HSBC CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 14, 2025

Tatjana Maria

Queens Club

Press Conference

T. MARIA/M. Keys

6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Tatjana, congratulations on reaching the final. How does that feel for you?

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, it feels amazing. I'm super, super happy. Yeah, I try to come down and to realize that I'm really in the final here (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Does it feel a bit like a fairytale, given what just happened last week?

TATJANA MARIA: I mean, yes, you know, I came here to this tournament, I was in the qualifying, and I really told myself, okay, you have to go round by round. You have to get this feeling back playing on grass.

I mean, every match was getting better. I mean, now I'm in the final, so I'm really, really pleased with my performance.

Q. I know you were asked on court what the secret was, and you sort of said it's just perseverance, but might the serve also be a factor? You served very well again today. It was very windy out there.

TATJANA MARIA: Yes.

Q. Once you were comfortable there, did that help your game?

TATJANA MARIA: Yes, it was really windy out there. I mean, when we started to warm up already I felt a lot the wind. I think it was not easy for both of us, but, I mean, the serve is a super-important shot on grass also, and, I mean, we were serving both well.

So at the end, yeah, we came to a tiebreak in the second set, and in the tiebreak, everything can happen. So really every point counts. Yeah, I'm happy that I could win this tiebreak.

Q. You also spoke on court about having your family, your two children out there. How special was it to have them there? Do they travel with you to a lot of tournaments?

TATJANA MARIA: Yeah, we are traveling all the time together. They are on all the tournaments with us from the beginning. It's super special to have them around, and to live these moments with them, it's something amazing.

At the end, it's the best feeling what you can have. Yeah, having them outside, looking at them and seeing them, it's really special.

Q. You got to the semifinals at Wimbledon when there were no ranking points, and now you're into the final at Queen's. I was reading, you've gone up I think 35-odd places in the live rankings, 320 extra ranking points. What does it feel to get to the final and actually have some added benefits this time with those ranking points?

TATJANA MARIA: It's nice that my ranking goes up, I mean, it's super nice for the rest of the season to get in in the bigger tournaments, of course, to make a different kind of schedule, also.

Yeah, it helps. I mean, it always helps when your ranking goes up, and about the scheduling and about planning the things.