Reporter Knows Nothing About Daria Gavrilova, Asks Her Questions Anyway

Before her second-round match against Elise Mertens in the Australian Open, No. 23 Daria Gavrilova fielded questions from reporters and apparently some guy who stumbled into the press room.

Reporter: You’ve played her once before and lost—

Gavrilova: I’ve played her three times actually.

Reporter: You lost to her in Perth, what do you have to do differently this time around?

Gavrilova: Didn’t lose to her in Perth. I haven’t played her there.

Reporter: Really?

Reporter: This surface would obviously favor you a lot better than playing on the clay, I suppose?

Gavrilova: Clay is my favorite surface.

Someone pipes up from the room, “This is going well.”

Fact check! Gavrilova and Mertens did indeed play three times before their Australia Open match. Point: Gavrilova. One of these matches was a few weeks ago in Perth where Mertens did win. Point: reporter. However, the Perth match was part of the Hopman Cup, which is basically an exhibition tournament and does not count toward a player’s record or ranking. Half-point technical deduction: reporter. Also, in neither scenario had the two played only once, so full point deduction: reporter. Lastly, Gavrilova states her preference for clay surface, not hard court as the reporter suggests—point: Gavrilova. Match score: Gavrilova, 3, reporter, -0.5.

Gavrilova ended up losing to Mertens in straight sets after she was up 5-0 in the first set, failed to convert four set points, and then lost seven games in a row. Everyone blows it sometimes.