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DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN

September 26, 2016

Shuai Peng

Wuhan, Hubei, China

ZHANG S./Peng S.

6-7, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese, please.

Q. Would you like to talk about this tournament. It's not easy for you to come back. You played many games in the ITF. Is it helpful to play the ITF?
PENG SHUAI: For me, as long as I can play, and now my waist is recovering, this is a good thing for me.

For the singles, I have played for half a year. In the beginning, this January, when I played in the Australian Open, I couldn't move very well. Now I can run normally.

After one or two hours, my left leg, I don't feel well. For the first half of the year, I could not do many moves. Today I also noticed the speed. In the past it was 170. Now it's 180. However, I cannot maintain that strength.

Maybe I did well in some games, but some games I didn't do well. I didn't control properly. But now I'm recovering and I can play doubles. In the last tournament, when I played doubles, I talked with my coach, I can try to practice for one hour every day.

Now I can stand the practice and I'm recovering.

Q. In your singles match today, in the first game you broke. In the third game you asked for a timeout. Did it affect your performance?
PENG SHUAI: I think Zhang Shuai made a lot of progress in the last year. She is quite strong now. I think today's match, for me, she has attracted a lot of attention from China. I expect she can keep progressing.

For me, no matter who my opponent is, I'll be focusing more on myself. I will be focusing more on what I can do, such as my speed.

Singles, for me, within an hour is comfortable. After one hour, my speed desidelines. Especially in the third set, I cannot move quickly and with full strength. My serve is not that strong. I cannot reach my peak compared with the past.

I'm getting better and I'm satisfied with myself. At the very beginning, after my recovery, I could not run fast. Now my speed is getting better, and my service speed is also getting better. I hope I can handle matches that are over an hour or an hour and a half.

I think at that time it is the time to consider more my ranking and my opponent. But for now the major task is recovering from my injury.

I think I performed well in today's singles match. I'm satisfied with myself. I played my best.

Q. This year you played many close games, especially in the US Open. Like Zhang Shuai, when you have the advantages, and you didn't take the opportunities, how do you view the positive things from your losses?
PENG SHUAI: Actually, when I played in Indian Wells, the scores were not very close. It was 1-5. However, I was very happy. I don't feel now that I have the advantage. There were opportunities during the games.

For the qualifying match, I didn't win the second set. In the third set I couldn't play like I did in the first two sets. I couldn't run and I couldn't move. I couldn't play. I lost the matchpoints. If I could convert the match points or maintain the speed, I could win the matchpoints.

In terms of speed and strength, I will try my best. It's a pity that I lost, but it's better than not playing at all. Six months ago when I played, I actually couldn't do well. I couldn't play in the third sets, I couldn't move. Now, I can keep playing in the third set, so I'm recovering.

Q. So now you are relying on a wild card to play in the matches?
PENG SHUAI: There are requirements and quota limits for the wild cards. Because I have been involved for 10 years, I have three more wild cards than normal players. With the development of Chinese tennis, I can play more games in tennis. Thanks to the organization committee to offer me the wild card for Wuhan Open.

I hope I can play without a wild card in the near future.

Q. You're wearing a Nike shirt. Are you sponsored by Nike?
PENG SHUAI: No. We don't have a contract. However, I didn't buy the Nike shirt myself.

Q. Do you have any sponsors now?
PENG SHUAI: No, I don't.

Q. Do you have any prospects?
PENG SHUAI: Prince is my sponsor. In my contract with Li Ning, I didn't take part for more than half a year, so they withdrew the contract. I don't have the protected ranking. For me, this is not the most important thing.

I didn't think about the sponsors. I was thinking about if I needed an operation, if I wanted to keep playing tennis. So I don't care about the shirts. What I care most about is whether I can return to the court.

Nike is the sponsor for the national team. With regard to the racquet, this is very important, otherwise I don't have racquets. They have been very supportive to provide me racquets.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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