QATAR TOTAL OPEN

March 3, 2021

Garbine Muguruza

Press Conference

G. MUGURUZA/A. Sabalenka

6-2, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Where did you get the will and the fight to win tonight? I mean, it could have gone either way. But you started strong, and you came on even stronger at the end.

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I mean, you know, I'm very motivated to play top players. I feel like, you know, like everybody, I worked hard. I'm fighting for, you know, for trophies, to play well in big tournaments, in good tournaments.

Today I was facing a top player, and I knew I have to go out there with a big, fighting spirit, and strong, and strong to be able to win against these tough opponents.

Q. The tough opponents keep coming on now. You get Maria Sakkari next. You have already had two quality runs to get this far. What do you think going ahead and having to turn right around and having to play tomorrow?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Yeah, I mean, it's tough. Right now all the players are playing good and they are tough. I have to be ready for tomorrow.

Of course today has been a big battle, so, you know, tennis is like that. Tomorrow's another day, another match. It is true I have another tough opponent. Right now it's just about recovery and switching my mind for the next match tomorrow.

Q. That second-set tiebreaker, I suppose normally when you lose such a close set like that, the reaction can sometimes be bad. But you dusted it off and had a great reaction in the final, decisive set.

GARBINE MUGURUZA: Yeah, that was a challenge. I mean, it was a tough set that, you know, I had my opportunities and I didn't convert them. You can easily, you know, get upset or, you know, get distracted and lose easy.

That was a challenge for me, you know, to be able to stay, to stay in the match, to try to start over, you know, to play the final set and keep fighting.

I mean, I knew that if I didn't match her spirit and the level, I was already in the locker room, for sure.

Q. And a quality opponent. Just in relation to that first break in that final set, how crucial was that just to wrestle the advantage and give you a bit of breathing space?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I mean, of course to have a break at the end of the sets, it very important. It gives you the extra advantage that you need to be able to close it. That was an important game that I think I played well and aggressive.

I took my opportunity, and, you know, I was happy that I could convert after, serving for the match.

Q. I know that winning is a habit and it's a habit that you like to keep. I'm wondering, how important for you is it to get a tough win like this today, given how close you were against Naomi Osaka in Australia and the way that you want to keep winning these close matches and not have those kind of bad memories maybe? Does it help sort of to erase the memory of that loss a little bit, give you confidence in these close ones?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I mean, for sure it gives you a lot of confidence when you play top players and you get the win and, you know, you put the fighting spirit. And of course it's great.

But you also -- you know, I don't see all the negative, because to be able to have the chances, it means that you're playing well, as well, right? That you're there, that your level, it's good. After, of course, you can, few points here, few points there, and not ended up winning.

But I feel like I'm not far, even though one match slipped away a little bit. This one I managed to close it. You know, I'm there. I feel like my game, it's pretty good. I just have to, you know, every day keep showing that and be close always. If I'm not feeling great, be there and fighting and be close to my opponent, because opportunities will come.

Q. Obviously Conchita hasn't been able to be on court with you this week, but I'm curious how much she has been in contact in between your matches and what it's like for you to maybe not necessarily have that voice or that face to look at when you're in some of these tough matches.

GARBINE MUGURUZA: You know, it's an experience, I have to say. You know, for sure I came here not thinking that this would happen. Of course we know, you know, there's a risk with COVID, but, you know, it's just a challenge, you know, to not have your full team and be able to go to the matches and maybe not feel that they are there.

But for me, you know, at the end I'm the one who's playing on court. I'm the one who's holding the racquet. We did good work, the whole team, and even if she's not here she's with me all the time during practices, during the day.

You know, the only moment I feel she's not there is maybe during the match. But that's the moment where I have to go and play, so I think we are managing pretty well (smiling).

Q. In those moments where you would be looking toward her during a match, is there something else you're doing to kind of recenter or refocus yourself?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: You know, I'm just thinking what I have to do and just be concentrated. Of course there is missing this little part, looking at your box and seeing your full team.

But, you know, I have my physio here. She's doing also a great job and she's pushing me. You know, we have to go through things like this. Why not? It's a good experience. We take a lot of it from it.

Q. I'm curious, in your match today, you seemed to get a really good read on her serve, particularly on the deuce side, you seemed to be ready whenever she was able to go out wide. You also did a really good job making your own first serve, 74% today. Was it the game plan for you coming into this match, keep Aryna on her back foot? And how do you think you were able to successfully do that throughout the course of today?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I feel like she has a big serve, and I was just so concentrated, you know, to try to get every single serve.

Yeah, I managed to maybe read few balls in important moments. So I don't know. I have been working a lot also on my return. I don't know. I just feel like I could see, you know, some serves, I guess.

But, yeah, I mean, I know it was a key in the match. You're playing against a player that has a big serve, powerful, and that's one of her strengths, so I was trying to neutralize that part.

Q. Obviously playing tennis in a pandemic has posed a lot of problems. It's been difficult for a lot of players to adjust. What are some of the things that you have learned about yourself, having to go through playing in a pandemic for so long now that you didn't necessarily know about yourself before?

GARBINE MUGURUZA: I don't know. I mean, really something that I learned...

Just appreciation for what we had before. You never really know until it's gone, you know, what we had, the big stadiums and the fans and the crowd. You know, I really miss that. But things are starting to change, and I'm seeing some crowd and I'm getting that feeling back.

You know, that's what I'm learning, you know, how much I enjoy to have the fans and to have this, you know, these big arenas full of people that sometimes you're nervous to go out there and perform, but at the end, that's why I'm playing, to be able to go out there and put a show and people to enjoy and come and watch us play.