THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 6, 2021

Viktorija Golubic

Press Conference

KA. PLISKOVA/V. Golubic

6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was it today that made Karolina so tough out there?

VIKTORIJA GOLUBIC: Well, I think everyone saw that what the key was today. I think, like, I wasn't able to get into one rally when she was serving. That was really unbelievable. So I think this is one of the points she has been No. 1 for sure. She was serving great. It was tough to read.

Even when I was, you know, expecting a little bit to go one or the other side, it was still very tough to return. So even the second serves were quite good, although she had I think a huge percentage of first serves as well.

That put a lot of pressure on my serve games where I maybe didn't manage to serve that well today, although she also didn't give me any free points. I think that was, yeah, the main point.

Q. Do you think her experience made a difference today? She's played a bunch of quarterfinals. This was your first time here.

VIKTORIJA GOLUBIC: Yeah, for sure. I think I enjoyed the atmosphere. It was amazing to play on that court. I didn't feel like I was nervous or didn't play that well. That was not the case at all.

I just think that I still had a good performance. It was just that she maybe even had a, you know, better performance so she could top it. Maybe it's just at that stage of a tournament, maybe that experience helped or she knew how to even raise that level.

Although, I must say, I played well, I wasn't able to go above the level I played the whole week, so yeah.

Q. A question about Emma Raducanu. She had to withdraw from a match, having some difficulty breathing. Have you ever experienced anything like that in your career particularly when you were a younger player?

VIKTORIJA GOLUBIC: Yeah, I think the age makes a lot of difference also. For her, playing at home, to be in such a big match, I think it's just also some experience where she's going to learn. If she has next time, I think it's probably going to be different.

Still she made a great job. She played so well in the first set. I've seen a couple of games.

I had kind of for me a similar experience from the point of being nervous was when I played my first Fed Cup singles. I was at home. It was packed. I was super, super nervous. I actually played Karolina (smiling). Before my match, I was never so nervous before. That was just crazy.

When I got on court, I got into the game, it was something that I got into the game and I was calmer. But also I was much older than she is now. I think, yeah, that was also a difference.

Q. On Karolina's serve, you played another big server in the round before, Madison Keys. What makes Karolina's serve harder to read? What makes it so much tougher?

VIKTORIJA GOLUBIC: Yeah, the tough part was that she was hitting the corners and the lines. If you have a big serve, but let's say you're not that precise, it's still kind of playable. But I think that was really a difference.

Also she had a lot of first serves, as well. She was super consistent in that. That all of a sudden can make a big difference. If she's acing all the time or hitting the spots, it's not the same as if, like, she plays on my racquet.

I felt like yesterday I could read it a little bit better. And today, yeah, was too good to return.