US OPEN

September 7, 2024

Mika Stojsavljevic

Press Conference

M. STOJSAVLJEVIC/W. Sonobe

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Mika, if you could, your thoughts on the win.

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: I think it was a really good match. She played really well, and I think we both stepped up our level in the second set.

But, yeah, I think it was not something that I maybe expected, but I'm super happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You're not even 16 years old and you're a Grand Slam champion. Can you fathom what you have just done and has it hit you yet?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: I don't think so. I think I'm still in a little bit of shock. I haven't had much time to process it yet.

No, I'm super grateful for it. Yeah.

Q. What's your situation of education? Are you in secondary school, going back to school? What's your plans this autumn?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I'm at Amherst School in Loughborough. Yeah, I think I'm going back to school on Tuesday. I'm flying back tomorrow and then going back to school (smiling).

Yeah, I'm definitely still in school, I have my GCSEs this year, and obviously it's important to get those done. Yeah, we'll see after that.

Q. How do you think your classmates will treat you? How do you think it will be to go back to that normality of going to classes, being on time, et cetera?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I mean, it probably might be a little bit different. Actually, in our setup, it's only tennis players in our classroom. The Loughborough National Academy from the LTA, they have made these really small classrooms to make sure it's just focused on us. So I think it will be a little bit easier just being with tennis people.

But, yeah, around school it might be a little bit different.

Q. Well done. Who was your favorite player growing up? When was the first Grand Slam final you remember?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Probably Emma's was the last one I remember, was the first one I remember, but Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic have always been my idols.

Q. Why those two?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: I think Maria with just her game style and the way she carries herself on the court, I always found really inspiring and I've always looked up to her.

Then Djokovic, I'm half Serbian, so it's more close to home, and my whole family loves him.

Q. You had beaten her two times last year in slams. One of them which was here. Did that give you any sort of comfort level going into today's match?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I mean, I knew that I could beat her, but obviously every match is different. You know, if someone plays lights out or maybe you're not playing so good, anything can happen. But, yeah, I definitely had confidence and knew I had done it before and I could do it again.

Q. Your sister Ana, is she a twin?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: She's born in January. I'm born in December. So...

Q. Your parents, what do they do for a living? What are their jobs?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: My mum just looks after all four of us. I'm not really sure what my dad does. He sort of just does stuff around the house, works from home.

Q. In terms of, like, your future from here, it's very early yet, but how do you think you might balance still playing some junior stuff with maybe trying to work your way up the ranks, as well?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I'm sure everyone back at the Loughborough National Academy, they will try their best to make the schedule as good as they can for me, but I obviously still have to attend a lot of school. This is an important year for me. But I'm sure they will, you know, mix a lot of senior stuff as well as still some juniors.

Q. Heather Watson was the last girl to win here. Do you know Heather at all? Have you interacted with her? Do you expect to hear from her?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I have hit with her before and see her at the NTC here and there. Yeah, I mean, I haven't really spoken to many people yet, but I'm sure she'll message.

Q. Do you have a school timetable yet for Tuesday? It's not double maths first or...

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I hate math (smiling). Not yet, but I'm sure it will be pretty intense.

Q. It's always hard for a junior to become a senior. You haven't done that yet. So what do you understand is the biggest pitfalls? Is it being away from home, the travel, intensity of work? Being at the tennis academy, what do you understand is the hardest challenge you're going to face?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Well, I think being away from home is probably one of the toughest ones, but I have lived that for the last two years. So I think I have come to terms with that. Not having your family, it's difficult, but it also, I think, makes you stronger and makes you stronger on the court. So it's obviously tough, but it's also part of the job.

Q. This year, have you been jet-setting quite a lot with the tennis?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: I think I have covered five continents this year, so quite a lot (smiling).

Q. When we talked to Wakana, she said that she was prepared for you to hit the ball harder than you did. Did you feel you weren't hitting the ball as solidly or as well as you had been or that she was expecting something more?

MIKA STOJSAVLJEVIC: Yeah, I mean, I think I just started off trying to be more consistent at the start. Obviously in a final, you want to just get into it a little bit.

But, yeah, I think I was consistently getting good depth. It was a bit windy out there, so I think that could have changed things. But, yeah, I think my pace was good enough.