AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2025

Eva Lys

Press Conference

E. LYS/K. Birrell

6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Eva, tell us what you think, your thoughts about the match, what you think about it all.

EVA LYS: That's a good question. There's so much. No, I'm obviously very happy that I got in as a Lucky Loser. I never would have thought that I would have had such a nice match, especially after my third-round qualifying.

I found out about it ten minutes before the match, so I didn't have time to get nervous. I think that was the thing that really helped me. I had a pretty loose arm.

But, yeah, again, I'm really stoked to be in the second round.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. So take us through how you think your mindset changed by being a Lucky Loser. Did it help you out, and explain a bit about that.

EVA LYS: Definitely. If you are a lucky loser, you don't expect much. Your tournament is kind of over, but a lot of people around me gave me a lot of hope that there was a possibility for me to get in. That's why I was here the whole day, starting off at 9 a.m. and going back to the hotel at 11 p.m. because you never know if someone is going to pull out.

That's exactly what happened. It was very last-minute. I had to be ready, and I was. So I'm very happy I sticked around, and I'm very happy that I could switch my flight.

I went out and had no expectations. So I think that definitely helps. And for my opponent it was definitely tough to have the opponent switch because if you know who you are playing, you're preparing for ages. I think it was the same for her. She found out five minutes before the match.

I mean, today I definitely was the lucky one.

Q. Where were you when you found out?

EVA LYS: I was on the physio table (laughing). I was getting treatment. So I actually had to just get up and get dressed first, and I was running to Donna. That's the supervisor. I was talking to her.

She actually told me that I'm next match on. I thought maybe they're in first or second set, but it was actually I think -- who was playing on the match before me? It was Berrettini. It was 5-3. It just turned 5-3. She's, like, Yeah, you're playing next match.

I was panicking a little bit because I didn't really prepare my drinks. I didn't have match clothes on. So I went to the locker room, got changed straight away, and then they called my name. So no warmup, no anything. Maybe that's the key for next match (laughing).