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DONGFENG MOTOR WUHAN OPEN

September 29, 2016

Svetlana Kuznetsova

Wuhan, Hubei, China

S. KUZNETSOVA/A. Radwanska

1-6, 7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A long day. Talk about the match a little bit, how you were able to turn it around. Looked like she was in good control for about a set and a half there.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah, first set was tough. I didn't play that well and Aga was doing the right things. In the second set I knew I had to stay in there in order to have chances to turn match around. I knew if I would win the second set, I would have more chances in the third.

Then it was very difficult match, lots of long rallies. I had to take a little match control. I wasn't feeling my best. I had to deal with that, not to get frustrated of not making the shots I normally make. That was probably the most difficult thing, you know.

Then to stay in the match, to hang in there, to be tough mentally. In the end it worked out well.

Q. Did you feel you made an adjustment or something to turn it around or was it a matter of just staying with her and Aga's level dropped a little bit?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: No, you always adjust. You always adjust to any player. But to Aga, you got to adjust even more because she plays really smart. I was trying to figure out what is her game, how is she going to play, what I have to do, what works better, worse. Yeah, I had to think all the time in the match.

Q. When you have such a good record against an opponent like this, in the key moments like the tiebreak, do you think it plays mentally that she is getting tight and you are not panicking because usually you find your way against her?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Not really. I mean, I knew I had a good record, but also I knew it would not be that easy as before. I knew she would do better this time. That's why probably I was missing way too much in the first set.

Right before the match, Carlos told me, Do you remember the time you play in Madrid?

I said, No, I don't.

He said, You were up 6-3 in the tiebreak, and then you lost it.

I'm like, Oh.

Then here I go. I'm like 6-3 up, then 6-All. I'm like, Damn, why did he tell me that?

Then I still have, you know, sometimes negative things appear in your head and you have to turn them around. After the match I said to Carlos, Why did you tell me that before the match?

He said, I know, I know. I was stupid. I was stupid.

It was kind of funny.

Q. I was talking with Jelena Jankovic, when you're on the tour more than a decade, was she surprised to still enjoy being out there competing. Are you surprised after so many tournaments won that you're happy to be out there competing at the end of the season?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: When you talk to players who had long career, like me, like Jelena, other players, we all had our different stories. At certain ages we felt differently, especially like in the end of seasons, each age is different.

Like probably when I was 25, 26, I was like, Damn, I'm so tired. Damn, when the season going to be over?

Now I don't feel tired because I believe it's mental. If you say, Oh, season is in the end, I'm tired, you will be tired. It's so much mentally. All the life is for me mentally.

And now I know it's not something, like, I going to play for ages. It makes easier for me, you know. I don't know. It's frustrating, but it is different. Now I know it's few years left. It's like, Do the best out of it and that's it.

When I was 25, I knew it was still long way to go. I was like, Shit, I'm so tired. Now I just enjoy it, so...

Q. Do you think about that a lot, that the end is closer than the start of your career? How much do you think about how much longer you're playing?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think about it in the positive way, to make me go for more. I say, Look, it's one, two years, you're done. Maybe it's not. It's something convincing. You have to work with yourself and find the keys to convince yourself to do good in the positive way. Whatever you say, it's working. If it's positive, it makes you go better, that's good.

Sometimes I have to lift myself a little bit in a funny way. I say, Yeah, it's one tournament, that's it. It's not, it's going to be more.

But it helps mentally. If you think it very long-term, that comes very big in front of you, big wall. If you do short-term, is better.

Q. (Question regarding playing a lot of matches against high-ranked opponents going into Singapore or the WTA Finals.)
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: It doesn't matter. If you're in the finals, it means you played a lot of matches and you won a lot of matches. I think what matters a lot is when you winning a lot matches, in the end of the year, you feel much more confident. It's not about you win top-10 players. If you win many matches, it means you have beaten top-10 players.

It's so different when you have confidence and you don't. Sometimes it goes by little, as I said other day. Couple balls can change everything, your year, your career, everything. When you win these matches, you go a long way, you feel much more confident, then you play better.

Q. Are you tired physically now?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't know. I felt dizzy in doubles. I felt a little bit, like, weak. But I have a good physio. I hope I recover overnight.

Q. What happened in the doubles? 3-Love.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I felt dizzy, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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