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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 20, 2018

Elina Svitolina

Rome, Italy

E. SVITOLINA/S. Halep

6-0, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Just for your next title with Roma. 'Cause yesterday somebody said to you, for your next tattoo dedicated to Rome --
ELINA SVITOLINA: We agreed I'm gonna make it when I win four titles here.

Q. What about this match? A strange match, especially in the first part.
ELINA SVITOLINA: Well, I don't think it was a strange match. It was a really good match, from my side.

I think I dominated all the match. I was trying to put lots of pressure on Simona with my game, tried to really take the ball early and to, you know, open the court.

It worked really good today. I was feeling good. So, you know, I think it was good match for me.

Q. I think now your eighth final you've won in a row. What is it about finals, do you get up differently for them? Just you see the trophy and you're like, I want to put in maybe the extra mile, just go for it a little harder? What makes you such a good finals player at the moment?
ELINA SVITOLINA: You know, I always remember when I lost very -- was very painful final against Bouchard at Wimbledon, Juniors. This really taught me a lot.

Because, you know, it was really very painful. I wanted to win that but I lost 6-2, 6-1 something. I think from that final I said to myself, I'm never gonna just go there and do nothing.

Because, in that final, I was like so stressed, so scared, that I didn't even play two balls into the court. So, you know, ever since that moment I decided that, you know, I'm gonna go out there and do something.

Like today, you know, from the first point, I was trying to play really aggressive and to go for my shots. And, yeah, you know, create the game.

Q. You've always been a very good athlete. I wonder if you've changed anything in your fitness routine or regimen or anything? Have you changed anything? You seem to be in better shape than maybe before.
ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, so many people asked me about it (laughing).

Well, I decided I'm gonna keep it a secret, mysterious secret. So, yeah ...

Q. Which different expectations now for Roland Garros from the last year? You are more strong than one year ago, surely.
ELINA SVITOLINA: It's gonna be different, definitely, from the last year.

You know, last year, I was almost -- first time for me going into the Grand Slam as a favorite.

This year, it's different, no. I also was hoping, you know, I was one of the favorites.

You know, there was couple of Grand Slams that, you know, I was close.

But still, you know, it's gonna be different. I'm going to take it as a challenge first.

And for me, very important to take one match at a time and just, you know, go out there and enjoy playing on the big courts, atmosphere.

Roland Garros, you know, that's what we are training for. And I'm gonna give it the best shot.

Q. You said in the trophy ceremony, in the past, Grand Slams have been "tricky" was the word you used. What has made them tricky in the past? How will it be different this time?
ELINA SVITOLINA: Definitely, on a Grand Slam, it's pressure from everywhere. And, you know, you probably also have expectations from yourself.

And Grand Slam is, you know, a Grand Slam. So you have to be mentally ready, physically ready. Probably more than -- extra more than the normal tournament.

But, you know, I try to approach a Grand Slam same as any other tournament, that's why. But still, you know, you have in the back of your mind that it is a Grand Slam. There is something different about it.

And definitely, everyone is more motivated to play against you when you are high seed. And, you know, that's why.

Q. I understand that you wanted to keep secret. But I want to ask you about, you know, your shape. So, any specific match or moment where you decided or realized that you needed to change to get more fit or ...
ELINA SVITOLINA: There was no specific match. But I always wanted to, you know, to do -- not only work on my fitness as an athlete being stronger but small details. You know, like diet or taking care of the body in general is very important.

And, you know, we're at such a high level now that you have to take care of your food, your fitness, or how you sleep. So, all those small details make a difference.

So that's why I decided, you know, I'm gonna pay more attention to these details and give it a chance to maybe gonna change something. So we'll see. We'll see the difference.

Q. And it worked so far.
ELINA SVITOLINA: It is, yeah.

Q. You said this year you thought would be different in terms of being used to being a favorite at a Grand Slam and things like that. What makes you think that -- Are you changing anything in your approach, or what makes it different than before? What have you done to change your mind-set about these kind of tournaments?
ELINA SVITOLINA: Well, the time I come into the Grand Slam it's always different because, you know, I always play differently.

This time, two times that I won here in Rome. But still, you know, last year it was different. Was gaining confidence. It was first time for me winning such a big title. And lots of things going on. Lots of expectations, suddenly.

So now, this year's gonna be a little bit different. So, I don't want to say anything up front how it's gonna be. I don't want to think about it.

I'm just gonna take this challenge and just, you know, do everything what's in my power to recover, to be ready for my first match, and then just, you, know, go on court and do my job, what I do the best.

Q. Your loss to Bouchard must have been quite devastating, if you're still thinking about it now. What was maybe Elina like back then? How did you react to such a loss like that back then? And how do you compare then to now?
ELINA SVITOLINA: I was very, very sad for some time. Because I wanted to win that Wimbledon Junior title so badly. So, I was very sad.

And that's, you know, experience, of course. You are sad then you are angry then you try to take what's -- what you have done -- what would you have done differently. So, you know, lots of mixture of things.

You know, definitely it helped me. You can see results, I think.

Yeah, it's -- it was tough times (nodding).

Q. I saw the video at the tournament where you knew pretty much everything about the other top players, the trivia thing. Where did you learn all that stuff? Are you just studying other players of the sport constantly? It was a surprisingly good performance in that quiz. They asked you questions about other players.
ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah. Yeah.

No, I don't know. Sometimes I scroll on internet and I see some funny stuff. A lot of social media is so big. I wish I would never have an account there (smiling). But, it's another part of modern world now, those days.

So, you know, you -- you know, you just ...

Yeah. Don't know.

Q. Everyone went to the French Open thinking it feels wide open, like 10, 15, even more players could win it. Do you feel it is the same this year again, where a lot of players in the field are so strong all together? There are so many players who could end up hoisting the trophy? How do you see that maybe panning out at the French Open?
ELINA SVITOLINA: Well, I think, um ...

I don't know, it's a very -- very tough question. I don't know, really.

You know, of course -- of course, there will be some upsets. There will be some tough matches.

But, you know, I try to only look at my path and to don't -- you know, to don't think so much what could happen.

Because, you know, yeah, it could be, of course. Anyone could win.

But we're not playing five sets. Our matches are quite short. So that's why sometimes it can be -- you know, if you're sleeping, yeah, you can lose the match quickly.

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