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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 18, 2018

Jelena Ostapenko

Rome, Italy

M. SHARAPOVA/J. Ostapenko

6-7, 6-4, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Let's start.

Q. A very up-and-down match. Lots of momentum changes. What do you think made the difference in the end?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Yeah. I mean, actually, I was playing like a roller coaster a little bit. And I felt like I could win the match in two sets because I had many opportunities and many breaks.

And I wasn't serving that well today. That didn't help me. I felt like if the serve was better, then I could -- that would help me more.

But, yeah, I mean, I was fighting. That's the good sign.

Q. Towards the end of the match, I see your leg is taped up a little bit. I didn't know you could do the splits. We learned that. But what -- I mean, physically, how are you feeling? Did you hurt your leg or hip at all at the end of the match?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Actually, when I did the split, I started to feel my leg. I was limping a little bit as well. I think the people saw it.

And, you know, I have to play doubles. But I feel quite a lot of pain, but I'm gonna go and play because it's doubles.

Q. It's not often that you come across an opponent where both of you are going out on the attack so much. What was that like, going back and forth between being all-out aggressive and then sometimes having two or three shots again. How intense did you feel that match was?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: I felt like, in the beginning of the match, I was kind of playing more aggressive and stepping in the court.

And Maria, she went a little bit like back. So, I took time away from her.

And, yeah. But which I didn't probably do in the third set. I didn't step in the court enough. Many rallies that I could finish, I was just too far from the court.

Q. Never played her before. I'm guessing you have thought about what it would be like to play against her. What was it actually like your first time against Maria Sharapova?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Yeah. I mean, I knew how she plays and I knew that she's aggressive. But, I think for me, I'm open to aggressive. It's not a big problem. I really like when it's playing aggressive.

And we - - I mean, we played three hours, more than three hours. And we had some very long rallies. And three hours for both attacking players is a long match.

Q. Do you take anything positive out of this match despite the loss and the disappointment?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Yeah. I mean, probably the way that I was playing, I think of course I could play better than this.

But I was fighting and, you know, I was losing in the third set 5-2. Then I came back and still fighting. A tough opponent. Maybe I made the wrong decision,

But, in general, I'm happy that I was fighting until the end.

Q. Next tournament is the French Open. What do you think it will be like going back as defending champion? Are you excited?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: Of course, I'm excited. Yeah. It's going to be great memories and great tournament, of course.

I'll try to go there without any expectations, the same as last year. But, of course, it's gonna be difficult because this year I'm gonna have more attention from the tournament and in general. But, I'm looking forward.

Q. What's the next weekend look like for you? Are you going to go back home for a few days or straight to Paris? Are you going to do rehabbing for your leg so you are back to 100% physically? What do those days look like for you?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: I'm going to go back home for a couple of days to see I try to recover my leg. Because the French Open is a very important tournament for me. Yeah, just a couple days home then I'm going to Paris.

Q. From 5-2 up in the first set, what do you think changed to let her back? I mean, you still won the first set. But was there tactically where you feel like you were missing more, stepping back? Did she change anything? What did you think?
JELENA OSTAPENKO: I think I did some wrong decisions. And I had to stay up in the court. I think I stepped back a little bit on some shots, which I had to go for them and I didn't; and that way she could come back.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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