A. ANISIMOVA/N. Bartunkova
3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Q. She's a very tricky opponent, she always gives a lot of top players a run for their money. What was it like playing against her, what made it tricky, and just getting it out in the end?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I knew it was going to be really tough against her. Also, I've never played her. I know she's very crafty, and she's had a great year.
She has a really bright future ahead of her. With her game she make it's very difficult for opponents.
Yeah, I knew I was just going to have to stay on top of that today. I feel like I managed her game style very well and stuck with it, especially in moments where I was down, like in the third set.
So, yeah, really happy with the way I played and also just sticking it out, even when I wasn't playing so well.
Q. With the gap between Wimbledon and now, and obviously you had the walkover into the third round, were you really eager to play with that huge gap of time, or did that break also feel like a mini off-season in many ways?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I'm tired of thinking about off-seasons. I feel like I've had a lot of that this year, especially with my injury.
But, yeah, I was really eager to get out there and play. I came here actually quite early as well, so I've been here for a while.
Yeah, I mean, it's not easy to go out and play your first round when your opponents have played two matches. Just because I know that I need to find my rhythm and kind of find my game on the courts, just not having played a tournament in a while.
So I can also be really happy with that, just kind of finding my game and sticking it out.
So, yeah, definitely after this match I feel more comfortable and definitely a little more relaxed for the next one now that I've had one notch under my belt.
Q. As we reach the midpoint or pass the midpoint of the season, I know it's been a very interesting one for you, I know marred by injury. How are you feeling mentally going into the North American hard court swing where you have points to defend? Are you really thinking about that, or just, yeah, how are you feeling right now?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I feel like I'm past that point with like the points and everything. I'm just trying to find my game, and, yeah, find myself on the court. I feel like it's been a really long year.
I'm trying to find my enjoyment as well. I think that was really important for me today is that I felt like I was myself again on the court. I was kind of missing that for the last few months.
Yeah, I'm really happy to be back with my old coach Rick as well. I feel like we've had a really fun week here so far and just looking forward to hopefully doing well for the rest of the year.
But no pressure, expectations. I think the most important thing is just having fun and just trying to find my game again.
Q. On that note, you mentioned how you're back with Rick. You split with him earlier in the season. Can you talk about, I guess, why you decided to part ways, and why you decided to work with him again?
AMANDA ANISIMOVA: Yeah, I mean, I've already mentioned the reasonings for parting ways. Yeah, I feel like I was kind of missing what we had kind of last year, like that energy and that connection that we have.
I feel like with the break now it was good that we had some space, and we learned kind of what went wrong towards the end.
I take a lot of responsibility for that. I feel like our closeness kind of let me spiral in some ways, and kind of act infectively at times.
So, yeah I feel like the fact that we've had some space and had some time apart actually really helped us.
We talked about that this week. How we both agree that we've learned a lot and, I don't know, we just seem like both more calm, and that we've learned a lot from the experiences last year.
Yeah, he's just someone that really cares about me as a person, and cares about having fun off the court, which really suits me, especially as a player.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports