AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 15, 2025

Katie Boulter

Press Conference

K. BOULTER/R. Marino

6-4, 3-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Cracking match. How does it feel to pull that one out?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, it was a very tough match. I felt like she came out swinging. She had nothing to lose. Especially when she was down after the first set, I felt like she started serving better and making my life so much harder with her serving games.

There was a lot of pressure placed on my service games to try to get through them. I felt like it was a mental battle in the end, and I managed to do it eventually.

Yeah, I'm really pleased to be in the second round, because ultimately these matches for me are the most important ones. Finding a way when someone is swinging free is the difference between the top players and the ones that are ranked slightly lower.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Is that down to the way she was playing or the pressure you put on yourself with the emphasis to do well at slams or both?

KATIE BOULTER: I would say maybe a combination. I think, you know, with a player like that she's so dangerous, you don't know what's going to come off of her racquet. I think you're never fully in control.

I think sometimes there are matches where you go out and swing, and you lose the match because you missed the ball. It wasn't that today. It didn't feel like that. It felt like she was going after her shots and taking the first shot, and ultimately she made a lot of them.

Her serving today in the second and third set especially was really tough. Yeah, I tried to stay with her as much as possible. Yeah, I mean, she's a very good tennis player. There is a reason she's been ranked really high, and I feel she started to get some mojo back end of the year.

Yeah, credit to her. She played a great match, but obviously I have to raise my game every match I play. I will take the confidence from today and move on to the next round.

Q. Deep in the final set, curious what was going your mind and what you were telling yourself to keep yourself in the service games and keep yourself just ahead?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, I think my mind was in two places at once. I think the very first and, you know, the most important was to keep fighting and fight for every single point.

As you know, in tennis the momentum can shift within seconds. You know, every single point that I was fighting for was another opportunity to get close to the finish line. Yeah, that was the most important thing I was thinking about.

The other side was obviously a bit more tactical, how I could get into her service games and what I could do different, which I wasn't quite getting in early in the third set. I think there were quite a few games where I was sort of walking side to side and not really getting into them. I feel like when I get into the rallies, then I have more chances against her rather than, you know, just getting aced the whole time.

It showed in the last game. I did something slightly different and tried to make her play more, and ultimately a bit of pressure helped me get through that.

Q. You have helped set a new British record of six first-round wins here. How much did Australia contribute to that, the Aussie No. 1 arriving half with a through the third set and Alex and then just the home crowd generally cheering you on?

KATIE BOULTER: Let's stop at the first point. That's so great to see. It's awesome to have some positivity coming out around British tennis.

It's been coming for a long time. It's just the beginning. I really think these girls and guys have been working so hard, and everyone deserves a bit of credit. Obviously it's a great start for everyone, and let's hope we can keep that going.

Secondly, yeah, having Alex there, he is my support system. He is someone who has helped me through the rough moments and the good moments. He kind of leads me, I would say. I think he's shown himself what an incredible tennis player he is, and he's ranked top 10 in the world and has been there for a whole year, which is not an easy thing to do.

That shows me a lot of things, and I have learnt so many different ways of becoming a better tennis player, probably ones that you probably don't even realize about, not just the easy ones that you see. Having him come out and support means pretty much everything to me. Having the extra positivity from my bench makes the difference.

Q. Sorry to ask again on Alex. He was just here a second ago, and he said during his match, your score kept flashing up on the screen, so he found it hard not to think about how you were going. Did you think about his game at all during your match?

KATIE BOULTER: I kind of wish his score was popping up on my screen, but it wasn't.

Yeah, I think at times, you know, it's obviously difficult to know that he's playing a match, and you're kind of hearing cheers here and there, and you're hoping that's for him, but you never know.

You know, ultimately, until I actually heard -- I think I heard his mum's voice from the crowd. That was the first thing I heard before he came. I kind of felt comfortable that he had won and, you know, that I could fully relax.

I mean, there is always going to be 1% of me that's probably thinking about that, but look, I mean, I'm fully focused on what I'm doing and kind of in the zone at the same time. You know, most of the time I'm not thinking about it at all, but of course, you know, yeah, I'm hoping he wins and that he's out there for the rest of my match (smiling).

Q. It looked as though at one point in the deciding set that Biljana was maybe asking you to calm down. Did you feel like there was quite a lot of tension around in that match, especially in the deciding set?

KATIE BOULTER: I actually didn't see that. I don't feel like there was loads of tension. I felt a little bit stress, for sure. I did try and keep myself pretty calm the whole time.

It wasn't really that I was struggling with. I felt like getting a rhythm was what I was struggling with more than anything. I feel like when I step up to the line and I go out and play a tennis match, I know that I'm going to fight from the start till the end, and I pride myself on that.

