“What were you most satisfying about your performance against number 1 seed Karolina Pliskova?
The start of the match and my mentality throughout the match. When she returned from serve, which is one of her strengths, I managed to get her to play very often, it surely made her doubt a little. She is used to having free points with her service and today (Wednesday) she may have had a little less than usual. It was a super important point for me, especially since I had failed me a bit during the last tournaments. I managed to stay calm when things got a bit tricky in the second set. Mentally, I was there and I believed in my chances.
Where do you place this victory in your career?
It is definitely one of my very good victories, with solid matches until the end. Maybe not on the podium but very high (smile). It’s an important game that really gives me confidence. I really enjoyed playing, in the times when things were going well for me and in the harder times, that’s the most important.
Is the feeling the same when winning in an empty stadium?
The weirdest thing is that usually at the end of a match, whether one or the other wins, there is always a crowd of people, cheers. And there, nothing happens. You’re not sure you’ve won (laughs). Wait, I check the score! Plus you can’t hear the referee.
Did you want to be even more aggressive than usual on the court?
I was not more aggressive than usual, however I clearly made fewer mistakes than usual! It’s always better when the ball is in it (smile). They are top players, if you wait for the mistake, it will never happen. If you let Pliskova breathe, take your serve, and you don’t take your chance on the return, you lose 6-4, 6-4 in an hour. It must be put in difficulty. That’s what I like. It was a big challenge for me, I passed it and I’m ready for the next one. “
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