V. MBOKO/N. Osaka
2-6, 6-4, 6-1
THE MODERATOR: Vicky, how does it feel to be the champion?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, I mean, it feels unbelievable right now. I mean, words cannot really describe how today went. Today was such an eventful day actually.
I woke up this morning, and I actually had my wrist a little bit swollen from yesterday's fall, and we quickly went to the hospital actually to do an MRI and an X-ray before I came to the courts to practice today.
So once we got the green light that nothing too serious was going on in the wrist, I came here and practiced real fast and prepared for my match. So I think today regarding all the events that I did, it feels a lot sweeter (smiling).
THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.
Q. How scared were you this morning about the MRI and the result of it? How relieved were you after getting the result?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, well, I mean, I was pretty nervous, I could say, especially when I woke up this morning. It was pretty swollen, and it was really stiff and hard to move. So we decided to go to do an MRI and an X-ray just to make sure that nothing too serious was happening, that I could have the possibility of playing.
Yeah, when I got the green light, I just had to make sure I saw the physios, and we taped it up properly before the match and a very solid tape job. Yeah, I just did as much as I could to prepare for the match.
Q. Two quick questions: Did your wrist impact your performance tonight? Can you comment on how big a role the Montreal crowd played in your victory?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, I mean, I did feel it a little bit during the match. I wouldn't say I didn't feel it at all.
There's obviously some moments where it was aggravating me a lot, but I feel like it was the final. I just kept saying to myself, You have one more to go. I had, of course, the extra motivation from the crowd as well to keep pushing.
Yeah, I mean, I tried to block it out of my head as much as possible.
Q. You've trained here. It's your home court, and you said earlier that you've always pictured yourself playing on Centre Court. How is that now that it's happened in real life and that feeling? Is it that much bigger than you had imagined?
VICTORIA MBOKO: It definitely is. I think when I had that winning moment and seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience. I would have never thought something like this would have came so suddenly.
I'm super happy for that, and I think it just proves that your dreams are closer than they are.
Q. Can you take us through how you saw that point in the final game? I think it was 40-15, and you rushed to the net and just got to the ball. Can you take us through just everything you saw there?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, in that game I was, like, Oh, I'm super close. At that point I had the fighting mentality. I just wanted to run and put as many balls back in the court as possible. I wanted it so badly that I think falling was a little bit worth it.
I mean, in that situation I wanted to just stay in there with her. Naomi was playing such aggressive, and she was hitting some pretty clean shots. So I wanted to run and retrieve everything that even didn't seem possible.
Q. I'm sorry to jump ahead, but can you clarify the status for Cincinnati?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Of what?
Q. Of Cincinnati. Can you clarify the status?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, I'm not planning on playing Cincinnati at the moment. I just want to take care of my wrist a little bit right now, and I think it's just very close and sudden for me to go there and play again I think in, like, two days.
I think I'm just going to sit out on that one and prepare for the upcoming tournaments.
Q. Could you tell me your impression of the play of Naomi Osaka, especially first set?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Well, Naomi came out playing really great tennis. I think she always had that aggressive kind of game style, and I knew she was that good of a player.
When I lost the first set, I kind of told myself to regroup a little bit and start fresh. I knew she was going to -- going into the second set, I knew she was going to also keep playing aggressive, so I kind of had to rely on my defending skills most of the match.
Since she hits such a powerful ball, it was really hard for me to kind of replicate what she was putting in through. But I think at the end of the day I just did everything I possibly could to pull through the match, and thankfully I came out for the win.
Q. You came into this tournament as a young, upcoming player, and you're leaving as a star. There will be much more attention. There will be noise around you and all of that. How do you hope you can manage this new situation for you?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Well, yeah, I mean, I would understand why there would be a lot of attention around it. I mean, it's my first-ever WTA championship and title. Yeah, I understand why there would be such a noise around it, but you know, I like to keep things very simple, especially in my life.
I surround myself with people who have known me for so long, and I just like to keep a small circle. I like to be really relaxed and calm. So I think going forward, I just want to keep the same routines that I'm usually used to.
I don't want to put so much pressure on myself just because of something that happened this week, because life goes on. There's always another tournament, whether win or lose. I'm just happy to live the moment. Once it's passed, it's passed.
Q. As the match went on, your opponent sort of grew increasingly frustrated, and we've just found out that she won't be attending the post-match press conference. What do you make of that? You called her your idol before. Did you speak to her after the game?
VICTORIA MBOKO: No, I didn't really get a chance to speak with her after the game, but I mean, I was kind of really caught up in everything that was happening after the match.
If that was her wishes, then I respect it as well. I mean, I still think Naomi is an incredible player, and it doesn't ever change what I think of her. I think she's still a really nice girl. I still look up to her.
Nothing really changes after the match. I mean, I'm really happy that I was able to win today, but I mean, to play against her was also a really special moment for me.
Q. Three different occasions during this tournament you were down one set to very good players. What's going on in your head when those situations occur, and how do you recover from those?
VICTORIA MBOKO: Yeah, well, I mean, when I kind of go into the match, I always think of sets as, like, checkpoints. So once I finish the first set, I completely put it behind me, and I start a new little chapter, I guess.
I kind of try to switch my mindset as much as possible and kind of switch up how I go about things when I'm playing the match. I think whenever I play the second set, I feel like I put a lot more emphasis in my movement and my defending skills and what I'm supposed to do on court, and I try to sharpen up and clean up a lot of my mistakes.
Q. I know you're not on the tour yet, but at some point it will calm down, and it will be time to treat yourself. Is there anything that you want to do, anything that you want to -- a new bag, a trip to London, something that you want to, yeah, treat yourself with?
VICTORIA MBOKO: To be honest, actually nothing really crosses my mind right now. Yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm super happy with how things are in my life. I wouldn't really -- not at the moment I would think of anything, but maybe down the road. I don't know. I'm not sure.
I mean, for the next couple of days I would like to spend more time with my friends and family and just kind of relax a little bit. We'll see after.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports