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QATAR TOTAL OPEN

February 26, 2016

Andrea Petkovic

Doha, Qatar

J. OSTAPENKO/A. Petkovic (ret.)

7-5, 1-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Andrea Petkovic, please.

Q. Just establishing exactly what the injury was, if I can?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I pulled my left thigh. My left thigh in the front, I pulled a muscle a little bit. Maybe the third game, I'm not sure. Second, third, quite in the beginning.

I felt it was sore. My whole left leg was kind of sore after the match yesterday, but with a little treatment, it got better. I did a sprint, I'm not sure. Then I pulled my muscle a little bit.

I was really lucky actually to be up 5-1. I don't know how that happened. She was maybe a little nervous, missing a few balls.

Yeah, it was impossible to continue like this.

Q. You were also having treatment on the back. Must be related.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah.

Q. Is that a separate injury?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: No, no. Just when an injury happens, most of the time all the muscles around seem to stiffen up. So my back was also very stiff.

The physio assumed that it might help the leg to release a little bit of tension from the back. It wouldn't heal it, but it was just a help for me to continue, maybe with the tape and an Advil and the release in the back. But it was too severe to continue like this.

Q. Is that a new injury or was it one you had before? Does this affect your schedule after this tournament?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I hope not. It doesn't feel supper bad. It feels like -- I hope that it's not a long matter of time. I felt like I stopped right on time before I did something worse to it.

Considering if it's new or old injury, as I said, I never had something like this in my left leg. It was just that I felt it really sore after the match yesterday.

We played two hours 30 minutes and I was running a lot. I felt like it was just sore.

Today in practice it was a little better than yesterday. And then in the match, I don't know, I pulled the left muscle.

Q. Of course this is a very disappointing way to finish two weeks of tournament. But still maybe you can take away some positive things from this tournament?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Definitely very positive tournament for me. I'm very happy with the way I played, with the matches I've won. I won two matches in Dubai, four here, quarters in Brisbane.

After last season, I think I'm really on the right path. I'm really disappointed. I'm really annoyed that this had to happen today because I felt like I was playing really well. I just couldn't move.

On the level that the girls are playing at today, no matter if they're younger or older, it's just not enough. I really didn't want to risk to miss Indian Wells or Miami, two of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour. That's the only decision I could make today.

It's very unfortunate. I would have loved to play the finals tomorrow against Carla and put up a good fight, but sometimes it's just not meant to be.

Q. How hard is it as a player to make a decision once you're on court? You know there's people watching. How hard is it for you to say, I can't go on?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: It's the worse decision to make really, for me at least. I don't know about the others.

The thing is, you know the first semifinals went quick. You know there were people coming there. There are only a couple of matches to be watched. You really want to try your best.

And also in the back of your mind, there is always the hope that you still might win maybe. That the other girl will give you a few presents. And then you're fighting with yourself.

On the other hand, you have the injury that you have to consider and you have to think the tournaments that are upcoming. If it's worth risking it.

Most of the time don't know how bad it really is. If it's really that bad or if you're just being a woose. So it's the worst decision really to make.

But I think in the end, she helped me because I could see she was playing well. She wasn't affected at all the way I moved. I knew I didn't have enough in my legs to compete with her on an okay level.

Yeah, so, that's what turned me to this decision in the end.

Q. We were saying in the WTA TV commentary that you've got to be up there as one of the most unlucky people with injuries in your career.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: But I've also been very lucky in life. I try to look at it always in a positive way.

Q. With all of that, when you're making that decision today, are all the things in the past, your experiences, is that kind of informing the decision whether to continue or whether actually it's better to not risk it?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, definitely, experience is a big part of it. Well, my first bigger injury was after my 2011 season, was a stress fracture. It definitely came from me always playing through pain all the time and not stopping when I felt like this is maybe too much. Pushing myself through matches and through practices.

The stress fracture in my sacrum, that was probably my worse injury for me because I didn't know what was going to happen. It didn't last that long. It was only four months. But to me it really seemed like forever because I really didn't know.

If it's a torn tendon, you know, okay, four weeks, you can play again. But this was really for me something elementary to my game because I really didn't know if and how I would return.

I think after that, I've just been much more cautious than other players. But I also learned to listen to my body much better. That helped me to realize that if I continue like this, I can really tear my whole muscle and nobody wants that. Maybe some people may want it, but I certainly don't want it for myself.

I hope it made me a little smarter, all these things that happen to me.

Q. To follow up on that, this year is a massive year. You have all of that. Go back to 2012, you missing London in 2012, the Grand Slam tournaments. We have a similar situation, the mad summer. Is that in the back of your mind a little bit as well, trying to stay healthy?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I definitely have the Olympics on my mind this season, with just wanting to do really well to qualify first of all. Then on the other hand, just because I missed it in London. I was so upset, I was depressed for a week in my room while I watched all the events on the TV. That was really, really unnecessary and really annoying as well.

It has been on my mind definitely. It hasn't been on my mind today. But I really did my scheduling a little different than normally. I cut out a few tournaments here and there that I normally would have played, like St. Petersburg, for example. I won the title in Antwerp the last year. I didn't play there. I didn't play Sydney.

I've been adjusting my schedule and leaving out a few tournament to be healthy and survive this season which is a hell of a season.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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