THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Really strong level from you today with it going three sets. What do you think was the key to the win?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Yeah, I think it was a very tough match. I think we both played well. Every rally was very intense, was very long. Basically until the end of the match, any of us could win.
And I’m happy about the level I played, and also how I managed the intensity of the game and not let drop, basically, nothing during the whole match.
Q. Your movement seems to be very much on point, certainly today, very, very sharp. Is that something you worked on specifically?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Yes, I have been working a lot on the movement. I think that being a tall player and being aggressive is very good. But at the same time, you have to be able to be athletic and be able to hang in there and run and have a good movement, as well.
So I can combine both game styles.
Q. How does it feel to get to make a run like this here at one of the big tournaments at the start of the season and make the quarterfinals and back up what happened the other day with the performance that you kind of put in today?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Yeah, of course it’s very important. It’s a very big tournament. Doesn’t matter at which stage of the year, but the fact that I keep playing top players and it’s always good. That’s what I’m looking for. I gave myself another chance to play another match, another match here, and go deeper and deeper.
That’s what I want, honestly, to play a lot of matches, to face the best players, and to keep up a good level.
Q. You have had quite a long history with Kiki. Can you comment on one of the earlier matches you had with her and also how she’s been playing recently?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Yeah, I think I played her very long time ago, few times, but I don’t really remember, because it was a long time ago. I think she won pretty much all of them (smiling).
I think she’s playing very good. I think last year was very good for her. She has a very solid game. She’s a tough opponent to play, and she showed it today, as well.
Q. You’re playing Andreescu in the next match. Do you know very much about her?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: No, I saw her play. I think she’s playing very well since the start of this year. I don’t know a lot about her. I think she’s — well, not around for a long time, so she’s starting to play better and better.
Yeah, it’s going to be exciting.
Q. I assume you have heard about the New Haven tournament moving to another location and another week?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: No. No, I didn’t yet.
Q. At the moment, because of that, it looks like there is no tournament being planned the week before the US Open. Do you think that’s going to be a problem? You haven’t heard if the WTA has any plans to put in something else?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: If it’s a problem…
I think it should be a tournament before a Grand Slam. There is always, during the whole year, tournaments before Grand Slams. Either you want to play or you don’t want to play, but they should be — yeah, if it’s not New Haven, any other tournament probably in the States, because it’s the US Open Series, to give the chance to the players to give that extra matches.
Q. Andreescu just said she saw you play when she was younger. You’re still 25 yourself. What’s it feel like to have a player like that looking forward to playing you like that?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Yeah, I don’t really think like that. Of course I feel like I have been around for quite a while, but in fact I’m not, you know, at the end of my career. In fact, I’m probably in the middle.
Is good. I also watch other players’ matches. Yeah, I will not give it too much importance.
Q. Since you haven’t seen her, how will you do some scouting about her before you play?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Well, I think she’s having more and more confidence, because she’s beating very good players. I think she has a strong physique and a good mover. Yeah, I will watch a little more.
Q. We are at a time in this sport where there are some teens coming up, five teens in the women’s top 100, couple on the men’s side. Roger at 37 and Karlovic and Venus at their age, what’s that say about the sport that those players are still competing as they are pushing 40, so to speak?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: Well, it’s tricky. There is two things. I think is the game style that you have that will allow you to keep playing, and also how lucky or how much you take care of your body to not have injuries.
So, I mean, the game style of Roger, you know, it’s quite perfect to play. Is not as physique as other athletes or other players.
I mean, I think Venus, also, she’s an athlete. The way she moves, the way she hits, it’s still incredible.
Yeah, it’s a little bit about your body. There is other players that get injured a lot and that’s, you know, one of the first reasons that the athletes don’t play or don’t go as far. So it’s a combination of that.
Q. Does it give you some hope that you can be in this sport for the long haul?
GARBIÑE MUGURUZA: It’s tough to say now, because everybody, when they are in their mid career, they think, I will not play much longer, or I will not play until 40. But then it’s something that you kind of feel. If you are healthy and strong and you want to keep playing, you keep playing. Other people, they stop.
I don’t know. It’s very early for me to answer that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #366 at 2019-03-12 22:14:00 GMT
