|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSFebruary 17, 2015Ana IvanovicDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES A. IVANOVIC/S. Lisicki THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Barring that last break at the end, that seemed like a perfect match from your end. How did you feel about it? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. Like I just spoke on the court, it was very hard going into the match knowing she already had a match and it was the first match for me in a month. I also didn't know how I was going to feel out there. I tried to focus on my game and what I had to do out there. I was pleased to use the opportunities early on, and that kind of set the tone for the match. Q. She had 16 aces in her first match but she had 0 this time. Was that more you and your return game, or did you sense she wasn't serving well? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I really felt like she did struggle a little bit with her serve. She made quite a lot of double faults. I tried to be aggressive, and probably she had that in her mind, because even when she was putting in first serve I felt like I was handling it quite well and I was very aggressive on her second serve. So I think that kind of put pressure for her to go for more. But, you know, we had tough matches in the past, so I was very happy with today's performance. Q. How did you feel with the heat out there? Did it affect your play? ANA IVANOVIC: It was hot, but it's a dry heat so it's actually better. You know, I was a little bit spending time in the cold so it was a nice change. I took some time to get used to it. I struggled the first few days, but today I was fine. Q. What's the secret to keeping a good focus like that? ANA IVANOVIC: You know, there is no secret. You just have to work hard. It's not always going to be easy. When you go out there, you never know how your opponent is going to react to the way you play. You also have to give yourself room to adjust and to fight. This is what's my goal from now on and the rest of this season is to try to find a way each time. It's going to be easy some days, other days a little bit harder. But it's trying to find this balance and try to find this focus throughout the matches. Q. How did you feel with your toe today? Did it hamper you in any way? ANA IVANOVIC: No, it was okay. I had some Voltaren, and so it kind of keeps the inflammation‑‑ because now it's only the inflammation that when I have pressure on it, it gives me pain. Q. You looked so positive out there. You really appear to be ‑‑I can remember sitting here and watching you three years ago when Nigel was with you and you were uncertain. Out there you just seemed straight down the middle. ANA IVANOVIC: You know, I really had a good game plan coming into today's match. Like I spoke before, it's going to be hard work, I'm aware, but I really want to enjoy each match and each competition. When you're down, it's not always easy, but I think in today's match there was a little bit frustration still from Australia (smiling). Q. Karolina Pliskova next match. Talk about that match. ANA IVANOVIC: She's playing really well lately, and it's great to have new faces in woman's game. She's definitely a different kind of player to other girls. She's tall, has big serve, quite flat shots. I lost to her in US Open, so hopefully I can get a better game plan tomorrow and prevail. Q. Is there a sense of wanting to make up for lost time? ANA IVANOVIC: You mean... Q. In your career. ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, definitely (smiling). Definitely. You know, I really feel, you know, I missed competition. And even in this month I really felt like I wanted to go out there and compete. You know, it was not easy to leave Australia so early, and to be honest, I didn't watch later on. But, you know, I just want to keep playing and, you know, try to keep this level. Q. But, you know, you were No. 1. You won the French Open. Then things went down. They have been coming back gradually. Do you view those as lost years, or do you view them... ANA IVANOVIC: You know, the only thing that I regret is that I didn't enjoy it more. Of course it's tough when your ranking drop, but I always felt I was underachieved in those years. But I really had to work hard to sort of set others' expectations and the sort of goals for me aside and try to look for my own, you know, and try to still embrace what I have and doing what I love in competition. I still feel young and fit and still a lot of tennis to be played and tournaments to be won. That's why I'm here. I have this drive, and I really feel that maybe these years also gave me lots of experience. Because I think in every life you experience up‑and‑downs in different areas and different times of your life. You just have to go through it. Unfortunately I had to go through it in public, which was not easy. Q. You said you hadn't played for a month. What did you do during that month? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I had some time off because obviously I couldn't play and run because of my toe. So I went into snow for first time in like 10 years.  It was nice. I cannot ski, unfortunately, so I tried to slide a little bit, which was also disaster. (Smiling.) But, no, it was really nice to get some down time, as well. But also these kind of things make you appreciate what you do and make you realize how much you miss the competition. Q. Was that Switzerland? ANA IVANOVIC: Yes. Switzerland and Austria. Q. Do you sense a lot of people want you to make this recovery? ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I do. And this really means a lot to me, you know, to have this kind of support from fans. I get lots of messages. And friends, as well. And also tournament directors and people that I face every day, this really means a lot to me. I really appreciate all their support, and sometimes they are not very vocal about it, but their support, yeah, means a lot. Q. You mentioned being in the public eye. Over the past year in particular it seems that you have embraced more being in the spotlight than perhaps in the past. Is that a fair assessment? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah. You know, I realize I have no choice. Unfortunately sometimes you have to embrace it. To be honest, I'm different person now than I was years ago and especially when I won French Open. So when you get mature, you also get more secure about yourself. You see things differently. Now some things I don't take it so hard and so personal as I did in the past. You know, unfortunately or fortunately the job that I love, it also brings this side of things and I have to embrace it. 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
|