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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 17, 2013Laura RobsonMELBOURNE, VICTORIA L. ROBSON/P. Kvitova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How does this compare with the two big wins you won in NewYork? LAURA ROBSON: I just have to say I feel I was playing better in NewYork. I thought today was pretty ugly, but in terms of how tough it was to close it out in the end, I think it's right up there with one of the best wins. Q. What was the emotion when you finally won it? LAURA ROBSON: Happy, obviously. But, yeah, a bit tired. I'm looking forward to going back to my apartment and sleeping. Q. What pleased you most about your performance? LAURA ROBSON: Just, you know, that I never gave up. Even when she went up a break twice in the third, I just thought I can always break her serve, I just have to get as many returns in as I can. And in the end, I just thought I've got nothing to lose. So I'm just going to relax on my serve a bit more and just go for it. Q. How tough was it ‑‑because, as you said, it was a match that didn't really have any kind of real rhythm or definition. It must have been hard to keep going because there weren't many rallies. There was no sense of timing a lot of the time. LAURA ROBSON: Yeah. You know, I started off very up and down, and you know it's going to be a pretty ugly match when you start off with two double faults. I thought I've really got to dig in here, and, you know, she's never someone who's going to give you a lot of rhythm because she takes the ball so early. I just had to try to get as many balls back as I could, and I was pretty disappointed with myself in how I tried to serve out at 6‑5 in the third. I just gave her a bit too much time on the ball, so to come out with a win is pretty pleasing. Q. You were having a few problems with your ball toss towards the end. LAURA ROBSON: That's nothing new though, is it? (Smiling.) Yeah. You know, it's a difficult one because I served really well in my first match and I have been serving really well in practice. And then this evening, for some reason, it just wasn't firing. So I have to go back on court tomorrow and see what I can do to fix it. Q. Is it in some ways more satisfying the fact that it was kind of you didn't play quite as fluidly as you did in NewYork and therefore more satisfying? LAURA ROBSON: Well, I would say all the wins are equally satisfying, but this one was probably the toughest in terms of, you know, how long the match was and how up and down it was. I think the turning point of the match, it seems, was when my agent got pooped on by a bird. (Laughter.) Q. Was there any moment that you thought this is going to get away from you? Maybe in the first set? LAURA ROBSON: In the first set it was just too up and down. You know, you can't win a set when you're playing five unforced errors compared to every winner. So, you know, it was at the start of the second set I knew that I just had to play with more consistency and with more percentage. That's what I did. But, you know, it could have easily been on serve the whole time in the third set, and it was just a few points here and there that made her go up the break. Yeah, it was just really close. Q. Have you always had that fighting spirit? LAURA ROBSON: Have I always had it? I'd like to think so. Definitely when I played my brother in Monopoly it was ‑‑ all hell broke loose, really. But, yeah, I think some matches you just lose the belief a little bit, but this one I felt like I could always win. Q.  If you think back to last year, I think you played Jankovic and it was pretty, I think, maybe a disappointing match for you. LAURA ROBSON: It was pretty ugly. Q. Do you think about how far you've come? Does it startle you at all, or did you always know you would get to this point? LAURA ROBSON: Well, I think last year it was difficult because I came in with absolutely no preparation. I had no idea how I was going to do it. I wasn't even sure I was going to qualify. So in a way that was a good result for me, even though I got absolutely trashed by Jankovic. This year, you know, I set my expectations a bit higher, and I'm obviously playing a lot better than I was then, so I would have been disappointed to lose today, for sure. Q. Was that the latest finish you have ever had for a match? LAURA ROBSON: I would say so, yeah. This is definitely the latest interview I have done, as well. Q. I was wondering how playing second match on a night session following Roger Federer, just what your thoughts were and how different it was to have to prepare for a match against a player of her quality for a night session at a Grand Slam. LAURA ROBSON: I was super excited for this evening. As soon as I heard I was playing night match, I was really excited. I always wanted to play in a night match. You know, Fed wasn't taking that long this evening so it wasn't too bad. I had an afternoon nap, so it was all good. Q. What are the particular challenges of playing‑‑ you know Sloane pretty well, don't you, from juniors and everything? LAURA ROBSON: We first played each other when I was 10 or 11, I think. Q. What is tough about playing her? She got the better of you, I think. LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, she beat me last week in Hobart, and it was a pretty close match, but, yeah, I definitely feel like I could play a lot better than I did last week, and it's going to be really tough, for sure. She's in good form at the moment. She's a good mover, good ball striker. It's always going to be a tough match, but yeah, hopefully I can play better than I did today. Q. How good a player is Sloane? She's been tipped by a lot of people to go a long way. LAURA ROBSON: Yeah, I don't see why not. You know, I think it's very easy to see how naturally well she hits the ball and how easy everything sort of comes to her. You know, she's always been good, so it's not a surprise that she's doing well. Q. How do you come down from this after this sort of ‑‑obviously you're tired from having played three hours. There has to be a lot of adrenaline. Are you going to be up all night or resting? LAURA ROBSON: No, I don't have a problem getting to sleep. I think I will be fast asleep in the car already. Q. When she makes that noise, is it slightly frightening? LAURA ROBSON: Neil, come an. Q. It frightens me and I'm miles away from her. LAURA ROBSON: No, it doesn't frighten me. (Smiling.) Q. It's an amazing noise, though, isn't it? LAURA ROBSON: I had a few shrieks here and there, as well. I think everyone does it from time to time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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