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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 11, 2014Madison KeysCINCINNATI, OHIO M. KEYS/A. Cornet THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Did that go as well as you anticipated this week or better than you thought? MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I mean, I don't have many complaints about today. Definitely played pretty well and stayed in my game for the most part. Yeah, there's obviously a couple of things that I still want to work on and have better for next round, but pretty happy with today. Q. How much did winning Eastbourne really improve your confidence and kind of put you on a path you wanted to be on? MADISON KEYS: It was definitely a confidence boost. You know, just playing well for that whole week and just being really solid was definitely a confidence boost. I feel like I'm going in the right direction and just continuing to work as hard as I can to keep going in that direction. Q. Your crosscourt forehand seemed to be really strong today. Is that going to be one of your feature things? MADISON KEYS: I have definitely been working on staying in my cross‑courts a little bit more, so, yeah, I have been just trying to keep working on it. Definitely it worked for me today. Q. Do you think that your Eastbourne win at all ‑up until that point, good year; not many big results or anything like that ‑ how much of it did it click for you in terms of confidence after that? Do you feel like a different player out there? MADISON KEYS: Some days (smiling). There's obviously still the some days where I just kind of think, What the heck am I doing? I should not be playing tennis right now. No, there's definitely ‑‑I mean, I think that's obviously the first time in a WTA tournament that I have played solid, smart tennis throughout an entire week. So just, you know, knowing that I can do that and, you know, just continuing to try to do the best that I can and continuing to, you know, not want to jump off a bridge on the days that it's not working, it's definitely, you know, been good for me. Q. How much time did you take off once you got home? How long did it take to kind of heal up? MADISON KEYS: Time off? I had I think three days technically where I wasn't doing anything. Then it was, you know, into rehab and trying to get back on the court. So I had about two weeks of no tennis and just rehab and trying to, you know, get back in the gym and things like that. Yeah, so, the three days off went fast, and then the two weeks of no tennis was hard. I was very excited to get back on the court. Q. So how does one go about duplicating the really good stuff? You know, once you played really well and feel really good about things, can you consciously try and figure out what you did, or is it a matter of just playing and not thinking too much? MADISON KEYS: I think, for me at least, it's definitely more on the practice court. You know, having solid practices and making the right decisions on the practice court. Then being in a match, you know, there's much less confusion on what I should be doing because I have been doing it so much in practice. It's, you know, second nature. I'm not overthinking anything. Q. So now that you're not jumping off a bridge when things aren't going well, have we also learned how to like deal with that and change things around, or is that the next step? MADISON KEYS: I'm working on it. It's getting better. Still no promises (smiling). But, no, it's definitely what I have been working on. I mean, some days I'm better at it than other days. I think that's what the big difference is. I think that's definitely part of the next jump, so I'm really focused on it. Q. You will play Maria next, so thoughts about that match. Are you excited for the challenge? Do you think you can pull it off? MADISON KEYS: Well, I have already had an e‑mail from Max. He's very happy he's not here this week. But, you know, obviously she's an amazing player and I have never played her before, so it will be first time. I'm excited. You know, going in and no pressure. Just have to try to play my best and do my best and hopefully be really happy when I walk off the court (smiling). Q. Do you watch her a lot? MADISON KEYS: Yeah. Especially this year because, I mean, I feel like she's just been going so deep in tournaments and she's always on TV. I mean, I think she's very similar to me in a way of how she plays, so I have always liked watching her. And, you know, no matter what the score is or anything, she still goes for her shots. It's amazing how she can get out of trouble so often. Q. Obviously there is a focus going into the US Open. Do you sort of sense that at all yourself? Do you think it's any harder on the guys because... (Indiscernible.) MADISON KEYS: I mean, obviously you feel, you know, a little bit more attention when you're in the U.S. and it's before the US Open. But, I mean, it is kind of nice being a girl because there are so many of us right now. There is not one sole focus. Then obviously we have Venus and Serena who are still doing really well. Personally, I can't comment on the guys. You'd have to ask them, but I would imagine it's probably ‑‑I think the girls are a little bit happier with the situation right now. Q. Do you have any thoughts on court conditions