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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 15, 2014Samantha StosurMELBOURNE, VICTORIA S. STOSUR/T. Pironkova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You must be relieved in that heat to be able to have gotten through that match so quickly. SAMANTHA STOSUR:  Yeah, regardless of heat, it's nice to get through matches like that, that's for sure. Yeah, it was another really stinking hot day today. Playing in the night, it's always going to be that ‑‑ the edge is kind of off it, but yeah, still, all the same, good to get through that quickly. Q. How did you feel out there? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I feel great. Really happy with the way that I played. Probably the first four games are obviously the tightest moment for the match. She started out pretty well. But I feel like I was finding my range pretty well and felt good and was moving well. Once I kind of got that first break, I felt like, Okay, you're on your way a little bit. Obviously, the longer it went on, the more comfortable I felt. I was able to, yeah, dictate play with what I wanted to do. Yeah, really, really pleasing from that aspect. Q. Crowd getting behind you tonight? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, it was a great crowd. Fun to play out there. You definitely feel their support. Yeah, when you're playing like that, the scoreboard is ticking over the way you want it to, it makes it all the more enjoyable. They get behind you. Yeah, can't complain about anything. Q. 23 winners to 5. Played on your terms, wasn't it? SAMANTHA STOSUR: I definitely tried to dictate play right from the start. I mean, that's kind of always the way I want to play, regardless of who I'm playing. Especially tonight I felt I was able to do that quite well, right from the first game to the last, wait for my opportunities if I needed to. As soon as I got it, I tried to step in and be aggressive. If I was behind in the point, just try to rally it back and see if just hanging in there was enough. Thankfully tonight it was. Q. Pironkova got the trainer out after the first set. SAMANTHA STOSUR: I mean, you could kind of tell she wasn't moving so great and all that. But regardless of whether the trainer comes out, you don't want to take your foot off the pedal. Look, I played too many matches, things can start going wrong when opponents call trainers, a little bit injured. I kept focused on what I wanted to do, kind of not let her have a foot in the door. If you can keep going and playing the way that you are and your opponent's not feeling so great, it's even easier to keep going. Whereas if you give them that little bit of a sniff, things can start going better, it can become a tight one. Regardless of what she was feeling, I didn't want to change anything on what I was doing. Q. Ivanovic on Friday.  Initial thoughts? SAMANTHA STOSUR: It's going to be a tough match. Ana has been playing well last year. Last two tournaments last year we played, she won one, I won one. Couple three‑setters in there. It's going to be a tough one. Look, I'm looking forward to it. I am happy to be in the third round. I want to keep going. I'm really pleased with the way I played tonight. Hopefully I can keep building on what I just did to Friday's match and, yeah, really enjoy it out there and have fun. Q. Do you feel different to how you felt from the Hopman Cup to Hobart? Seems like a progression. SAMANTHA STOSUR: That's the way you want it to be. As much as you want to be playing your best tennis at the Hopman Cup or Hobart, you want to peak, as they say, at the right moment. I don't know if I peaked, but my tennis is getting better, it's moving in the right direction. I think that preparation in all those matches that I was able to play in those two previous events have really helped me play this well up until now. Look, it's nice that it's worked out that way. Obviously I still feel like I can keep going and want to keep improving with the way that I am playing. Q. How much do those experiences in Hobart, not necessarily playing your best tennis, getting through the tough matches, helped you this week? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Regardless of how you win, how good you play, how bad you play, it's always nice to win at the end of the day. I think especially getting through that first one against Brengle was a huge confidence boost. Yeah, I didn't play my best tennis, but I got through it, fought hard, did some things really well. There were some things I still needed to improve. You get through that first one, you give yourself another chance. Same thing against Mladenovic, you get through that, you're down a couple of match points, and you kind of have another day to survive in the event. All those tight matches, the hours on court, going through those tricky situations definitely help you in the future, maybe in the next match, maybe in a match in a month's time or at the end of the year. You don't know. But I think the more you can get through those, it's really important to having not won a match at Hopman Cup to then winning those couple at Hobart gives, yeah, the confidence a bit of a boost. Q. Casey Dellacqua said tomorrow, being 44 degrees, she fears conditions might be more dangerous. What is your view on the heat? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Look, I kind of stayed away from the heat and tried to stay inside as much as I could today because I know how awful it must have been out there playing. Look, 41's pretty high. If it gets to 44, that is certainly another step up. I think players and everybody involved have to be really careful. You've got to do what you can to obviously go out and play as best you can. If it's not cooled off, then you've got to really do the right things. It's not just for us. It's the fans, the lines‑people, the ball kids. Everyone is suffering out there. I think there's got to be some common sense, whatever looked at, because you don't want it to get dangerous and have somebody getting hurt because of it. Q. What have you made of the success Australia is having this year? SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, it's fantastic. I think we're having a really good week. I'm sure I can speak for all of us still going. We want to keep going, keep doing well. I watched a little bit of Kyrgios play on TV, a bit of Kokkinakis, as well. They were two great matches. I'm sure those two guys are super excited playing their first Aussie Open. Cay is still going. We're having a great time. Hopefully we can keep it rolling. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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