|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALSOctober 24, 2014Ana IvanovicSINGAPORE, SINGAPORE A. IVANOVIC/S. Halep THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. End your year with win. Pretty good year for you even if you don't advance. How do you feel at the end of all of it? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's mixed emotions obviously because I feel like it was such a great match tonight, yet it's such a low not to be able to qualify for the semifinals. Still, like you said, on a positive note I won two matches, finished the season with a victory. It's been amazing year for me. Still, the little bit of disappointment is still quite strong at the moment. Q. Talk about the second set. Seemed like after the fight back in the first set that maybe you were physically or emotionally deflated. Explain what happened in the second set. ANA IVANOVIC: You know, it was very physical match, and especially on the court that it's a little bit sticky and slow. We had a lot of long rallies, and even she I felt struggled physically at some points. Then second set we had very enduring rallies and I kind of, yeah, went physically a little bit down. Obviously, you know, that game at the 3‑4 was huge. I played some unbelievable points and she came up with amazing shots. That's why she is where she is in the rankings. But overall to come back after the second set and win in three was pretty good effort. Q. When you were 2‑5 down, I assume the whole scenario thing was in your head when you came roaring back. ANA IVANOVIC: I was very proud of myself at that point, because I had a lot of opportunities up to that point that I didn't use. I felt like the score wasn't really indicating the situation. Still, I was completely with my back against the wall, and then I came up with amazing tennis at that point and worked really hard to fight back and was aggressive in stepping in. I played very well serving set point in the tiebreak. It was very emotional, that first set, as well. Q. I assume you knew of all the scenarios. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah. Q. How does that change your attitude going into a match? ANA IVANOVIC: Obviously, like I spoke after my second match, I really went on court trying to win. I didn't try to think so much about the score. I tried to fight, because obviously I was aware of the situation. I think that's why after losing second set it was a little bit hard, but I was very proud to come back and still win. She's very tough opponents. Q. Incredible year overall. What are you most proud of that you did in 2014? ANA IVANOVIC: I think just the consistency. I really turned it around from the previous seasons and I played a lot and I have the most matches won. I played lots of tennis, and this is huge achievement for me, you know, that I managed to play lots of the matches back to back and managed to win quite few titles. So very, very proud of that. Actually, my fitness coach was saying that I have a title on each continent this year. That's quite nice, and definitely a highlight. Q. After the second set did you say to yourself, Well, I'm not going to get through to the is semis, I'm just going to get through. It's done for the night. Or did you just push, push, push? ANA IVANOVIC: No, I really wanted to win, but it was very physical match. So at that point I was really just oblivious and tried to play each point at a time and fight still as much as I could. I really wanted the victory. Q. You had a bit of a funny moment on court in the second set. Parked yourself right on the chair after that dropshot. Did that help just alleviate some of the stress and pressure during that time? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, considering I didn't win one point after that, I don't think it was so good. Q. I didn't say that was successful. ANA IVANOVIC: I needed that break, yes. Yeah, that was fun. I couldn't stop. I thought I made an amazing shot, backhand down the line from really far out of the court, and nearly got to that drop shot. She hit amazing shot. That was, I think, the biggest point of that second set. After that, I really, yeah, needed a rest. (Laughter.) Q. Off‑season plans? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I still don't know. You know, I have few exhibitions coming up, but first comes first. I'm going to have some holidays and just take it easy. Q. With the win, having won the match, you have an opportunity to finish top 5 at the end of the season. ANA IVANOVIC: Do I? Nice. Thank you. Q. It's not in your hands. It depends on the rest of the results this week. But I'm curious, looking back on the season, at what point during this year do you think you thought, Wow, this type of season could happen? ANA IVANOVIC: Probably Cincinnati. It's really strange, you know, because I felt like I was playing well the whole year, but at the big events, the Grand Slams, I didn't perform as well as I wanted to. Then Cincinnati obviously was the biggest final of the year for me. It was very important moment. Then I really feel that since then, okay, exception US Open, I really played some of my best tennis. Tokyo win very special again. Here I showed some good tennis. Probably the last month or two has been the biggest, yeah, change. Q. So next year are the slams the most important thing from now on? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I think I'm going to schedule my season a little bit differently next year. Hopefully play less events but play better at the bigger ones. Q. Who do you think is going to win? Four players left. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely tough competition. Simona has been in great shape. I really think she has the game and also that it suits her, the court. I really hope she can do well. Q. You said over the last few years that it's a process. You said it constantly. Is it safe to say that it's paid off? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. You know, it's about fighting and coming back strong. I was really proud that I managed to turn it around after a few years that I didn't perform as well as I hoped to. Now I feel I have a different approach to everything and I enjoy it more. I've been more consistent, and this is something that shows and helps me to plan and be motivated for the next season. Q. Considering your coach only came and joined your team after Wimbledon, during the off‑season will you try some new approach with him to do the training to prepare for the next season? ANA IVANOVIC: You know what? I'm sure we will, but like I spoke, I really didn't think much about the off‑season, holidays, anything really. I really tried to take it one day at a time and think about this event and just try to give my best. But I'm sure we're going to have a nice chat and make plans. I have definitely a few things in my mind I want to work on and improve, and I'm sure he'll have his. This preparation period is obviously very good because we get time to work on certain things and also to, yeah, meet more, to get to know each other better. Q. What do you think will be the biggest key to sustain this success into next year? ANA IVANOVIC: You know what? I think it's obviously the hard work, but also the mentality and confidence. Lots of players work hard. You just have to be better than them. It's such a small percentage that makes a difference. Sometimes it is mental and you have to be confident and positive, and this is something that I'm for sure going to work on. Q. Looking at the off‑season, I know you haven't thought about it at all, but in the past, even though the off‑season is so short, does it feel like it's a block of time that you can catch up on life, the life you have to ignore sometimes because of tennis? If so, what are the things you prioritize that you want to catch up on? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. Especially two weeks that you have off you really want to catch up with friends and family. It's never enough time, but it is kind of down time with less pressure. But quite fast it goes by and you have to start preparing. Once the preparations start you think it's going to be so much fun and I can do this and that, but you end up being so tired at the end of the day you end up watching a movie or something quite boring. It's also a good opportunity to choose a good location. I been in Australia in the past where I really enjoy spending time. On your days off you can enjoy and got to beach and so on. This year I feel we have the longest off‑season, and I'm going to try and get the best out of it. And it's really nice that we start season I think on the 5th so everyone can enjoy the New Year's Eve. This year I didn't even make it to the midnight. Q. You slept? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah. I played that day and the next day, too. On 31st and 1st. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|