here compared to the other hard court tournaments you have played this year? Faster or slower? Doesn't matter? MADISON KEYS: Personally I thought D.C. was pretty fast. Where were we last week? Montreal? I think Montreal was a little bit slower but still pretty fast. I think this one is pretty similar to the Open. I mean, it's a different ball, but for the most part I think they are same as US Open courts. Q. Do you change your preparation based on those perceptions, or they're just higher priorities on the list, how a surface affects your game or doesn't? MADISON KEYS: I mean, there is a couple of things, you know. Obviously on faster courts a kick serve is not as effective, so you maybe slice some more, things like that. But for the most part, the game plan stays pretty much the same. Q. What would be the next jump for you? MADISON KEYS: I think, you know, it's just being more and more consistent. Again, you know, having a bad day and being able to figure out how to get through it and figure out how to maybe not be playing well but still manage to figure out a way to get through the match. Q. The word "pressure" can be very generic. Is there a difference in how you feel about the pressure playing in the States versus the pressure playing in the Eastbourne final? Or like the fourth round Wimbledon. Does it feel different? MADISON KEYS: I would say there is different pressure for me playing in Fed Cup than there is in playing the final of Eastbourne. You know, playing in Fed Cup you're playing for your country, and playing in Eastbourne it's more you're putting more pressure on yourself. But as far as playing in the States, I mean, if you really overthink it, I'm sure eventually you'll probably psych yourself out, but you just have to think of it as another tournament. If it's in the States or if it's in Europe, you just have to think of it as another tournament and go out and do your best. Q. Is the only thing that feels different when you're in the States is just the fact that things are familiar languages that you hear, American accents everywhere, better court placement? What makes it feel different than a European tournament? MADISON KEYS: I mean, no matter where you are in the States, it just feels a little bit more like you're at home. When you're in Europe, it's always different. You're not familiar with really anything. Even going from France to England, we're just like, Yes, it's English. We know what they're saying (laughter). But then every time I come back from a different country, no matter where I land first, I'm just like, Yes, I'm home. So there's definitely ‑‑I think American players are definitely more comfortable here just because it's home. Q. The foreign players basically are forced to learn English, but they also speak multiple languages a lot. Americans just seem to be lacking in that department. MADISON KEYS: Yeah. I mean, well, I know Christina McHale speaks Spanish fluently and she also knows some Chinese. So I strive to be like Christina, but it probably won't happen. I mean, European players, I feel like they all speak like 12 different languages, and I struggle with English sometimes (laughter). But, I mean, I'd love to learn another language, and, you know, I'm definitely going to one day. But, yeah, I mean, I think it's amazing how ‑‑I mean, you hear Kuznetsova. She speaks Russian, Spanish, English, probably French and Dutch and whatever else. Q. Did you take any language in school? MADISON KEYS: I took seven years of Spanish and I can conjugate a verb, but I can't speak it. Q. Would that be your first choice when you learn a second language? Would it be Spanish? MADISON KEYS: I think so, but then at the same time I want to learn like Chinese so Christina and I can start speaking Chinese in front of another person and just totally confuse them. Q. What else is it sort of like with school? (Indiscernible.) MADISON KEYS: I always really ‑‑well, other than PE, that was my favorite class ‑‑ but I always really liked English. So I have always been really interested in reading and things like that. So if I did, you know, do something, I definitely, you know, would like to go somewhere with that. Q. What's the last book you read? MADISON KEYS: I actually read Li Na's book. It was amazing. So everyone should go out and buy it and read it. Q. What was the most interesting thing? MADISON KEYS: I mean, you just get a really, you know, personal insight to her. She's very detailed on how she grew up and what she thinks, and I think it's just ‑‑it really makes you kind of just change how you think about her a little bit. Q. Could you relate a little bit? She's very self‑critical in that book and talks about how negative she gets on court. A little bit of you there? MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I was reading it and I was like, Yeah, she understands. Yeah, so it's kind of nice to know that other people struggle with it and it's not something that comes naturally to people. I mean, I love how she talks about her husband. I mean, it's so cute. I mean, you can just relate a lot to her. Hopefully one day I can become like her and write a book and I can inspire some other really self‑negative person. Yes, I can do it, too. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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