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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 12, 2019

Elina Svitolina

Rome, Italy

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Your boyfriend Gael Monfils was close to beating Roger Federer in Madrid. You watched the match live. What are your thoughts on that match?
ELINA SVITOLINA: It's very interesting first question (smiling).

Well, it was great match actually, even though the first set was very quick for Roger. I think it was great match, great fight from Gael to fight back, great fighting spirit.

I really, really enjoyed it. I was very, very sad and very, you know, disappointed that he lost that match because lose from match point, I know how it feels.

I mean, I think for him it's a great step forward.

Q. Gael said that this year he wants to win the French Open, at least to go far. Do you think he can get a big result?
ELINA SVITOLINA: Well, it's good to have high goals. I mean, for me, I also have high goals. It's part of being a tennis player, to have high goals, high expectations.

I mean, lots of players will try to do that, to win the title, not only Roland Garros but other Grand Slams as well. It motivates us every day to go to practice, you know, to move forward.

Q. You have a nice Instagram video with Roger Federer and Gael in Dubai. How did the idea come up?
ELINA SVITOLINA: It was actually very natural. Gael is very funny, very easygoing. They are good friends. That's why it came up very, very funny. Hopefully you guys enjoyed it.

This Instagram account is normally for fun, to share with fans, to show them the ATP Tour and WTA Tour, fun stuff what we can show.

Q. You're a back-to-back winner here in Rome. What is specific about this tournament that you like it the most, I think?
ELINA SVITOLINA: I really enjoy the atmosphere. Any time of the day, any time of the week when you play here, the atmosphere is amazing. The fans are making it very special. I would say it's the loudest and the most exciting when you play in front of Italian fans.

It brings the best of me. Each time I step on court here, I really enjoy the fight. Even though I had some really tough matches, but I went through them. That's what's special about it.

Q. You have a lot of talented players in Ukraine. What do you think is the reason? You didn't have any specific program for tennis.
ELINA SVITOLINA: Yeah, it's good to know they are really motivated. The young guys, girls, there are more and more trying to achieve something. It's getting better.

I try to introduce from my side what I can tennis, sport in general in Ukraine, try to attend events, speak with kids, have fun, speak with parents. I try my best to introduce sport in Ukraine more and more.

Q. I have to ask you about Agnieszka Radwanska. It's her farewell event next week. How do you remember her from the court?
ELINA SVITOLINA: I remember I had very, very tough matches against her. She was very tricky player. I think very entertainment for tennis. It was great to have her and great to have some battles against her in the past.

She's also very, very nice person to share the court with. For me, you know, she's a great champion. She achieved a lot in her life. Yeah, it's great to have had that player on the tour with us.

Q. You arrived in Rome with a short number of matches played in the last two months. What are your conditions? Do you feel pressures to have to defend the title?
ELINA SVITOLINA: Well, probably if I would say there is no pressure, I would probably lie. Of course, there is some kind of pressure when you come to the tournament where you have to defend a title. I try to don't think so much about it. I try to don't look at it that way. I try to take it as a motivation for the matches here.

Every match is very important for me. I will try to prepare as much as I can. Almost every match is like a final for me. I try to be ready 100%.

For me, I don't think it's a big difference if I have 10 or 15 matches for the past months, or I have a few. You go on court, it matters of your mindset. You have to be ready for everything. Every player is tough, so you have to be prepared and ready for the fight.

Q. The reason why you decided to have the documentary and movie with Monfils?
ELINA SVITOLINA: We decided because we wanted to share with the fans. Now there is ongoing problems because there are problems to get the images from the tournaments. It's very, very expensive as we found out just a few days ago. We're going to reconsider what we're going to do.

The idea was just to show the fans, the people who doesn't know, what's going behind every athlete, not only what's happening when we step on court for our matches, but what's going on behind the scenes, the practice and everything. This was the main idea.

For now the images, to get access to the venues, stadiums, is very, very expensive. We didn't really thought it would be that much, especially for some big tournaments like this.

We'll see what we can do. But for the moment, it's a big issue.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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