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WIMBLEDONJune 26, 2014Andrea PetkovicLONDON, ENGLAND A. PETKOVIC/I. Begu THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. I thought you scheduled your press conference for halftime. ANDREA PETKOVIC: I know, but... Q. Good match today. You won. Third round of Wimbledon again. How does that feel to be back winning matches on grass? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Good, good. Especially on grass. I'm very happy. I'm very relieved. Actually it was a good match. I just had this scary moment where I fell down and I was sort of paralyzed after that because I was really, really scared. But it was nothing dramatic. I'm glad I picked up my game and I was able to win in the end. Q. Was it just the knee you were feeling? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, it was the knee instantly, yeah. Just because I made a strange movement, the muscle in my left back just sort of shut down. But this was just a muscle. I knew it immediately. I was just scared for my knee. Luckily it was the other knee, so I wasn't in panic. I was just scared. As I said, I pretty quickly felt that I was more scared than really something happened. So I was able to sort of relax again. Q. You play Mademoiselle Bouchard in the next round. She seems to be a strong‑willed individual. ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I have a lot of respect for her. Actually, I played her years ago in, Toronto or Montréal, I'm not sure, when she was pretty young. She was maybe 16, 17. Already after that match ‑‑ I won easily, 6‑2, 6‑1 maybe. Already after that match I said she's going to be very good. You can see more about the attitude than really the game. I really loved her attitude, the way she behaved on court, how she wanted to win each point. You couldn't really see that I was winning that easily because she kept her composure and was really in for everything. So I have a lot of respect for her, and I think she's going to be even better than she is now. It's a very tough match for me. But, yeah, I'm ready, I guess. We'll see. Q. What do you take from Charleston, which was a close match? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, it was. But it was on clay, which I prefer, to grass. I think now it's going to be a little different, because I think Genie prefers grass more to clay, I would just say, by her game. I prefer clay to grass. I played a really good match there. It actually was a good match. All in all, she played an amazing first set. I know it's going to be really, really tough and a lot will depend on the serve, how well I move after the serve, because she returns so aggressively. But as I said, I'm ready and we'll see. It will be I think a very close match. Just a few points might decide. Q. Does your mindset change? You go through the first couple rounds; you're generally the favorite; people expect you to win. Now you're going up against a player that is seeded higher. Does your mindset change at all? Maybe less pressure? ANDREA PETKOVIC: It kind of does. Not that I have less pressure, but it's just like, I don't know, sometimes it's actually easier to play the higher seeds, not because of the not existing pressure, but because you know them so well. Today, I didn't know Begu at all. I never knew her, never practiced with her. I couldn't return because I didn't know where she was serving. Most of the top players I played them not a few times. I played them more than three times normally. I know where their preferences are. I know what they're able to do. Sometimes it's easier, you know, just knowing what the other is going to play. Also, it's better matches for me. Sometimes also against Kiki Bertens, you know, everybody thought I had so much pressure. I did, but just because I didn't know what she was going to play. It's so surprising sometimes when you don't know the others at all. I know Genie. I played her three times. I have a lot of respect for her. I really have to be on my top. Maybe, you know, knowing that also will bring out better tennis in me. I hope so. Q. Before the tournament you spoke very warily about grass. You played very well. What is it that you find difficult? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, I think I really believe that grass is something‑‑ when you play the first time on grass, I think you take a lot from that first match. My first match on grass was horrendous. I played against a Japanese girl. I think most of the Japanese play really well on grass because they grow up on really fast surfaces, which kind of are similar to grass. She played good tennis. I was just totally overwhelmed by everything. After I lost that match ‑‑ I was really young I have to say also, 17, so I didn't know a lot of the world, but I thought I knew everything. So after that match, for me it was definite I cannot play on grass. It took me years to overcome just that thought in my head. When you come on a surface and you manifest in your head, I cannot play on grass, the minute you hit a wrong shot or you are late for a shot, you're just like, Well, you see. It's the grass. I think it took me two or three years to overcome that initial thought of being a bad grass court player. Now I enjoy it much more. I try to change a few things to adapt to grass. I don't get that frustrated anymore when a ball bounces badly or when I'm late. It's just normal, I think. I think it's just a lot about the attitude also towards grass. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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