Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, said that she's smarter than she was 10 years ago.
The 30-year-old Russian won in Sydney, beating No. 1 Simona Halep and unseeded Monica Puig to win the title.
“I'm mature,” she told TENNIS.com. “I know how to listen to myself. That's probably the biggest improvement. I just listen to myself. Because sometimes you look for other people to tell you what to do, or kind of expect the opinion of somebody.
"What is most important is what you are inside, what you feel like and what's important to you. When you know, more or less, yourself, you don't get angry when you don't do so well. Just some balance, which is within you. This is what I feel, and I feel that my game is in [a] different stage. I can do this different variety, whatever it is, of my shots because I'm able to. So I kind of analyze more.”
Kuznetsova won the 2004 U.S. Open title and the 2009 French Open title. She has yet to go very deep at the Australian Open in career.
She said that the favorites to win Down Under are Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Halep.
Kuznetsova added that she would love to win the Australian Open, but she’ll be OK if she never does.
“I never dream of winning one,” Kuznetsova, who reached the quarterfinals in 2005, 2009, and 2013, said. “It just happens behind hard work, effort, and just having pleasure playing tennis. To me. I'm not saying it's [a] good way for somebody else.
"If I have this opportunity and I can take it, I would love to. I would be extremely happy. If not, my life [is] not going to end. But still, I love the game. I'm enjoying what I'm doing. It's great I can still win titles. I don't feel old at all.”