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CHINA OPEN

October 5, 2016

Shuai Peng

Beijing, China

C. GARCIA/Peng Shuai

6-3, 3-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese, please.

Q. In the Wuhan Open you said in the third set you felt tired. Today you had singles and doubles, and you won in the doubles. What is your energy level right now?
PENG SHUAI: My energy level is improving. Over these two days I met with my trainer and coach. Compared with Wuhan and Guangzhou, I feel my energy is improving. I feel more fit right now.

Q. You have lost many three-setters. In the second and third set, your level of play was improving. But in the end you lost. Will this influence your confidence or would you like to play more matches to improve your level of play?
PENG SHUAI: It's a good thing for me to have the three-set matches. It's normal for me to lose in those three-setters. Back then I had the surgery, I just came back from injury, so it's normal for me to lose in three-setters.

Over the past couple of months, I have improved a lot physically and mentally. First of all, today's match was a great one. I improved a lot. It was a good match. My opponent played really well.

For me, I suppose that my left leg does not feel very well right now. I could not run 100% from side to side very well. In retrospect, in the past I couldn't run very well, but today I could run quite well. In the near future, I'd like to improve my physical strength. Also I'd like to improve my fitness. But it takes time.

I hope in the near future, in those three-setters, I can take those opportunities, or win in two sets.

Q. Yesterday you won Venus Williams. What did you eat yesterday after the win?
PENG SHUAI: I had a hot pot.

Q. Just now you said you have taken all your opportunities. In the singles in the China Open you have lost.
PENG SHUAI: During the first rounds I defeated Venus Williams. It built up my confidence. Actually, in the grass court season, I made a lot of preparations. When I played Venus, I won in thank you sets. Today was another great challenge for me. In the first set, I talked with my coach. I told him maybe that I felt a little bit of pain in the back when I hit the ball.

In the first set, I could not turn my body very naturally. But I told myself that I have to play doubles after the singles. I didn't want to pull out of the competition. Maybe right now I could not reach my peak level, but I would like to try every point.

To my surprise, I won the second set. In the third set, I tried my best. My serve, I was falling behind. But I was still trying to beat her. Sometimes I could not use my strengths to beat her.

Actually, in the third set, her first-serve percentage was very high. I told myself that I would like to fight till the last point. I may lose, but I'd like to try for the next round.

When I played doubles, to my surprise, we won the doubles. Actually, our opponents won the gold medal in Rio. To our surprise, we beat them. I thought that if I had more time to recover, maybe I could do better.

Q. In the Wuhan Open you played the No. 1 seed. Today you defeated the gold medalists from Rio. Talk about your team. Both of you are baseliners, so how do you click so well together?
PENG SHUAI: Actually, right now my teammate is the baseliner. I'm more aggressive. When I teamed up with her, we found chemistry with each other. We are not strangers. Actually, I feel happy to team up with her.

A lot of doubles teams, they have their partners permanently. Some are happy. She would like to team up with me. In the past, I asked another player to team up with me, but she turned me down. I turned to this new teammate and I'm very happy with her.

Q. What is your schedule for the near future? What is the goal for your rankings? Would you like to move up to the top 100?
PENG SHUAI: Right now I'm still in this competition. I'd like to move up my ranking in singles and doubles. After the China Open, I will go to Tianjin. After Tianjin, I have now decided my schedule.

In the past I would set the schedule for the whole year beforehand. Right now I just came back from injury, so a lot of things are certain. As for the off-season, training in winter, this time has not been decided yet. Also in terms of doubles, many things are uncertain. It's hard for me to set a schedule beforehand.

In terms of the Australian Open, I would like to make it into the qualifications. We'll see. We'll see about my physical strength. I should look at those big tournaments, but I just came back from injury so I don't want to put pressure on myself.

I hope I can improve my level of play gradually. In terms of putting pressure on myself in terms of ranking and points, maybe in the past, I could beat them, but after the surgery, maybe I cannot beat them.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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