INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- It's not even April yet and Anna Blinkova has already notched two Top 5 wins this season. It started at the Australian Open, where the 25-year-old came out on the winning end of the longest tiebreak in Grand Slam history, a 22-20 deciding tiebreak to knock out No.4 Elena Rybakina.

Last month, she booked her first quarterfinal of the year in San Diego, where she bested Caroline Wozniacki and Dayana Yastremska. This week at the BNP Paribas Open she knocked out No.5 Jessica Pegula in the second round. 

Blinkova joined the WTA Insider Podcast from Indian Wells to reflect on her promising start, the keys to her rise up the rankings over the last two years and to relive that historic tiebreak.

Listen to the full interview below: 

Here are five things we learned about passionate 25-year-old:

1. She can't bring herself to rewatch that tiebreak

"Every time when I had break points or a match point, my hand was shaking so much and I could not put the ball in the court," Blinkova said. "Impossible to put the ball in the court. 

"This tiebreak, again, I had a lot of match points. She had match points. With every point, I was repeating myself, I still can win, I still can win, I still can win. I knew that I must not get frustrated when I lose the point because it will be over. I could not allow myself to think badly. I could not allow myself to get mad." 

2. The dominant emotion she feels during the match is stress

"I am a bad perfectionist," Blinkova said, "which means that when I do something not as good as I would like to do, I feel bad about myself. When I miss in matches, I tell myself, why are we practicing six hours per day if I go in the match and I miss easy shots? 

"Then I tell myself that even the best players, they miss. It's normal to miss. It's tennis. 

"So, talking about emotions, it depends on the moments of the match. I can be very stressed. I can be afraid. I can be frustrated. But I always try to come back to the routine and tell myself that every point is a new life, a new story that has nothing to do with the previous point that I just lost or won. Before I wasn't able to control my emotions, to think [positively]. But I've been doing a lot of work on that."

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3. She's learned to love life on tour

"I think many careers have ups and downs, but it's important to never give up and to try to find solutions and to always believe," Blinkova said. "I think I believe in myself now more than ever.

"I also think that I didn't really enjoy traveling and playing tournaments that much before. I think before, I was very focused only on the results, and I had a lot of stress and pressure from losing. I remember after losing matches, I was very depressed for two or three days and I couldn't practice on the next day. But now I sort of let it go easier.

"I deal with losses much better than before. I forget almost immediately about the loss. I bounce back and I can come back to practice on the next day."

4. She's passionate about language and literature

"I'm not very good enough in maths and physics,' Blinkova said. "I'm really bad in science, but I like I like languages. I speak fluently English, French, Slovakian, and I am currently learning Spanish and Italian. I speak a little bit. 

"I love languages and I am very social. I love talking to everybody. I love meeting people. This is just my passion, maybe a little talent."

5. Her favorite author is Jack London

"I remember his books about the gold diggers in Alaska and about the adventures in the sea," Blinkova said. "And Martin Eden. I love all of his books. I also love the French writer Alexandre Dumas. The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, I love this. And, there was one German writer, Erich Maria Remarque. I loved his books about war and friendship and love." 

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