After defeating wild card Andreea Mitu 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Transylvania Open, Anastasija Sevastova was asked how competing felt differently since giving birth to daughter Alexandra in December of 2022.

"It's all the same," she said in a deadpan manner during her on-court interview. "Nothing changed."

And when asked about her goals for the year, she replied: "Just to survive."

It's safe to say that despite being absent from the tour for nearly two years on maternity leave, the Latvian Sevastova has not lost her dry sense of humor.

A former US Open semifinalist, Sevastova did have some serious answers. Now she has a family to look after, she doesn't dwell on losses as much. And she's mostly looking forward to making some memories in 2024.

"I just feel I have good tennis to show," she said. "It takes time, I need some tournaments to get into it again, but to prove to myself I can still play with Top 100 players and Top 10 players on tour."

Sevastova, who on Tuesday won her first tour-level victory since January of 2022, certainly showed good tennis in her return to the main tour. Her wickedly spun drop shot, one of the best on tour in her prime, has lost none of its potency. Cluj-Napoca is the third tournament of her comeback. She restarted her career at WTA 125 level last November, reaching back-to-back quarterfinals in Andorra and Limoges and scoring a notable win over Dayana Yastremska. The 33-year-old, who peaked at No.11 back in 2018, is already back at No.656 in the world.

In Romania, Sevastova has an unexpected advantage. She plans to travel with her family in the future, but a spanner was thrown into the works last month when Alexandra got sick in Latvia. Consequently, Sevastova traveled to Cluj-Napoca alone, leaving her daughter behind for the first time.

"Then we got sick -- the perks of being a parent," Sevastova said. "For sure, I miss her. But I can sleep in -- finally! I can rest, I can practise. I can concentrate a bit more on tennis. It's like a holiday tournament for me. For only a week, I'm OK to leave her at home."

On a day-to-day basis, Sevastova has found she needs to be more organized with her time.

"A lot of planning," she said. "And when I practice now, I practice 100 percent. Quality is more important than quantity."

More Cluj-Napoca R1 highlights: Avanesyan d. Korpatsch | Cornet d. Wickmayer | E.Andreeva d. Todoni | Dart d. Bondar  Bogdan d. Parks

Sevastova will next face No.6 seed Elina Avanesyan, who defeated defending champion Tamara Korpatsch 6-4, 7-6(3). But what of her longer-term aims for her comeback?

"My goal? To win a Grand Slam and become No.1," she said with a laugh. "No, just joking."

But as is often the case with deadpan humor, the joke might have had a kernel of truth.