Folks name me a ‘late bloomer’ due to what occurred final 12 months.
I had by no means gone previous the second spherical of a Grand Slam event earlier than, after which I reached the Australian Open fourth spherical earlier than my runs on the French Open and Wimbledon.
I additionally had extra success within the doubles and received Olympic gold with my good buddy Sara Errani in Paris. It was a particular, particular 12 months.
So what modified? In fact, issues do not change in a single day.
Each week we tried so as to add one thing which improved my recreation and, after all, successful matches is what actually helps.
I had an excellent end to the 2023 season which meant I began 2024 with extra confidence in my recreation.
I used to be nervous once I got here to Melbourne as a result of I had by no means gone previous the primary spherical right here.
After I received the primary match right here, I felt an enormous quantity of reduction and issues continued to enhance.
I reached the fourth spherical earlier than dropping to Anna Kalinskaya, so a run like that gave me far more confidence for the entire 12 months.
As a result of I am in my late 20s, generally I assumed the prospect of getting this sort of success had gone.