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QATAR TOTAL OPEN

February 11, 2018

Angelique Kerber

Doha, Qatar

Q. Welcome to Doha. How have you kind of spent the last few weeks? Did it take you a while to kind of recover from Australia? Did the racquets stay in the bag and when did you start hitting again?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: Yeah, I mean I flew back to home actually, and I had like a few days of resting and my racquets rested in my bag. And yeah, I start last week practicing again and coming here two days ago to prepare a little bit to playing outside again.

Yeah, I think that I needed a little bit time to recover from all the matches that I played in Australia, but now I'm feeling good again, and I'm ready to play next matches.

Q. What was more necessary, having the time to let the body heal? That was 15 matches I think you played in January, or the mind of just dealing with the stress and everything, because that was a big month.
ANGELIQUE KERBER: Yeah, I think it was both. I mean of course, the body, I was feeling my body. I was a little bit tired, for sure, then after the long flight. But mentally as well, I mean I had a lot of matches. I was really playing good tennis again, and I think it was more a combination for both to really have the good recover to start again and to focusing on the next tournaments.

Q. When you sat and you kind of reflected on January and everything that had happened, what were the thoughts and what were the takeaways for you from that month?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: You know, for me it was really important when I'm looking back on the last few weeks that I'm able to play my game again, that I can fight. And yeah, having, yeah, my tennis back, my motivation and everything what I had like two years ago. So this was the biggest progress and the biggest thing for me to know and to feel that, yeah, I'm on court and I play again my tennis.

Q. What do you think about the level of women's tennis at the moment? Why do you think it is so competitive and fierce at the moment?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I think, yeah, the level is really high at the moment. I mean there are a lot of good players, and I think you have to give everything from the first round in every single tournament, because everybody can win against everybody, and I think right now it's just, you know, it's just, yeah, two, three points, which can make the difference in the matches. And I think it's really quite interesting for the fans and for us players as well to have to, yeah, to have the commitment and to play your best tennis.

Q. Random question, but are you following the Olympics at all?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: A little bit. They just started.

Q. Fair point. I'm just curious if there's any sport, I don't know if you're a winter sports person or not, but are there any sports that you think that you would have loved to have pursued to play?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I was watching biathlon yesterday a little bit long. This is I think for Germany also big because we have good Germans, and ice hockey, I like to watch ice hockey as well. And yeah, the jumping and all the ski things. I think they are quite interesting because we are always in the sun and we know the summer sports. And the winter it's always completely different.

Q. Are you much of a skier?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I mean when I was a kid I was skiing, but now I have to break because you never know what's happen, and I think I will start for sure after my career, somewhere, sometime to going for ski because I like it. It's completely different.

Q. And then just looking back on the Australian Open a little bit, I mean how -- did it take long to get over, you know, the loss because it was so close and the way that it turned out and having the match points or was it because of everything that you had done that it was easy to move on? I mean how was it for you?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I mean, of course, it's never easy to be good after a lose, but for me it was -- it needs for sure a few days, but at the end I know that I give everything, and I know how close it is. It's just one, two points which decide matches. And you know, for me it was more important to see that I'm back and that I'm playing good tennis, that I win matches again. And that was actually the goal for Australia for the first month of the year. And I think that I reach it, the goal which I had for the Australian trip, and that was more important for me than the results and the points and all of this.

Q. Does it change at all your perspective or goals for knowing that already a month in that your tennis is back, does it change how you look at?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: Not really. I'm just looking the same, the same way like I looked in Australia because it's at the beginning of the year. We have now the second trip. But yeah, it's just fresh everything, and I know that everything starts from zero. It's a new tournament, new conditions. And that's why I'm trying to keep my goal like I start the year, and I think this goal will be also to the goal for the rest of the season.

Q. And last question from me. Two Germans in the Top 10 first time in a long time since '97 that that's happened. Can you kind of talk a little bit about just women's tennis in Germany, Julia obviously getting this accomplishment. And also, do you see any impact that it might have back home at all?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: You know, I think it's for us it's a big deal. I mean having two Germans in the Top 10 after such a long time. It's for sure really special, special for us but also for the sport, for Germany. And yeah, I think that we just try our best and at the end we both reach the Top 10, like she for the first time. I'm back in the Top 10. And I think now we will try to stay as long as possible there, and yeah, for the women's tennis in Germany, I mean we have such good players also in the top 100, top 50s. So I think it's good progress.

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