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HENGQIN LIFE WTA ELITE TROPHY ZHUHAIOctober 30, 2018Elise MertensZhuhai, China E. MERTENS/A. Kontaveit 6-3, 6-1 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you talk about the match. What's the key point for you to win? ELISE MERTENS: I think at the start, it was a very tight match, both players, a lot of 40-Alls in the games. I think a lot of variety, the spin ball, the slice, because she likes to hit flat and really hard. Also to get that one more ball back in the court, I think that made a difference a little bit. Q. Anett was saying the ball's bouncing quite high on this court and she said that probably favored you today with the tactics you were using. How did you find that court today, especially after coming off of the court from Singapore? ELISE MERTENS: Yeah, I think it's a high bounce, maybe a little bit slower. I think it's really hard court. In Singapore it was wooden, so it's a little bit different. I like the court. I like the roof, too, so you can keep on playing. There's no wind. There's no rain. It bounces pretty high. Maybe she likes to play on these faster courts, with like low bounce. Maybe that was in my favor, yes. Q. Since we're towards the end of the season, it's the best season of your career. A lot of highs, maybe times where things were a little frustrating. How would you reflect and encapsulate the 2018 season? ELISE MERTENS: At the beginning, 2017 was already a good year for me. I just wanted to do the same or better. I was very thankful it was better than 2017. I think just the belief in yourself that I can consistently reaching this level. Because it's not easy to just maintain this level and be better. So I'm very happy that I reached Zhuhai and then Singapore in doubles. I think I'm consistent and that was the key for me this year, too. Q. I think Belgium has a lot of successful tennis players. Who's your tennis idol when you grew up? I read about you, you have been training at Kim Clijsters' academy. Can you talk about that? ELISE MERTENS: Growing up with these two idols was amazing. I watched tennis from a young age on TV and always wanted to become one of them. Of course, Kim and Justin were both Number 1. It was an amazing time for Belgium, for tennis in Belgium. Also Yanina Wickmayer, Kirsten Flipkens still being around, it's amazing. But I'm very happy that I'm playing in the Kim Clijsters academy for about three years. So it only went upwards from then. It's 15 minutes from home, so I'm really happy that I could also stay home and practice at the academy. Q. Talk about playing Julia Goerges next. ELISE MERTENS: I've never really played her before. It's going to be an interesting match for sure. She's defending champion. She feels pretty well here on the court. The court fits to her. But I've got nothing to lose. I don't have any points to defend or anything. I'll just play freely. I've had a good year and she's had a good year. Hopefully it will be a real competitive match. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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