week?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I knew that when I stepped away that I really wanted to come back and I didn't want to finish my career on that note, there was still a lot that I wanted to achieve, and just not finish at such a young age, because I had sacrificed so much and given so much to the sport. So, yeah, I knew that I still had many years that I wanted to play.

So, wait, I forgot, there was like two questions or...

Q. Yeah, if there was moments where you weren't sure if you were going to come back to tennis at this level.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: At this level, yeah. I think that, yeah, there were some thoughts about, you know, how I would stay healthy after taking quite some time away from the game. It's not easy coming back after taking, like, three months completely off, or four months, that was kind of in the back of my head, but once I started practicing and training, everything was going pretty smoothly, so I was happy with that.

Honestly, my progress has been going well since last year, so I'm happy with how things have been going.

Q. Looking to tomorrow with Jess and with Diana, obviously you played Jess a couple times, including very, very close in Charleston this year. What are some of your impressions of Jess's game and how she's evolved as player, and also what are you expecting if you do end up meeting Diana in the final tomorrow?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: I think both are very challenging players, they have quite a different game. I think that tomorrow I just really have to go out there and be ready to fight for every ball. I think that they both are very consistent, and they have had years of really good results, so both are going to be really challenging to play against, but I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, I do know Jess a bit better because I practiced with her and I've played against her, but, yeah, I think that I'm playing well right now, and I'll just be excited for the matchup.

Q. What were your memories of playing Jess in Charleston, what were some of the takeaways from that match in particular?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Honestly, I don't really remember it that well. I know it was three sets, it was a super long match. I was happy with how I played that day, and I fought really hard. I know that I left feeling very proud of myself. Even though I lost that match, I was playing really well, and I think overall it was a good experience, so, yeah, there are some things I can take away from that match going into tomorrow.

Q. During your time away I know you went to a first semester at school in college, and you also got into art. How important was that for you to kind of get to learn more about your self beyond the tennis, and do you think in any way has that kind of had an effect on maybe helping you play more freely?

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think that getting to experience like six months of a normal life was very nice for me. Yeah, I mean, I love going to school, and going in person, so I didn't think that that would be something I would be able to do, so I was just really happy about that. I've been doing online like for forever, so, yeah, I think it was just a fun experience. It was also to keep me busy, I was doing that as well as training, so it wasn't that easy, but I wanted to keep myself as busy as I could.

Yeah, the art has just been something that I can get away from my phone, and just have some time just with myself, so I'm happy that I found a space like that for myself.

Q. The wind has been a story all week, just wondering how it affected today, and for us mere mortals can you explain how it impacts when you guys are on the court.

AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I think today was the worst day of the week, it was just super stressful. First of all, it was just like, oh, my god, I just could not, like, I was trying to keep myself together, it was so difficult. When you're not able to play the tennis that you know how to play, I mean, it was just kind of like a gambling game.

I think we both did really well, honestly, despite the conditions today. I think we were just trying to produce some kind of quality tennis, because it wasn't that enjoyable to watch, I think, when every single point is only one shot. So, yeah, I think we did our best to try and have the best match that we could out there, but it really wasn't easy.