AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2025

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Press Conference

A. PAVLYUCHENKOVA/D. Vekic

7-6, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Through to the quarterfinals for the fourth time here.

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: What were you pleased about in terms of your performance today?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Well, I always say actually that I'm always pleased about winning. Even though, I don't know, I have a mixed feelings because she sort of kind of seemed to be injured or something in the end. So that's not really the way you obviously want to play or go into the quarterfinal. So it's sort of like mixed feelings.

Until then, I mean, because we almost played full first set, so she was okay then, and I think it was a great fight. We were quite even at the start. Conditions were really fast. She was serving fast and playing fast.

I'm happy that I just stayed in there and managed to win the tiebreak after all.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your reward for this is playing Aryna. She's obviously in red hot form. You have a great record against her. How are you feeling? How do you beat her?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't even think about the record against her. Actually I think Jill mentioned that on the court, and I didn't even know it. Didn't even think about it. It was a while ago.

I think she's obviously a different player now. I mean, she's No. 1 player in the world, playing so strong. She's very powerful.

Yeah, I don't know what to expect actually. Hopefully I can bring some great tennis and, yeah, try to compete against her power.

Q. Are you surprised to find yourself in the quarterfinals, or is this kind of training and everything made you believe that the tennis was there?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, probably surprised actually. I mean, as I'm just having fun this year with this signing and calling myself too old to be on tour, which kind of part of it is true.

Question is to the young girls, because I'm still here and I'm in the quarterfinal. Maybe better to ask them why I'm still here and I'm still winning.

Yeah, probably surprised. I actually took it easy at the pre-season. I had a different approach. I sat down with my team before pre-season and I said, Look, first let's start the pre-season and see how we go day by day. I'm like, You know what, I'm not winning anymore. My recovery is not the same anymore. I've done hundreds of pre-seasons. Honestly, I hate pre-seasons.

I'm like, I'm just going to take it day by day, one practice at a time, then we see how it goes. It was kind of laid back, chill. My goal was to keep the motivation and hunger for this Australian Open and for this season in general.

Well, I think I managed to do that. Then let's see.

But yeah, somewhat surprised.

Q. You wrote on the camera "too old," which you said was partly a joke. How do you feel this year compared to other years?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I actually don't feel so old. My body feels okay, surprisingly (smiling).

I mean, it's tricky. I started the season, and let's see how it goes because the level is so high. The girls, as I said earlier, everybody is serving so hard. Speed is different. My reaction obviously is not as good as it used to be.

As I said, conditions were super fast today. But I managed. Somehow I managed and I'm still here. I don't play doubles this year, because that's kind of to keep this extra motivation and energy in me.

Yeah, I'm surprisingly still here.

Q. With Aryna, do you take it as the pressure is on her and for you it's nothing to lose? How do you look at it?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I have zero pressure this tournament whatsoever. Also in the first round, zero pressure.

As I said, I played second round. Anastasia was 23. I mean, we have 10 years' difference. I kind of really go with this sort of approach. Look, I mean, in reality they should probably just give me 1-1, just tell me to hand me your racquet and stop playing. That's how I would do if I was 23, you know?

But as I said, it's not really the case right now. It's not only against Aryna. I just don't have zero pressure. I just want to enjoy and have fun. I don't know what's left in me. We'll see.

Q. You've won two junior titles here. How would it feel to take home the senior title?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I was very close obviously in 2021 in French Open. That's the only time that's how close I got to it.

I don't even know how it feels because I played I think I saw nine quarterfinals, then obviously one final. Other than that, it was just stopping in the quarterfinals.

It's still pretty far. Yeah, I don't know how it feels. I don't even think about it, as it's really far.

Q. What do you think it says about, whether it's you or the sport, that there are years where you would have a super-hyperfocused pre-season, crash out first round, and then there are years where you take it super chill and easy, you're into the quarterfinals? Is it frustrating there is no formula to all this, or is that a beautiful thing to you?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't know. I think probably more as a beautiful thing I would say. It was very frustrating before because maybe it was this extra pressure when I was younger. I had, like, very tough pre-seasons.

Even this year, in a way, you kind of think, like, Okay, I've done five, six weeks of hard work. Let's say it was not as hard as before, but it was still hard for my position right now. I was there every day practicing.

Then you kind of feel like okay, you expect yourself to go and do well. There's sort of little bit of, like, pressure. You have to also realize there are 128 other girls that worked maybe even harder than you. It's all about, like, finding solutions.

Conditions are very tough here. Sometimes really annoying. Second-round match, I was four times suspended in my match. We would just go on court, play one game, then suspended. This is more actually about mental more than the pre-season or other things.

Today, I don't know, 35-plus Celsius, super fast. Every court is different. Most of the time I play, like, nobody can even watch my matches. There is not even camera on court.

Yeah, I think it's about finding solutions. I'm just trying to enjoy as much as I can.

Q. You've made the quarterfinal here now for the fourth time. Is there something about playing here that brings out your best tennis?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Probably because I'm still fresh, more or less. It's just the start of the season. Then I ran out of energy by the end of the season (laughter).

Yeah, tough to say. Like we said with Courtney, there is no formula really I feel like. Yeah, just finding solutions, I guess. Kind of fast conditions, which I don't mind in a way. Yeah, combination of many things.

I don't really have an answer for this.

Q. You mentioned the heat and the conditions. Overnight Pam Shriver was critical of the schedule today. Three out of four women's matches were put on the day, on at the same time. Do you have any thoughts on the scheduling? Do you prefer to play in the day?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't really mind this at all. I mean, again, I think I'm not even in position to complain because, as I said, my first match I was playing on Court 6, like last match on.

There is a bar next to the court. People were drunk and yelling, eating and drinking. Wow, I thought it was not even a Grand Slam.

Then we played on Kia without roof. I was five times suspended. I finished the match at 9, and I was on second on.

Yeah, I think I'm not in a position to really comment on this thing. I was happy enough to play on the bigger court yesterday, or the match before, and today. Yeah, I think maybe sometimes it's better for even recovery to finish early, not to play super late as the conditions also they get really, really different.

Q. What does it come down to with the upcoming match? Is there something different you need to do to win?

ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA: Yeah, I don't know. I have to look, like, with my team also into what can be done.

Obviously, as I said, she's very powerful, serving really good. Kind of stay in there, be sharp on my serve probably. It's not, like, easy to break her. I guess I have to be, like, super focused and sharp on my serve.