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BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALS SINGAPORE

October 21, 2018

Sascha Bajin

Kallang, Singapore

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. So you know very well for the Finals, because last year Caroline won it. So what is the most important things for this Finals, especially for round robin?
SASCHA BAJIN: Well, you know, since you have the best eight in the world, I think it's a little different tournament. You know, you really have no warmup round, no nothing. You immediately play one of the best players in the world, to where other tournaments you have seeded so you play a little bit lower-ranked player. Not saying that that could be easier, but you know you can kind of expect something else from it.

Also, mentally it's a little different. Even though maybe you lose the first round, you kind of -- normally tennis players they kind of let themselves go. Here you have to keep that momentum and have to realize that you can come back and still qualify.

As we have seen in the past with Radwanska and Cibulkova, who both won only one round-robin match, ended up winning the tournament. That's something very important, that she just keeps being competitive for each set, each match. It's a bit different.

Q. You also know very well for Sloane for the first match. What is the key point for winning?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, if I said it, is he gonna see that, Kamau (smiling)?

Well, I don't want to give away too much. I mean, I worked with her for a couple of months, so let's see, what can I say? We expect a lot of crosscourt rallies. That's all I'm gonna say. I'm not gonna say too much about it. Sorry.

Q. This year, working with Naomi, she got first Grand Slam title and qualified WTA Finals first time. What do you think about her achievement so far?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, it's been a great year. The year is not over yet. So far, so good. But we still got one more to go. And then we're gonna celebrate after this.

Q. How have you seen Naomi change not in her tennis but in just who she is over this last year that you have been working with her?
SASCHA BAJIN: I think that, you know, besides the tennis, you mean basically off-court herself?

Q. Yes.
SASCHA BAJIN: I mean, I think she's a little bit more outgoing. She opened up a little bit more. She's not so caved in anymore.

I think I tickled some of these emotions out of her. I'm very outgoing. I'm very loud. She says she feels comfortable being herself around me because I'm such a weirdo. Makes her look good. Whatever helps her feel more comfortable, I'm happy to do.

Q. And what impresses you the most about how she's handled these last six weeks? Because even though she's had a good run-up, I mean, since the US Open and all the controversy about the US Open, and then coming into here and everything?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, for sure, I think that, you know, after the US Open we have seen in the past with a lot of players who kind of fall into a little dip after achieving such a big milestone, because it is kind of satisfying and it's something you dream of so long.

Kerber, when she won the Australian Open, struggled for a little while. Sloane lost eight first-round matches, I belive, in a row. Ostapenko. Everybody kind of struggled.

Then seeing her doing so well right after that, you know, in her home country, Tokyo, all the big sponsors were there, all the CEOs, and not having an easy draw, playing great players, and then immediately playing finals there, you know, was really impressive. Going back to Beijing, also, semifinals there was a really great run. Just seeing her, how she manages all of it, it's pretty impressive.

Q. What do you feel that she has that she's been able to do that? Because as you point out, most players don't.
SASCHA BAJIN: I think what I can do really good -- I mean, I have been blessed with having worked with Serena for so long. We won 12 Grand Slams together. So if we won a Grand Slam, we went back to work Monday. It was kind of expected.

So I believe that because I was in a situation and as a coach before, if I wouldn't have, maybe I would have been super happy after reaching the semifinals or just getting to the finals.

So even for me and my whole team, wherever we go, we have had this experience of winning titles back to back, of performing day in, day out. I believe that's the energy and vibe I can give to my player and that Naomi feeds off that, despite the fact that she's just awesome, as well. A little bit of both.

Q. In Beijing she looked like she needed a break even mentally or physically. What was the preparation for this tournament? What was the mindset that you tried to put her into so she can perform well in the last week of a very long year?
SASCHA BAJIN: Well, she came off -- she was a little bit sick. She wasn't feeling good in Tokyo. Everybody on the team was kind of -- I believe it was all the stress. Like I had fever and was not feeling good with my stomach. So, you know, she fought really through the first few rounds.

And, yeah, it's just a long season. If you think about, you know, a 20-year-old, 21-year-old girl, winning $4 million, achieving all these things that she has achieved, going from 74 in the world to No. 4, beating her idol in the finals, it was a lot to comprehend. The way she's dealing with is pretty remarkable. I don't think, if I was playing, I would even be in Beijing, to be honest. I would take a long vacation.

We try to keep a focus, we try to keep our routine, and treat every day the same. Like I said, for me, it's kind of expected. I have been there with a player, winning the US Open title. Obviously I'm really happy I did it with Naomi, as well. But it's kind of, all right, let's go. We got Tokyo going, we got Beijing, we got this tournament. Maybe that's why sometimes she says I'm never satisfied. But it's a different -- I am satisfied.

