|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MUTUA MADRID OPENMay 8, 2015Svetlana KuznetsovaMADRID, SPAIN S. KUZNETSOVA/M. Sharapova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. A week ago you lost to Zhang 6‑3, 6‑2. A week later you're here in the final. We're still trying to figure you out. Can you explain how this happened? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Actually I was talking today to my physio about it. People who watched the match that day in Prague would say, What is going on? I cannot explain it. I just was not there. Some days‑‑ each week it's a challenge for you. I guess only tennis player or athlete can understand, like that who compete week after week. I was just not there last week. But this week I was fighting; I was a little bit lucky in some moments. Winning matches, it doesn't take only strength, mental strength also, and a little bit of luck and stuff. For sure it's good to win. I like to play in the altitude and just fighting a lot. Q. What was the difference today against Maria? First of all, perhaps the surface? Serving? Your variety? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You look very nice, your style. I like your style. Q. Thank you. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: The difference I think I was very consistent. I served well. Today was very important, especially like 5‑4 to close the match. Like I had problems closing match with Sam. Yeah, I been moving well. After playing so many matches I was like well fit. Physically I was feeling great. I was recovering. I could kind of read the game and put my good shots against her not so good and try to move her around and stuff. Q. How were you feeling physically after the match yesterday? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think it's not only the match before yesterday, it's whole matches. Like second round I won 7‑5 in the third and then I had day off. I didn't want to do much. Like I hit a little bit because I was really tired. But I didn't know what was coming, that Sam's match 7‑6 in the third, we finish 1:00 a.m.; then next day 7‑6 in the third. I'm really proud with my experience and with my fighting spirit and with my form. Just really enjoying the game and taking it easy and just focus. That's it. Q. Quite a few players have come back after repetitive injuries, and you've had a couple years where you suffered with injuries and coming back. They always say they feel blessed about having another chance and don't take anything for granted. Is that how you feel? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I always knew I will have a chance. I never was like in a stage wherelike something else was supposed to decide it for me. I knew I will. For me it's important to have my will and to have this power of concentration and will, of wish to play tennis, to do it good. There is stable players who play very consistent. I am not one of them. That's not a news for you probably and for me as well. So I work hard. I still do work hard every day. I'm just not consistent. I try to be. I try to do. But I accept myself wherever I am and whoever I am. And benefit of fighting and working hard, it's always in tennis you get it back somehow. I guess today it's the day. Q. People love you because of that sort of lack of consistency for lack of a better... SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Unpredictable probably. Q. Yeah, that is a better word. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: See, Russian and I know a few words in English. Q. That's one of the reasons you're an enduring favorite with the fans. In terms of your experience, do you think that's helped pull you through this week, especially after a first‑round loss in the clay season in Prague? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: First of all, I thank all my fans. I may be not so famous, but I have really fair fans who's there for me all the time. I think sometimes if I would be a fan I wouldn't be my fan, because you never know what to expect. You're like you can beat anyone and then you can do some weird stuff. Yeah, but, again, I appreciate the support. I have like many fans who follow me for many years. It really helps sometimes. You read so many negative commentaries, and it's like ridiculous, I think. Yeah, I mean, I'm just the player I am. I cannot be another one. I wish I could. Maybe not. Q. No. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: No, no, not really. You're right. Not really. I was wrong. Q. You talked about your inconsistency on the court. How do you think your mentality affect that in a way? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah, that's tough. I mean, this week, which actually was a questions before as well, I think what got me here is just the mentality to fight. This is also a little bit answer on your question. I just played every point like consistently trying to build the game. Clay helps me because I can move around much more and can recover many balls back and my spin helps, and yeah, was just fighting. Q. You've played five matches, two of them against the two top 10 players who, and they were quite quick. The other ones were very long. Is there a reason for that? Maybe less pressure when you come up against Makarova and Sharapova? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah, I don't know. That's weird exactly. Like today I didn't exact to make it. When I won first set I said, Thanks God. At least I won a set. Then I keep playing and I say, Okay, I'm winning. I'm kind of close there. I would like to make it good. I cannot explain why it's going setters like. Against Lucie and against Sam I was‑‑ first set I was just not there. Then I found my ways to fight back into the match and saw my possibilities and I played differently. Q. And on Maria, after the Fed Cup, the one she played, you posted a video on Instagram. You were on the streets and you were yelling stuff and she was laughing in the background. What is she like as a person when you're on the same side? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: They made me delete this video from my Instagram. I'm not regretting putting it out, just to make it clear, because people had many ideas about that video. I think I heard people talking about Maria, Oh, she's like that and she's like this. I believe that people don't have a right to judge her without knowing her. I will tell you even more that I don't think I know her that well. She's really famous and has lots of fame around her, and I think it's the right thing how she takes it. She separates it away and only has close people. Otherwise it's very difficult to be in her situation and to play such a great level of tennis and have so much commercial and to be so popular. It's really hard to combine these two things. The real Maria, only the real people around her know that. Other people, if she doesn't let them go in her life, doesn't mean you can tell her she's bad. I don't believe that. During last Fed Cup Anastasia Myskina, who's my kind of coach a little bit. She helps me out, and she's our captain. She made an amazing job with Maria and our team because she kind of got us together. Like when Maria was in the team before I always felt like we were so much apart and we never were a group. But this is a part of the things I explained earlier about Maria. That time really was united. It was really nice. Nobody was like close friends, but at least we were united as a team and supporting each other. And about that video, we had fans 24/7 around our hotel in Poland. We even had some security sometimes. Especially for Maria. I mean, most of the people were waiting for her. Let's not make another opinion. We were walking to the restaurant and all people were running around us all the time. So last night we were joking. I was kind of a reporter saying, Oh, my God Maria, Oh, my God Anastasia. So I was making the reporter. That's why everybody was laughing. But not many people understood that video, so. Q. About the inconsistency, if I asked you a question now would you rather be a consistent player now making finals and... SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: No. No. I rather be Grand Slam champion. Yeah. Q. Obviously you're coming up to the French Open. You've got a great vein of form here; into the final Rome to follow. You've won the French Open. Do you feel you could be a contender this year? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I never like talking about it, thinking about it. It's make no since to talk. Only sense makes your work on the court and winning matches. If you make good matches and you win, you show what you can do. To talk here is so cheap. It doesn't matter. I don't know who I am or what I am, I'm just going to go out there and enjoy French as I always do. It's one of my favorite or my favorite tournament, so that's it. I'm just looking forward to that. Q. Yesterday Maria Sharapova said Wozniacki likes to play with the crowd and the umpire. When you've played Wozniacki before, have you experienced any similarities to this? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I never thought of it. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, it's very difficult question. I haven't played Caroline for a while. I do play sometimes with the crowd. Like last match, yesterday, I was really tired during Lucie's match, and couple guys came and start supporting me. It got me going. It really helped me. Q. I was going to ask about tomorrow, Serena and Petra are playing now. Petra has served for the match, but Serena is coming back. Do you have a preference? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah, Petra. The screen answer your question. Q. But would you prefer to play Serena? SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Both of them are good. I'm better friends with Serena, but it's whoever wins. I think Serena didn't play her best today really. But Petra is extremely tough competitor and it's going to be very tough. 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
|