THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. It’s been a while since you played a tournament, so can you just talk through the match and where you think it maybe made the difference in the end?
MADISON KEYS: I mostly just feel like I didn’t play my game today. It felt really passive and timid, and it wasn’t like I was making a ton of bad mistakes, but I wasn’t really doing anything. Felt like I wasn’t getting the ball by her or setting up the point how I wanted to set it up. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with very limited match play the last couple of months.
And finally feel good and my body is back to 100% and I feel like that is finally taken care of, so now I can just focus on getting the tennis back on track.
Q. Is that why you skipped, like, maybe Middle East after Fed Cup and took that time off? Was it physical or scheduling?
MADISON KEYS: It was physical.
Q. These conditions are tough, especially for flatter hitters because of the air and everything. Does that get into your head at all, you know, when you talk about maybe playing too passively today? Do you think that’s part of it or was it just rustiness?
MADISON KEYS: It’s definitely difficult here, feeling like you have the right balance of swinging but, you know, still making the ball.
So that’s always a little bit difficult for me. Today I felt like I didn’t find that balance at all. That was probably part of why I feel like I backed off a little bit, but some of it was definitely rustiness, as well.
Q. What can you say about her game today?
MADISON KEYS: I think she served really well. Especially down break points, she came up with some really good serves, aces. She put pressure on me. More than anything, I think she reset the point really well.
Q. Just two tournaments so far, and I know that’s not what you want. It’s been a frustrating battle with the body and stuff. What’s your mindset as of right now? Is everything set…
MADISON KEYS: Right this very second?
Q. No, I don’t want to know right this very second. Maybe step outside of yourself. Can you go full now for the upcoming weeks and lots of tournaments and all that sort of stuff?
MADISON KEYS: That’s definitely the plan. It’s been frustrating, honestly, for the last three years, it feels like, battling things.
It feels like I, you know, am finally in a position I can play more matches and more tournaments and get some momentum. It’s been really hard, because honestly, since the 2016 season, I really haven’t had a lot of momentum and a lot of matches under my belt. Definitely a goal to keep my body healthy enough that I can do that this year.
Q. What does the preparation now look like going into Miami? Will you go straight there or stick around here?
MADISON KEYS: I’m not going to stick around here (smiling).
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #366 at 2019-03-09 23:06:00 GMT
