AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2006

Casey Dellacqua

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, it was good. I've been playing in Country Australia, Port Perry, Makai, Rockhampton. So a little bit different, but, yeah, no, I did enjoy it.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, disappointed with my serve for sure. I don't even know what my first serve percentage was, but I think it was pretty shocking. I felt like Lindsay obviously returns so well. I always felt like I had to put in a good serve, otherwise I was on the back foot the whole time. I guess that put a little bit of pressure on my serve. But, yeah, disappointed with my serve.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, it gives you a real kind of kick up the butt to get out there. A lot of hard work to do, yeah.

CASEY DELLACQUA: A lot fitter than last year. But still a long way to go. I felt quite slow out there, actually. That's obviously something. I'm not used to that pace of ball, coming from someone like Lindsay. I've been playing girls for the last four months that are ranked maybe 300 to 500 in the world. To play someone No. 1 in the world is a big jump. For me, yeah, it's a big difference.

CASEY DELLACQUA: I thought I handled it okay. But once I got out there, I was actually really nervous. I don't think I handled it great. Yeah, like playing Lindsay is the biggest match I've ever, ever played. I mean, I've played main draw of Australian Open last three years, but it's clearly the biggest match. Yeah, I think mentally I didn't handle it great. Once I got out there, I was kind of okay.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah. No, I woke up pretty regular in the morning just 'cause I was panicking my alarm wouldn't go off. Other than that, I was okay.

CASEY DELLACQUA: No. Biggest court I played was Margaret Court Arena, but not Rod Laver.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I was, 'cause -- yeah, I was. There was a fair few people up there. I kind of blocked it out once I did get into the match. Yeah, it's a bit daunting.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I think so. I had a few game points. There were a few games when I was 30-Love up. It got back to 30-All. I played a couple of loose points every now and then. Yeah, I think if I had stayed a little bit tougher early on into that first set, maybe I would have gotten into the match a lot more. I had a few breakpoints. But, yeah, I kind of let it slip away a little bit in a few games.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I think so. I think once she got her serve going. I just felt I was on the back foot the whole time. I felt like she was dictating. I'm kind of used to working the ball a lot more. Obviously, I'm playing the No. 1 player in the world, so that's a little bit different. Yeah, once she got into the match, I felt like I was outclassed for sure.

CASEY DELLACQUA: No. She just said, "Great effort." That was about it. Yeah, she was really lovely.

CASEY DELLACQUA: It helps me travel for a year. That's what the last three years have done. It's helped me pretty much fund my own travel for a whole year pretty much. One flight overseas is a fair bit. Yeah, that's about it. It goes straight there.

CASEY DELLACQUA: For me, I mean, short-term I've obviously got doubles and hopefully mixed doubles. I'm going to really enjoy that, get out there and have a good go at that. And then I'll probably -- now that I'm about 180, I want to start mixing in a few WTA quallies maybe, have a crack at that, mixing in with a few ITFs. I'll probably go to the States early on in Feb and have a good crack over there.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah. Went there last year for a trip, really enjoyed it. Hard court's obviously my favorite. I spent a bit of time in Europe earlier on this year which I think helped me with my game and my fitness on the clay. Obviously, my strengths are on hard court. Probably stick to tournaments during the year on hard court.

CASEY DELLACQUA: The highest ranked player I beat, I think I beat Jidkova last year, ranked about 50 in the world. I've beaten a couple of top hundred players. Yeah, never like played a top 20 player before. Only Serena and Venus, but in doubles, so a little bit different.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Absolutely. I mean, I haven't played at this level. This is what I need. To play players -- I'm comfortable going out there playing players ranked 150 to 300 or below because that's the level I've always known and that's the level I've always played at. That's the transition I need to make. I'm 180 now, and I need to play regularly players in the top hundred. I need that. I need to be around this environment because I'm not in this environment enough. That's my goal. My goal by the end of this year is to be top hundred in the world. This is where I want to be. I've got a lot of work to do, but ultimately that's my goal.

CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah.

CASEY DELLACQUA: No, I mean, I've spoken with Sam and that, and I think if we can all work together, I think it's only going to be a good thing. It's hard enough on the tour as it is, and it's hard enough being from Australia. I think if we can stick together and work hard, I mean, for me to see Sam doing well is great. We need other girls to be doing well. Do you know what I mean? In that way, in that respect, yeah, I think if we can all work together, if I see Sam doing great, then it's a great thing. I think we just need a lot of players to keep doing well and it's going to be a good thing.