AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2025

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Press Conference

. SABALENKA/A. Pavlyuchenkova

6-2, 2-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Anastasia, bad luck about the result today. Aryna doesn't lose many sets here at the Australian Open, but what do you feel was the difference in today's match?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Well, at least that is a positive thing from this match and a victory for me. I won a set.

Well, I mean, I don't know. Obviously I'm still disappointed, even though I didn't know what to expect. But once I started the match, I mean, the start was so-so. I just felt like, wow, I'm completely off. I don't feel the ball at all. She's hitting so hard, and I cannot hit the ball at all.

Conditions were completely different from previous days because I was playing in the daytime. It was completely different courts. I feel like this is the toughest part for us being not high seeded enough because we don't get to experience Rod Laver and the center court. Especially night session is completely different conditions. So that was really difficult.

Also mentally I thought, oh, my God, it's just embarrassing. I cannot really play tennis. Then I'm happy with the way I fought back. So the second set I broke her at 1-1, I think, and then kind of found the momentum and started to hit the ball and got into the rhythm.

Then, yeah, it was also really windy. Yeah, but I mean, obviously Aryna, she was quite consistent throughout the match hitting the ball, serving. So she's a very tough opponent.

Once third set, I lost a little bit of concentration, then she right away took it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I think you last played Aryna in 2021, so nearly four years ago. How would you describe the way she's changed and obviously improved in that time?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I mean, she obviously more mature. You can tell. Mentally stronger, for sure. I think she could get frustrated a lot faster in the match. Also, her body language. Like, you could see she was frustrated before. I think this part she definitely improved a lot.

Also, like in third set when I was up a break, I couldn't really see and feel that she was, like, frustrated or upset about it. Like, she was pretty calm. So I think that's very strong from her.

As I said, she kept going and playing her game regardless the score. That's always, like, a good sign of a champion and a good obviously athlete as a performance.

Q. In that third set I think, especially in the last two games, you were serving with the wind at your back. How much more difficult was that? Is that just kind of bad luck that those two games...

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Did you see this? You could see this wind? I was so furious on the back after the match. I said, The ball was jumping away from me. It was not sitting on the racquet. They all said they didn't see that.

I'm, like, Okay, great, thanks. Good coaching there, like always. Then I'm happy you saw that (smiling).

Yeah, that was really tough. Obviously it was for both of us. But she was on the opposite side for the last two games, which is probably, yeah, shame for me because I really didn't feel much. Like, it just was not sitting on the racquet.

Every time after serve the ball, I want to hit it, but then it kind of with the wind takes the ball away. Then I could not really hit it. Then, of course, as I said, once you have this little gap or something, concentration is off. Then Aryna took it, and she served it out pretty well.

Q. Do you feel like quarterfinals is a place where you play some of your best tennis? How would you explain that level of success?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't know really how to explain this. Yeah, obviously because I've done four quarterfinals here, I kind of have done quarterfinals at other slams. Okay, like not four times, but still...

I think sometimes it's about momentum or, like, I don't know, just clicked something. But I do feel that this year, this event in particular, I've played some really good tennis. Sometimes, you know, I don't know, you just a bit lucky there and there. You kind of grind some matches. But here I felt like I was playing really good tennis.

Even today, parts of the match I felt like, yeah, I was hitting the ball well, and I could compete with world No. 1. So that was my feeling.

Q. On that point, I mean, you came into Melbourne not really knowing what these two weeks would kind of entail, just given your mindset and everything. Does any of this change any of that?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't know. Not really. Because also in the past, you know, after making quarterfinal here you are, like, so pumped, let's go, next tournament. Sometimes you have this two, three first-round exits, and you are, like, Okay. Then you lose a little bit of this motivation again, and then you have to grind back to find this momentum back.

But yeah, I in general would like to take this year and approach to this year completely different because I'm obviously older. Yeah, I've had a great start to the season here, so I'll try to take this momentum to the next months.

Honestly, I just want to try to play my best tennis as much as I can every event and just enjoy this year to the fullest and then see.