Q. You have been working with Sloane and also Naomi. What's kind of the speciality you see in this younger generation, they're able to win their first Grand Slam?
SASCHA BAJIN: Sorry, what's the question?

Q. What is the speciality and advantages of this younger generation?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, no, I think it's beautiful. There is a lot of young great players coming up with Sloane, with, you know, with Ostapenko, with Madison Keys. There are even some girls already younger where Naomi says she feels like she's the one who has all the experience on tour.

If you look at Anisimova, these younger girls, I believe that also, you know, looking back now, having eight different winners at eight different Grand Slams, it's something that makes the WTA Tour very exciting to watch, to where you have always kind of like the same faces and the same winners or same semifinalists, and you have to kind of wait till it gets to that stage. But seeing now there is so much excitement even in the earlier rounds and everybody can beat everybody, I think with the younger generation coming up, it just makes it so much more exciting for the viewer and for the tour itself.

Q. Kiki Bertens is also in your pool. What do you make of her game and her rise?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, I'm super happy for her. I like Raemon. He's a great guy, great coach. She's a very sweet girl. We are still going to do our best to beat her when we play her.

Yeah, she deserves to be here. She had a great season, great run. Yeah, is definitely someone to look out for.

Q. How was your birthday dinner at Hong Kong? How did you spend it with Naomi on her birthday?
SASCHA BAJIN: How was my birthday dinner? My birthday dinner was in Beijing, and I had a pizza. She took me out to an Italian place, and she knows I like pizza. We had a pizza. Well, I had a pizza. She had salmon and salad (smiling).

And then for her birthday, we went to this, yeah, teppanyaki in Tokyo. Yeah, where they cook in front of you, right? That's teppanyaki? Yeah, teppanyaki. We had some good steak and shortcake, some of that. That was delicious.

Q. What's the hardest part in being a coach? And what's the hardest part in being Naomi's coach?
SASCHA BAJIN: I think the hardest part in being a coach is that the way I do it is just 110%, so I maybe do too much, but I just can't because that's just who I am. I'm very dedicated and I put my own needs always second.

Whether I'm injured, tired, mom's waiting, sister's waiting, I don't care. Naomi, Sloane, Vika, whoever I work with is at that time they priority. I think that's the hardest part, that you live literally your life after someone else's.

Especially working with Naomi is, yeah, without getting into too much trouble, I want to say you have to be a little bit patient. I'm very impatient usually. Like I'm trying to be patient. I'm trying to get better. Yeah, you've just got to be a little bit patient with her.

Q. Especially in Japan, in Tokyo, National Training Center, how did Naomi prepare for this tournament?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, we had a great preparation. They helped us out a lot. We had two hitting partners on the court. They gave us the court whenever we needed to. You know, two hours in the morning, an hour conditioning, and then an hour conditioning after.

Since she played so much tennis, I really wanted to focus more on getting her physically ready, that she's in the best possible shape that she can be, especially after she had like a little back issue. You know, we wanted to make sure she's physically ready a lot. Because Naomi, as soon as she spends two, three days on court, she actually gets the feeling very quickly back.

Yeah, the National Tennis Center was great. We had our lunch. Felt a little bit like going back to school. We walk in the cafeteria, you hold your tray, you just go to the stations. So it was good, and it's good energy seeing all these other athletes around. You know, everybody is a master in what they do. Gives you a little bit more energy in wanting to do better, seeing all these other great athletes.

Q. Was the court at National Training Center a little slower than here to play?
SASCHA BAJIN: Yeah, the court was definitely different. I believe it was a little slower, and the ball would bounce higher, since this is indoor with wooden surface underneath. But, yeah, at least we had the Wilson balls, so that made it happen.

Q. It seems that there are more and more discussions about maybe implementing the coaching during the Grand Slams also, and to maybe also put more light on the work of the coaches in general. Do you think it's a good thing? Would you want to be able to go on court to talk to Naomi during the slams, too?
SASCHA BAJIN: No, absolutely not. I believe that if you look at -- and I thought about it a lot. I believe that if I have to look back why I started with this sport was because my father and my mother wanted to teach me something, you know. In true sport, I was learning without them telling me. So I was learning to overcome problems myself. I was learning to focus. And that was the main goal.

And I believe that if we enforce that, then we're just going to support too much information. I think that a lot of juniors already are overcoached. I believe that they would stop thinking for themselves, and everything just becomes too much, you know, like blurring on information from the outside.

So I think that's something beautiful about this sport, that it's really only you and to find a problem, to be a good problem-solver. If you look at the best tennis players, they are good problem-solvers on-court and off-court. My opinion is I definitely don't want that.

Q. So how do you think about Singapore hard court for Naomi?
SASCHA BAJIN: Any fast hard court is good for Naomi. It's not a secret (smiling).

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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