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HUAJIN SECURITIES WTA ELITE TROPHY ZHUHAI

November 2, 2016

Timea Bacsinszky

Zhuhai, China

T. BACSINSZKY/T, Babos

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Curious, after yesterday's match, what did you do to turn things around and have such a successful day today?
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: Well, so the fun answer, which is not the official one, will be that I got inspired by your masks.

And so with painting I got zen. I figured my inner Feng Shui or whatever you call it. I started to realize that I have a lot of power inside. That I can do it today. This was the fun answer, not the more -- sorry, you're going to need to work a lot again.

A little more serious answer is that I stepped on the court today thinking like, Okay, well, yesterday I just managed to win two games. Let's try to win a little bit more today. Basically let's try to have fun.

I chose this sport, this job. I'm working hard all year long to be on a big stage if I can and to win matches. I enjoy the game. I think I should be inside a little kid who just wants to play, which is so happy to be able to win a match, and not thinking about all the frustration parts of this career or of my game, which is working or not working, why my serve is not so consistent or whatever.

I just said, Okay, Well, try to have fun. That's it. This is probably your last match of the year, because I don't think I have any chance to be No. 1 in our group anymore.

Q. You have a slight chance.
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: No, but even if Babos wins like love and 1 there is no way, because then she would be No. 2 in the team.

Q. I think officially. I don't know if mathematically at the moment, but technically you're still in it right now.
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: Yeah, but I will not be No. 1 I think mathematic-wise. Unless there is an injury, which I don't wish for no one. So that's it.

That's why I said, Okay, let's try to have fun. I just let the two games go and told myself, Don't get frustrated. It won't help. Just try to enjoy. Make smart decisions. Try what you can do best and just compete. Because I love to compete. Yeah, that's it.

Q. We all know that you upload a blog after Stan Wawrinka won the US Open. You know, when you update an article about your finding inspiration from Stan Wawrinka.
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: I have a blog you said?

Q. No, I mean you upload an article on Twitter.
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: Oh, I was watching his match, yeah.

Q. You wrote a long article about...
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: I was so, so tired, dead tired, but I just couldn't keep my eyes off the screen.

Q. Yes. We all know that. So I'm very interested about whether you have good connections with him or did you have conversations about your inspirations from him or something like that?
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: It's kind of funny, but you probably don't know but my coach right now, Dimitri Zavialoff, is the former coach of Stan. So he was the man that taught Stan to play his first backhands or first forehands.

My coach is born in '76 so he was just 40 this year. Stan, he's from '85, so it's not a big age difference. But still, can you imagine my coach at a young age teaching someone from nowhere and getting him to top 10?

The funny situation is that the best ranking my coach had with Stan was No. 9. Then they stopped in 2010, I think. Then I started again in 2013. My best ranking so far is No. 9.

So I would be -- it's already awesome that I could be No. 9, because I think it's a big thing for a coach just to pick one small kid from, I don't know, age of eight and bringing him top 10, No. 9, and taking me, a woman which is 25, not that young anymore, and bringing her top 10 again.

I mean, I don't think he has to prove anything else anymore. With Stan, well, we don't talk that much because now you know how big Stan is. He's very busy and I understand that.

This year in Indian Wells he sat down with me for a coffee for an hour and we talked about many things. I asked him some of the questions that I -- for example, I was coming back from an injury, and many time I was like -- when at the press conferences they were asking me, Okay, what happened today? I was like all the time for the last three months, Oh, well you know, my knee. I'm coming back from an injury and everything.

One advice he told me is he said, Well, listen, don't use that as an excuse anymore. It's all right. It's done. Don't stick with that. Just look forward. It's okay. You lost because you were not good enough. That's it. Don't bring up the thing of your knee, that you have been injured for the last three months.

Even you, just look forward. He gave me like one or two small advices because he has been through a knee injury as well. That's why -- I mean, it was only one hour, but it was way much than an hour for me. But for sure, like I cannot say, Hey, please, please, please tell me something for sure. It's also nice for me to find out myself some of the solutions for my own career.

He inspires me a lot. For sure you have the talent of Roger and then you compare Stan. His talent is that he's a huge worker. This is a talent: he works. He just looks straight and works no matter what.

This is a big thing as well. He's not looking back. Well, I try to get inspired, but not only of him, as well of Roger for sure. Biggest inspiration ever. Really tough to have his talent, so...

And Martina as well; Belinda as well. I think I can get inspired of everyone. I also look at other players and I get inspiration all around me. So, yeah, this is how I try to build my own career.

Q. It sounds like your new coach has inject some big boost into you. Is there a specific goal you want to reach next season? Second question: We notice that Chinese opera mask. Is that a gift to you? As you mention, this is probably your last match of the year. How do you rate this tournament and also the city? Are you going to stay for several days to enjoy this more?
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: Okay, so the first question was -- because you had three questions. The first one is about my coach. He's not new. I'm working with him for three and a half years.

What was the push of the day? What helped me to win the match today?

Q. (No microphone.)
TIMEA BACSINZSKY: What's my goal, okay, for next season? Well, I don't work with specific goals. No numbers. For sure my best ranking was No. 9 and I would love to be No. 8. I know it's a lucky number in China. I was born 8 of June, so I'm lucky.

No, just try to work hard again. Try to enjoy as much as I enjoy every time I'm stepping on the court. It's important to love your job, because it's not a job anymore if you love it. It's not hard to do it if you love it.

This is important, because I know it's going to keep me going for several years. So really, no goals in particular since I came back in 2013. I believe I can be limitless, so I don't put myself any limits. I don't say, This will be the goal. If I reach it, okay, fine.

I'm more like if you reach something, awesome. You can go for even more. That's my spirit. We're working like that with my coach.

And about the opera mask, yesterday when I finished the press conference we have something in the players' lounge where you can do the nails, which I haven't done. You can paint a mask and write your name in Chinese calligraphy, which I would love to, but probably it would be too complicated to write because Bacsinszky is kind of difficult.

So the woman which was doing that, with the help of this woman here, she organized me two masks for today. I would have loved to paint them, but probably I would need like three hours for both of them. It was already 6:30, yesterday. It would be long, so that's why -- that's why she said she's going to bring it to me today.

Thank you very much. It's an awesome gift. I would love to hang that on my wall back home. I love to do that.

Then the last question about Zhuhai, it's my last match. If it's my last match it's amazing because it's a win. It's awesome to finish the year with a win.

About spending more days in Zhuhai, it's -- I probably need to stay here. Depends what's my ranking in the group. As long as I have to stay here, I will, for the tournament.

Then if I can do some sightseeing, for sure I would love to. My coach went already to Macao, but I didn't go. I was too lazy. And I don't like to play. I know Asian people love the game, but I don't care that much. I love to play myself tennis or other sports but not -- I don't know, not in casinos. Not yet. Maybe it's coming later.

And about the tournament, it's great. First time here for me. Organization is fine. People are really nice with me as well.

Yeah, I think the fans are awesome as well. Today I felt the push also of some fans which were cheering for me. I feel really honored to have so many fans rooting for me.

Yeah, well, I'm really happy that I got to be here in Zhuhai this year, which I couldn't do last year.

It's his fault. He asked three questions.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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