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NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC

June 22, 2018

Mihaela Buzarnescu

Birmingham, England

M. BUZARNESCU/E. Svitolina

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You played her Paris. How different did this match feel?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Well, I didn't go on the court thinking I played her three weeks ago. She's an amazing player, so young and so many achievements until now and so many to come. I just try to go on the court, play my own game and focus on each point and take as an ordinary match.

Q. What do you think you've been doing well here in this tournament?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Why?

Q. What?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: I don't know. I'm alone here so I just didn't think that much. I just try to go on the court, play my game, try to focus, and then finish the match. Whatever the result would be, just next day, do the same things.

Q. You're getting these results now across all the surfaces. What do you think it says about your game or why do you think your game translates to the surfaces well?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: I just I adjust not too bad with the surface changing. I think my game is okay on any surface. I'm happy it's like that and I can play okay. Of course I have my own moments before, like few years ago, it wasn't that easy. Well, my coach Septimiu Fratila, we worked since last year June. He helped me a lot. It's being big improvement in my game and my mental strength. I'm happy. It's a good thing though.

Q. Are you comfort on grass or do you just happen to be playing well? What's your comfort level?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: When I came last week in Nottingham, I just had only one day to practice. So just two hours practicing before my match, so I didn't think of anything. I only played last year two matches on grass and two years ago, one more time. I just try to adapt and get lower on my feet, use my serve, my left-handed serve, trying to go inside the court a little bit more.

Q. You face Petra next, so some thoughts on that and facing a fellow lefty.
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: We played against each other like a month ago in the Prague final. Like I said on the court, this is her favorite surface, so for me it's the same. I will just go on the court, do my game, and we'll see the result in the end. But it will be just another match.

Q. How are you enjoying the tournament in England, Nottingham last week and Birmingham this week?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: I haven't seen much beside hotel and club.

Q. What kind of club?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Tennis club. It's really great that Great Britain is doing three tournaments in a row before Wimbledon. It's really helping the players adapt and play more matches on grass court. Well, next week I'm playing in Eastbourne, which I heard was on the seaside, more wind and cooler. It's fine and really good until now. We had just a little bit of rain last week. Beside that, it's find.

Q. Do you like playing these tournaments where you're close to the crowd?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: I don't mind at all. I'm happy that I managed to get used to this, because before it was a little bit strange when I got to this level. But it's really nice here and also that everything is really close, not so far, the hotel. All the facilities are good. It's nice.

Q. Most of last year you were playing a lot of smaller tournaments and now you're playing bigger tournaments. What's the change like?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Yeah, it's a big difference. Playing ITFs and playing WTAs, it's, let's say, from Number 2 to Number 8 or 9. Because in ITFs, the organization is much more different and the facilities are lower. The way you're treated, it's worse than in the WTAs, which is not so good, because we are all players, we all try the same thing. But unfortunately in the ITFs, you struggle so much more. So for me that I was able last year to win tournaments, the ITFs tournaments and get my ranking higher, just it let me play this level here. I really hope I can stay healthy and play on this level as much as possible from now on.

Q. You're enjoying now playing much bigger events?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Yeah, as I said, it's a different level and different way of mentality and everything. Hotels are nicer, food is better, and you really get more, let's say, respect comparing to the ITFs.

Q. With the rankings rise and getting into these tournaments and getting wins like this, there are some people that would say, especially given all the injuries that you had before, Okay, she's swinging freely, she's playing pressure free, others would say no. Obviously when you get the results, the pressure starts to increase. How do you feel about that you're handling that these days?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: From one point of view could be true, from another not. Because I knew last year when I came back and started to win tournaments, I knew that this year you would need to defend all the points you did last year. But I really tried my best not to think of this which was working until now. I really will not think about it. Whatever it will be, it will be. If I'm healthy and I'm playing good then, I'm defending the points and I can stay on these ranking. Of course my goal would be to reach Top 10 and stay there, but I would be happy to play Top 20 and play all major tournaments again. Life will see what it will give me. I just want to enjoy every moment as much as possible because I'm not 20 years old, I'm 30. Let's say I don't know how many years I can still play tennis. I'm playing almost every week. But I'm fit and that's what is really making me happy, that I can like almost play every week and enjoy because I had so many years that I didn't play. That's really good for me.

Q. Simona would always say, I'm Romanian. I'm hard on myself. We all are. Do you give yourself the opportunity to pat yourself on the back or is the intensity still different regardless of the success?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: Well, I didn't think much of that. I know we're hard on ourselves and I'm hard on myself as well, and I'm pushing myself a lot. Especially whenever I'm alone in the tournaments, it's so much harder. Sometimes I feel like I want to leave and go home or go somewhere because it's really tough. In the WTA level, it's not really not so easy to communicate with each other because they all have their team, which is amazing and is really good for every player, especially for the top ones. But then, yeah, when I'm playing so many tournaments, of course sometimes it's tough and sometimes I want to break. But I'm pushing myself a lot.

Q. You mentioned everyone has their teams. Is it tougher socially because you've arrived so suddenly and everyone else knows each other for years and maybe they don't know you so well?
MIHAELA BUZARNESCU: It could be true. It could be this as well, because they don't know me, of course. But I've seen that in the WTA, there's more, let's say, focused on themselves and more in their own zone, comparing to the ITFs where people socialize more and they're more relaxed. But I guess here at this level you need to be like that if you want to have good results and you want to be focused. I guess everyone needs to get used to this.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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