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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 13, 2014Ana IvanovicCINCINNATI, OHIO A. IVANOVIC/C. McHale THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. A good win. At this point given your entire year, do you need match wins to go into the US Open confident? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. You constantly need that. It's something that, you know, that we live for. It's also competition and I enjoy competing, so I really want to do my best each week. You know, confidence is a weird thing. You know, it goes and comes really fast. So you know you really want to keep that momentum going. Obviously having more match wins helps. Q. Is it too soon to kind of gauge your coaching partnership with Dejan and how it's going? ANA IVANOVIC: It's definitely the polar opposite to what I had. I'm really enjoying it. We have good communication. We laugh a lot. You know, we make jokes and we're really good team. We understand each other. It's really been a nice, nice change for me, as well. Yeah, you know, it's early to talk about, you know, the improvements and this and that because we really didn't have much time to work on specific things. But, yeah, I really look forward to the next period together and obviously in off season so we can build. Q. Talk about how you played today or how you felt you played. ANA IVANOVIC: Actually, I played a lot different. The court played a lot different than center court. It was a little bit more bouncy and a little bit faster, I felt. In the first set I think we were both a little bit off rhythm. We had lots of mishits. I was really pleased to stay calm after I got broken in that first set, and, you know, come back strong. That gave me confidence for the second set where I played better. Q. Your year was going pretty well. Curious why you felt it was time to make a coaching change. ANA IVANOVIC: You know, some decisions are not easy, you know. Sometimes you have to prevent things. You know, I was saying the other day people judge us a lot by changing coaches often. Trust me, we don't want that. We want a person that we can work with and that we can become familiar and they know us and we know them. But sometimes it just doesn't work. It's unfortunate, but, you know, sometimes you have to look for what's best for you at that moment. Q. NewYork is a very unique place, yes? You're excited? ANA IVANOVIC: Yes. Q. So you like it? That was my question. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah. Q. Some players, like Petra was saying NewYork is not my thing and it's too busy and too crowded. ANA IVANOVIC: You know, that's how I felt up to about two years ago. I started to really enjoy and change my attitude towards it. Now I really embrace the city. I love it. The possibilities you have off the court, museums, shows, shopping, restaurants, I mean, you can never be bored in NewYork. I think one month is not enough. Especially the two weeks you really have to be focused and competing. This year I have quite a few friends coming over from Serbia. My brother is going to be there. So it's going to be really nice to have a week there that I can actually enjoy and go out and about and then focus on tournament. Q. Up until a couple of years ago, what was it about the city or the tournament that was difficult for you to embrace? ANA IVANOVIC: It was very energy‑consuming because it's big. It takes a long time to go from city to city. I did not enjoy that part. Lots of people come out. You know, I really like to have my own privacy and be quiet, you know, and it was big and open. Now I embrace it more. I enjoy it. That has been the biggest change. Q. Loudest crowds of the year. Do you like that or you prefer the quiet? ANA IVANOVIC: This is the thing I feel I really changed, because in the past I did not really like that. I felt a little bit overwhelmed by it. Now I embrace it more. I try to play along and try to be part of them, as well. Because I think that's what fans want to see. They want to see players interact and be part of it. Q. Your hip or back issue, is that something you're just going to have to resolve in the off season? Nothing you can really deal with in season? ANA IVANOVIC: Definitely. Thank God for the Voltarens. It's really keeping inflammation out of there and I have been feeling better. Fingers crossed it stays like this, but definitely something I am going to put accent on in my off season. Even now I started with lots of exercises trying to strengthen that area. It's actually not my hip, but it just where it refers. It's coming from my back. Q. Wasn't there in Stanford, but what was it like to get back in the top 10, if only for a week? What did that mean to you? ANA IVANOVIC: You know, it was great feeling because I felt I have been knocking on the door for a while now. I feel like I deserve that position, but still I have to prove it with my results. You know, I also prefer me to win it and to earn it rather than someone else losing. It's great, but I want to improve more, you know. I set certain goals for myself that I want to achieve. This is just one step towards that way. Q. You have Kuznetsova next. Talk about that match. ANA IVANOVIC: You know, we always have tough matches against each other. You know, it's always close, two sets or three sets. I watched a little bit of third set today, and she really played well. She's very strong. She had the win few weeks ago in Washington, so she's definitely very confident. It's going to be tough match. But, you know, I look forward to the challenge. I also enjoy competing much more. I'm really excited to have another opportunity to go on court. Q. What's your favorite thing to do in Mason when you're not playing? ANA IVANOVIC: Actually, now I have been reading a lot this year, but in the past years I felt like I have seen every single movie that was showing. Q. In the movie theatre? ANA IVANOVIC: In the movie theater, yeah. Q. You actually go? ANA IVANOVIC: I do. I enjoy it. We travel so much, and sometimes you forget, you know, just to go out and actually see a movie. I enjoy that much more than watching in a room. I don't like so much to watch it in a room. Q. Serbia has a Davis Cup. Is the Fed Cup championship one of your goals as a player? ANA IVANOVIC: You know, I think we had a great chance when we made the final few years back. Now we are back to the very low group. I think it's definitely hard to work our way to the top again. I love playing for my country, and I think I represent it everywhere I go. I would say probably Olympics is my main focus rather than Fed Cup. Q. Are you planning on playing Fed Cup going forward? ANA IVANOVIC: I still don't know. You know, it's very tough schedule with lots of events. It's early to talk about it, yeah. Q. What do you think about just Olympic requirements that you have to play a certain amount of Fed Cup to get in? Do you like that rule or not? ANA IVANOVIC: I don't really, because it's kind of putting pressure and limitation to a player. I think it should be player's choice whether they want to play the Fed Cup or not. It's not only sometimes the player, it's also the association. Not many people know what's going on behind the scenes in certain countries. This is a sensitive subject to talk about. I think definitely you should have your own right to choose. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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