BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

November 17, 2024

Rebecca Marino

Team Canada

Press Conference

E. RADUCANU/R. Marino

6-0, 7-5

Team Canada - 0

Team Great Britain - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Unlucky today. Can you sum up that match? It was pretty topsy turvy for us watching. I wonder how it felt to play.

REBECCA MARINO: Yeah, I feel like I started a little bit slow, and Emma was playing really well, wasn't giving many opportunities to me. It was hard to get into that match at the start.

I think getting into the second set kind of was able to get myself back into it by relaxing a little bit more, and I felt like I had a lot of opportunities. I think I had seven break opportunities.

She did a really good job of stepping up when the moments mattered. It was really anyone's in that second set. I'm proud of how I was able to finish that match and how I played in that second set.

Q. Going into that second set, was there anything you specifically talked about with Heidi before you came out and started it? Was there any conscious tactical change you did to turn the level around?

REBECCA MARINO: Sure. I have a pretty aggressive game, and we felt that I was being perhaps a little, trying to be too consistent, even though it wasn't working, in terms of being a little passive.

In the last game when I was down Love-5, she was, like, Just let go of the ball. If you miss, you miss. You're at the end of the set. What's there to lose?

I think being able to swing out and feel free on the shots allowed me to get in that second set with a more relaxed mindset in terms of, well, it couldn't get any worse than that score-wise, even though it wasn't necessarily bad play-wise.

Q. You guys haven't had much of a chance to practice on the play court this week for a number of random reasons. How tricky was that to kind of learn the court as you went along?

REBECCA MARINO: It was definitely a challenge, because I think the day we were meant to practice on the stadium was the day there was a lot of rain and flooding, so today was the first day we were able to get any practice there.

But I don't think that would have been a factor in terms of what was happening on the court. I was able to get out there earlier today and practice and sort of get the feel. Definitely plays differently than practice courts, but not enough that it would be a significant-enough factor.

Q. Losing the first 6-0 is never easy mentally. Is it easier or less difficult when there is a team around you, or it's even more tough because you know people are behind you?

REBECCA MARINO: Yeah, it's sort of two factors to it. You could feel like you're letting people down because it's not just me out there. I'm playing for my teammates, for my country, for all the people that traveled all the way here from Canada. There is that side of things.

You also know those people are lifting you up and supporting you regardless of what the scoreline is. I try to look at it more from an optimistic side, that everyone is there supporting me regardless of what's happening out on court and they've got my back.

I definitely felt like that out there. I was looking over at my bench, and they were really lifting me up, supporting me, giving me positive messaging. That really is something that I love about this Billie Jean King Cup.

Q. What are the most proud of your second set? The fight was very different from the first one, but what are you most proud of?

REBECCA MARINO: Yeah, I mean, the fact that I was able to turn it around, I think I can be -- I think I can be really proud of the match as a whole, not even just the second set. I'd like to change that a bit, the way I phrased that. I'm proud of the match as a whole, just because on paper I'm kind of the underdog, and I think I showed that I can step up even regardless of what's happening with the scoreline, and I can change it and turn it around.

My game is right there. I have had a really good end of season, and definitely the belief is there. It's just a matter of letting it click.