Anastasia Pavlychenkova weathers surprise interview from enthusiastic girl during Adelaide coin toss

The coin toss is typically the most forgettable part of a tennis match, but the young girl tasked with kicking off the Adelaide International clash between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Katerina SIniakova ensured hers would be one to remember.

Chair Umpire Alison Hughes had just finished walking Pavlyuchenkova and Siniakova through the basics of match, all perfunctory information players have heard hundreds of times. Still, Hughes is obliged to ask the if there are any questions before the match officially begins.

Coin in hand, it turned out the youngster had a question of her own, turning to ask Pavlyuchenkova her favorite thing about tennis.

Noted for her sharp wit, Pavlyuchenkova has become one of the quippier quotes in tennis: once asked her preferred place to sit for watching a match—behind the players or the umpire—Pavlyuchenkova said, “The [royal] box.”

In friendlier territory, Pavluyuchenkova and Hughes smiled as the latter pondered her answer, ultimately settling on something similarly succinct: “Winning.”

And win she did. The 2021 Roland Garros runner-up continued her comeback from a lengthy injury lay-off, rallying from a set down to defeat Siniakova, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, to book a quarterfinal meeting with No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula.

“I had a fear that and doubts that maybe I will never win a match again,” Pavlyuchenkova said last spring in Paris, when she rolled into the quarterfinals practically without a ranking. “Maybe I will never get my good form back or I will never be fit again. What if I start playing again and the pain comes back and my knee is bad again?

“I believed, I worked so hard, and even with all the failures that I had this year, earlier this year, and there was like sometimes ridiculous matches that I lost, still kept on believing, working hard, and just persistence and patience.”

Can Pavlyuchenkova answer the questions Pegula will pose and reach the semifinals in Adelaide?