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APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEYJanuary 6, 2014Agnieszka RadwanskaSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Good to be back? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Of course. I think it's always great to be back in the city you won the title before, so very exciting to be here again, of course. Yeah, ready for my first match. Q. What sort of form do you think you've brought into this tournament this year? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, last week I was playing in Perth, Hopman Cup, and I had really a good four matches over there. Really tight matches and I really played good tennis over there. First matches are always tricky after off‑season. But I think I really play well. If I will play the same tennis, I will be happy. Q. You had a bit of a sore shoulder.  Is it okay? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Yeah, well, it was a bit windy on days and we practice with a big wind and I pulled a little bit. But not big deal; should be all right. Q. Are you play Bethanie Mattek‑Sands next. What are your thoughts going into that? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: To be honest, I thought I'm going to play Bouchard again. I played against her last week, so... Well, I think I Bethanie is play well tennis. I played I think against her last year in Melbourne and it was three hours match. So wasn't easy, so definitely I really to have play good tennis. Q. You had a great start to your season last year here and in Auckland, and then a difficult end. You were struggling a little bit at the end of the season. AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Uh‑huh. Q. What did you do in the off‑season to get back to the form that you started the with year? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, of course I had vacation right after Istanbul. So two weeks after, and then of course back on court and hard work from the beginning. So I really practice a lot last few weeks. Well, hopefully I can have the same good start of the season like last year. Yeah, we'll see. Q. Were you just sort of mentally tired at the end of season last year? What do you think was happening at the WTA Championships? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: I think I really had a lot of matches in Asia. I played 13 matches in 18 days, which was a lot. I think a little bit too much. I thought I would be ready, and I just remember I had just two days off and I said, I'm going to practice and go back om court and be ready for the Championships. I think it was not enough rest between, and I was done after Asia. So, yeah, I think it was more mentally and physically as well, I think. So, yeah, of course it's always good problem to have, to play a lot. It means you're winning. But in the end, not really. (Smiling.) Q. Some players don't like to do this tournament because it's too close to the Australian Open. You obviously do. What can you get out of this tournament ahead of the Australian Open? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, last two months I didn't play any matches. Well, I played in Czech, the league like I'm playing every year, but matches are different than the practice. I'm always happen to play matches. It's always a good challenge, especially in the beginning of the year. You see, you know, where the form is, especially playing against good players. Here the tournament is always very strong, so since the first round you really to have play good to win. So it's a good challenge. Q. The final up in Brisbane was Serena and Victoria and Maria made the semifinals. Seems like all of the usual people are coming into form ahead of the Australian Open. AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Uh‑huh. Q. When play those really powerful players, how do you prepare for that? Do you have people hitting heavy balls to you? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, of course, I mean, I have couple hitting partners. They're guys, so of course they're playing stronger than the girls. So of course the practice always a little bit harder and you do much more in practice to be prepared good for the match. So of course it's always what I'm trying to do, but, you know, every match is different story, especially different conditions and on the different surface. So, yeah. Q. Have you done anything different in the off‑season to try and improve this year? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, I really did a lot of fitness, you know, to be healthy and strong for the whole year. So we'll see how it goes. Q. What about your study? You're studying tourism, right? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Yes. Actually, I need one more exam to finish the whole year. I did whole semester again in the season in the off‑season. Q. You paid extra attention to it in the off‑season? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, I mean, tennis is always in the first place and is always a priority. Of course I'm very happy to studying and that I can manage both, but if I have to choose to practice or to study, of course I go on court and practice. That's why I didn't finish the one exam, because I didn't have time. But I will be very happy to finish university during my career. Q. You're defending the title here. You won in Auckland, too. Why did you prefer Hopman Cup? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: First of all, I'm playing Katowice this year. It means I can play just one small international tournament, so I couldn't play Auckland. And of course I get the invitation to play Hopman Cup. Poland was playing for the first time over there, so I was really excited to play there for the first time and to see how it is. I think it's great to try to play something different and new. So it was really exciting week. We did the final, so it was good. Q. There were a lot of people really praising the match you had with Alize Cornet in the final. People were saying it was one of the best women's matches they'd seen in a long time. Did it feel like that when you were playing? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Yeah, I heard the comments afterwards. Happy to hear that. Yes, definitely was the great match. I think we really played on the high level from the beginning until the end. Of course I couldn't finish that match in two sets. I didn't use the chances. But she really showed how, you know, she can fight until the end. She didn't give me any free points there. That's why I couldn't really close that match in two sets. Definitely a great match. Q. Does that give you confidence to bring here this week? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Of course. I think it was really good warmup playing against top players. I played Sam as well; very good match over there. So I think, yeah, I'm ready to play here. Q. You've won the WTA Fan Favorite award the last couple of years now. What do you attribute that to? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: Well, I was really happy to hear that. I think winning that for the third time in a row I think is great. I really appreciate everyone that vote, because I think this is really great thing to win. Yeah. Q. Why do you think the fans like you so much? AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: I don't know. I don't think it's a question for me. Just happy to win again. Yeah. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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