World No. 52 Russian tennis player **Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova** discussed what aspects of her first-round match against Great Britain`s **Katie Boulter** at the Rome tournament stood out. Pavlyuchenkova secured a decisive 6-3, 6-3 victory.
When asked if Boulter presented anything new or different in her game compared to previous encounters, Pavlyuchenkova responded, “Well, I noticed she was moving quite a bit to hit a forehand on her second serve. She started doing this from the very beginning – running around the second serve in the deuce court. But after a while, I understood her tactic and was ready for it. Apart from that, there was nothing really new. We last played indoors on a hard court in Linz last year, so the conditions were completely different. Here, it`s clay and outdoor courts.”
Pavlyuchenkova also provided an update on her physical condition following an injury she sustained just before the WTA 1000 event in Madrid.
When asked about her injury and current status, she explained, “Yes, unfortunately, I`ve just been dealing with setbacks – viruses, infections… and because my immunity was weakened, coupled with taking antibiotics, I pulled my hamstring just before Madrid. In Madrid, I wasn`t sure if I could play. The doctor advised against it, but I really wanted to compete because, as I`ve said, I hadn`t played full matches since January. It`s very easy to lose match fitness, so I wanted to keep getting on court, even though it wasn`t the best idea. But I played anyway.”
“Here in Rome, my leg is better,” she continued. “I`m working on regaining my form, I`ve trained a lot and prepared extensively here. But of course, you can`t fully regain form in just one week – if only it were that simple! But I`m fighting, fighting.”
As a reminder, Pavlyuchenkova lost her first-round match in Madrid to Latvian player Anastasija Sevastova with a score of 4-6, 5-7.
Gilbert Pendleton 
Marcus Blakely