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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2010

Casey Dellacqua

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

C. DELLACQUA/K. Sprem
7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You must be pretty thrilled with that.
CASEY DELLACQUA: It was obviously good to have a win. Yeah, for me it's just exciting to be out there playing again. All those feelings that you don't get when you're away from the game, little nerves and the excitement, all of that.
Yeah, I always love playing tennis, and it was great to be out there tonight.

Q. Could you imagine back in October being here now? It has to be beyond your wildest dreams almost.
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, absolutely. Like I really started properly hitting balls a couple days before the playoff. I'm really still working my way back to the where I want to be.
So, yeah, it's just great to come out with some wins. But, yeah, I've still got obviously a long way to go to. This is just a great start to the year.
Yeah, like after these tournaments I've got some 25s to play. Just gotta, you know, work my way back. This is just a start for me.

Q. Your service in the first set was obviously a lot better than yesterday.
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I think my serve got me through the first set. I pulled out some great serves. I've been working on my serve, and obviously will continue to do that. It's part of my game that I want to keep improving.
Tonight it held up good at times, and when I got nervous, got a bit shaky. Yeah, all in all, I think, yeah, it got better from the previous match as well.

Q. Did nerves have anything to do with the Prince watching in the stands?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I guess not everyone can say that the Prince has watched, you know. When he came in I wanted to give him a wave or curtsy. I don't know what you're supposed to do when the Royal people come in.
No, yeah, that was pretty cool.

Q. Why didn't you?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I was just trying to focus.

Q. Have you got the right mindset now to take on Venus with a game like you've got now? You've grown a bit over the last couple of years and you had a pretty good 2008 series here. Are you in the right mindset to take on that challenge there?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I think I'm gonna have to play a lot better against Venus. I'm going to have to step it up and be a bit more aggressive and obviously play some great tennis to play someone like Venus.
I've never played her in singles before. I played her in doubles a bit, so I know what to expect. But, yeah, I'm definitely in a good mindset in the sense that I feel great and I'm loving being back playing tennis.
I am hitting the ball great. So I'll just go out there against Venus and just, yeah, give it everything that I've got again and see what happens.

Q. How do you handle the power of someone like Venus? Do you have to try and match it or step up the pace of your own shots?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I'm gonna have to step it up and be aggressive. Karolina's serve was quite big, and I think that's probably what I'm gonna have to expect from Venus as well. Like I said, I have played them in doubles. I do have a fair idea of what I'm gonna be in for yeah.
But, yeah, I'm just gonna have to focus on what I do. I'm gonna have to serve well as well and feel comfortable off the ground and be aggressive. I'll just keep putting in everything I've got once again. Yeah, just see how it goes.

Q. Do you draw on the experience of a couple years ago, the big matches you won?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I've got great memories from here from 2008 obviously. That court is awesome and the crowd was fantastic. They were right behind me once again. You don't get that very often throughout the year.
When you are in Australia, it's just awesome to be out there and hear people yell out, come on, Del or Case. Yeah, it's awesome being out there.

Q. Does that belief give you a genuine chance to beat Venus?
CASEY DELLACQUA: I think so, yeah. I also go into any match believing I can win, otherwise there's no real point in walking on the court. I'm gonna obviously play some doubles tomorrow, have a bit of a hit out, and get my body feeling good again. I'll take it to Venus and see what happens.

Q. Are you ready to start playing Fed Cup again?
CASEY DELLACQUA: At the moment I'm planning on playing some 25,000s. I'm unsure about that. I made myself available.

Q. Obviously means a lot to you to play for your country. You've enjoyed the experience before. Are you sort of putting your hand up now and saying you're ready to go?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, like I said, I made myself available. So I'll just see and see when the team is announced.
But, yeah, I obviously love playing for my country. Those times Fed Cup playing with the girls, those things are pretty rare in tennis. So any opportunity it's always exciting to play for Australia.

Q. You sort of had some pretty long matches in the last few weeks, including this week. I suppose that will help you feel physically ready, too.
CASEY DELLACQUA: Yeah, I feel good and fresh. Obviously I haven't played tournaments all last year. I feel fresh and good and my injuries are all gone. I feel finally injury-free. Yeah, my body feels good; I'm stoked.

Q. What was going through your mind when more and more of those match points tonight started to slip away?
CASEY DELLACQUA: Just that I wanted to get one of them. I didn't want to double fault again. Just gotta get a first serve in. I wanted to close it out in that second set. I was just trying to take my time and not rush.
Obviously I haven't played a lot matches and haven't been in a situation where I've had to close out matches before. That's just a good steppingstone for me tonight to get that tiebreak in the second set and close that out.
Yeah, I would have liked to get one of the earlier ones because I was getting nervous.

Q. You talked about how you love playing here and the crowd support. Are there any downsides to playing in Australia with all the media attention and expectations?
CASEY DELLACQUA: No, I love it. I always think it's great. Like I said, it's just pretty rare to play where people are right behind you all the time. You're overseas so much of the year, and it's great to be in Australia.
I spent all the last year in Australia for the whole year. Yeah, I think it's fantastic. I loved playing up in Brisbane and Sydney again, and always coming back to Melbourne feels like home. I always want to do the best that I can everywhere I can.
Particularly here in Australia it's nice to have the crowd behind me. I love playing here in Melbourne Park.

Q. Is there a chance Nan will hop on a plane and be at the next match?
CASEY DELLACQUA: I don't think so. I think Nan, yeah, likes the comfort of a lounge. I think the heat got to her a bit last year. I think she'll enjoy watching me play Venus on TV.

End of FastScripts

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