Obviously in tight situations, there is a little bit, you know, more stress and tension, but I think that kind of helped me a little bit. I think that's why ultimately I managed to break her in the last game.

It wasn't necessarily my own tension. It was just the way the match was going and the pressures of serving and that we couldn't really get a break. I think that was something that I was just trying to get and trying to get.

Once I almost relaxed a little bit and thought to myself, Okay, this is going to go to a tiebreak, then I managed to start thinking, Oh, what can I do differently on her service games, rather than just trying to break.

Q. Outside of Britain, was that the best support you have had?

KATIE BOULTER: It was definitely up there, yeah. I think, yeah, that was really nice. I don't really have too many words for it, but it was way better than I expected. I felt so much love out there. Like, the Aussie crowd are pretty incredible. They are a little bit more rowdy than a lot of crowds, and I enjoyed every minute that I was out there.

They picked me up loads. Like, the shouting from the stands makes all the difference sometimes for me, and yeah, it was really nice to feel like everyone was with me playing against her rather than the opposite, which no one ever really wants.

Yeah, it was really nice. It was such a nice moment for me.

Q. I know you'll want to go further than this. I wonder, do you feel like a match like that can help you, having got through that one?

KATIE BOULTER: If I'm honest, I have actually watched quite a few of the first rounds that have been going on. Not today, but yesterday I watched a lot of matches. If there is anything that I realized a lot from watching those matches is that no one's got it easy.

You know, these matches are brutal, especially the first one, which I feel like everyone is a little bit more edgy than usual. I was watching a lot of them, and I was thinking to myself, No matter what, you go out and you fight, and you hope for the best.

I feel like in the biggest movements, the top players get through them ultimately. I was watching Qinwen on the first day, and she was battling 6-All in the first-set tiebreak, and you could just see the fact that she elevated herself in that tiebreak. You see what the top girls do and the top guys do in the biggest moments.

I think that's something that I told myself going out today, No matter what happens, how well she's playing, the situation, I go out, I try my best, I fight, and I try and elevate myself in the tough moments.

Q. You mentioned that there were things that you had taken from Alex, which you maybe hadn't imagined would help you become a better player. I wondered whether there was any examples, unexpected things that he kind of helped you develop?

KATIE BOULTER: Yeah, probably. Definitely small habits, you know. Like, nothing really massive comes to mind this exact second. My brain is a little bit fried from the match, but yeah, I think there is always tiny little habits and things that you pick up on and you see.

Even watching him on the tennis court, we are very different. We don't play the same way, but there are certain things that I see his brain working around. So, you know, when he's maneuvering someone around the court and it's very tactical, I'm not that kind of player. So for me to actually see that, I start thinking to myself, Why am I not doing that, why am I not trying different things? Even though I can hit the bigger shots and go after them, and that's always going to be my power play, I think seeing things like that and the way he operates, really the small things I can learn from and what he does in the big moments. I think, yeah, that's really the next step for me, and even talking to him about that is fascinating.

Q. You play Veronika Kudermetova next. I don't think you have ever played her before.

KATIE BOULTER: I can't remember. Don't think I have.

Q. Do you know her game? Have you hit with her at all or...

KATIE BOULTER: Yes, I do know her pretty well. She's been -- my knowledge is terrible, but she's been top 10. She's been top 10. She's a very good tennis player.

Obviously she's dropped down the rankings a little bit recently. I'm not sure what the reasoning for that is, but I saw she played a really good match tonight, and I'm going to expect her top-10 level coming in.

Yeah, it's not going to be easy. I actually did play her in doubles, I'm pretty sure, on the clay, and I remember actually a few things from that match.

So it will be interesting to see how she implements them on the singles court, as well. I think I'm going to have to be ready for a big match again. She will come at me swinging, and she's someone who can obviously play some very, very good tennis. I'm sure she will elevate herself again from her ranking what it is right now.

Yeah, I'm going to have to be sharp.

Q. Are you aware of the cameras around, like, behind the scenes? Like all the player areas, there are cameras. I was watching one of the streams on YouTube earlier. They followed you around the player warmup area, corridors. Just curious if you're aware of them.

KATIE BOULTER: That sounds terrible. I don't know why someone would want to see that.

Q. Sounds like Big Brother.

KATIE BOULTER: I am aware of the cameras, yeah. You can see them. They are in prime locations. There's the odd time you forget. I don't know exactly where every single one is. I know if you go in the warmup area, there is going to be a camera or something like that, but I don't think too much about it.

^ DO I NEED TO CHECK ANYTHING?