US OPEN

August 31, 2025

Barbora Krejcikova

Press Conference

B. KREJCIKOVA/T. Townsend

1-6, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Barbora, tremendous match. Congratulations. Your thoughts on that match.

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Thank you. I mean, very tough match. Very intense match. Very up-and-down match. Very happy at the end for me match. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. What is your approach on a match point, when you're facing a match point? Because clearly it works. What do you do? From watching it, it just looked like you played those points completely without fear. And even Taylor was saying you were incredibly courageous on those and she was admiring of it. So what are you thinking when you're facing one more point and you're going home, or at least out of the singles tournament?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, thank you. Sometimes, you know, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. Definitely at all those match points, I was just very, I mean, brave as well, but also lucky at certain points, because we had great rallies, and I was facing them when I was serving, then when I was returning.

With all that, Taylor is a great player. She's playing some great tennis, she's serving really well, she can come to the net, she can do any magic she wants.

So it was really tough to kind of, like, know what is going to happen or what to expect. So basically what I was doing, yeah, I was just trying to put the ball on her side, in that space, and hoping that, yeah, I'm going to save it.

Q. I just wondered if you could describe the experience of playing on a court like that with an opponent that has so much support? Obviously they're not anti you. They are pro her. But that comes with a lot of emotional stuff for you. What is that experience actually like?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: To be honest, it was excellent. I mean, I really enjoyed the crowd. Even though they were cheering for Taylor, which, I mean, I knew since beginning. I mean, that's just the way, how it is.

I actually like it. I mean, I like when there is a crowd. I like when they are cheering. I like when the atmosphere gets, I mean, you can, like, start cutting it. It's perfect. I enjoyed it. I'm really happy that I had opportunity to play on the Louis Armstrong court, and I had opportunity to play American, and the crowd was wild.

Yeah, that's something that I like. I just enjoyed it very much. It was just, you know, very intensive match and very challenging, as well. I'm happy I could experience it.

Q. You have been working pretty hard these last couple of matches. Very long. Jessica has been sort of rolling through. Do you worry your couple days that the rest level is going to be quite different between the two of you?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: I don't worry. I'm not really thinking about it right now. I'm just really happy that I won today, because, I mean, I also, if one point didn't go my way, I would have been searching for flights.

So it's good. I'm happy that I'm here, that I'm sitting here and that I'm having this winning interview here. I'm looking forward to go have a good dinner and sleep and enjoy tomorrow. Have some time off, then practice, and then prepare for the next one.

Not really, I don't want to really overanalyze anything, so...

Q. Without being overly analytical, you do of course face Jessica --

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: I'm trying. It's tough for me, but I'm trying.

Q. What are your thoughts about Jessica's game? What do you remember of experiences against her?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: I mean, I haven't seen her play, like, this tournament, so I will have to look at it. But from what I remember, we played in Riyadh last time so it was indoors, so it's tough to compare it. And then before that, we played two years ago, so it's a long time ago. I think, I don't know. I think.

So, I mean, I expect it's going to be a huge match again, tough match, intensive match. I hope for a good ending for me.

Q. You obviously know you play Jessica in the next round. You generally don't like to know who you face. But what's different today?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, I don't, but they told me already on the court. I mean, what can I do? Not everybody knows that, yeah, that I'm not really looking at the draw, and I'm not really paying attention to that. I don't even want to know. That's okay.

I mean, that's the way it is. You know, I will just try to put it on the side and enjoy that I won today and have a good time with my team and think about it tomorrow again.

Q. How aware were you of what Taylor had gone through the last four or five days in terms of the incident with Jelena and sort of the emotions swirling around, and that she had become sort of, like, bigger than she'd ever become during this tournament? I know you don't want to get analytical and you're focused on yourself. Curious, were you aware of all of that coming into the match? Was that something that's just sort of out there for you?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: I mean, I heard about it. I mean, I saw it. I had a little -- I briefly read about it, as well.

I mean, we are staying in the same place with Taylor, so we had, like, before the tournament, we had an event, pickleball event together. So I knew about the situation. I knew about what was happening and all that, but then when you go on the court, you don't really focus on that anymore.

You just go there, and you know that you are going to play tennis and that you have all those challenges on the court against your opponent but also with yourself and all that. So that's basically, when I enter the court, when everything shifts that direction.

Q. You spoke a little bit earlier about the mindset in those match points, but just for those 20 minutes, how would you describe the experience? Because for those of us who watched it, it was dramatic and tense and riveting. What was it like for you?

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA: Well, all of it, as well (smiling). I mean, all of it. The thing is that, I don't know, when I'm there on the court, I'm not really showing much of the emotions.

I mean, I have emotions, but I'm not showing them when I'm there. I'm pretty much focusing on every ball and try to also show some positive emotions, more than the negative ones.

Definitely was very close, very dramatic, as you said. Yeah, very, like, roller coaster. Yeah, like, Cincinnati roller coasters (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, when I'm there on the court, I just go, I just play, I'm not really -- yeah, as I said, I'm not trying to overanalyze things. I just go point by point, and try to focus on next one, next one. If it works, it's great. If it doesn't work, it's okay. Next one.