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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 13, 2019Kiki BertensCincinnati, Ohio V. WILLIAMS/K. Bertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Sometimes it can be a little bit difficult to know what kind of level Venus is going to be able to bring to a match. Sometimes in the past year we have seen her not be able to, you know, get through for whatever reason to bring a certain high level. Is there something in the first few games where you're able to look and say, Wow, this is the Venus that showed up today? Does that have any effect on you? KIKI BERTENS: No, not really. I think I didn't start well myself, so, yeah, she had all the time to start the match in a good way. Q. What is your read and reaction to the match? Obviously you were able to come back in the third set and force the tiebreak, but on the whole, what wasn't working for you today? KIKI BERTENS: Well, it didn't really make sense to come back all that way, I would say, right now (smiling). I didn't do, like, the things I was doing well, coming back, playing aggressive, going for my shots, I didn't do that anymore in the tiebreak, so there she could play her game again, which she did pretty good, I would say. Yeah, I also let her do that. Q. You and Venus have played such close matches the few times you have played. What do you think it is about your and her style that brings out that sort of back-and-forth? KIKI BERTENS: Well, it's always a good fight. I think she's always playing all the time good tennis against me. I find it tough. With the serve sometimes she's taking some pace off, and, yeah, I think my returns are just not good enough, so I have to practice on that a little bit more. Q. It was quite humid out there. What did you make of the conditions? KIKI BERTENS: Yeah, it was tough, I would say. The ball is not bouncing as much as I would like to, but that's how it is. That's how you have to play with it. Yeah, so -- yeah. Q. A lot of times when players come back to defend a big title, they feel points pressure, but in this situation, you're actually not going to drop that much, given your 12 months. Did that play any role in your head? What's your reaction to knowing that the ranking doesn't move that much after this? KIKI BERTENS: Yeah, before the match I felt quite good. Stepping on court, I'd say first few games was pretty bad. Apparently it had an effect on me, I would say, because I didn't start like the match in a loose way. But, yeah, I knew that this was gonna happen, like, that I had to defend the title, but I also know that I have had this before. Coming into Madrid was a little bit same situation, and then I handled it pretty well. Yeah, it's just been a good year so far, and I'm not dropping that much, I would say. Only points, of course. Yeah, it's still a lot more tournaments to play this year. Q. Is there anything specific that you will, from today moving forward, anything you will work on, anything you will refine for your next match? KIKI BERTENS: Just do whatever we did already, trying to practice in a way to play a little bit more aggressive. So we keep on working on that, yes. Q. Is it strange for you to be on tour and one week you could have to face a really tough 17-year-old and then the next day possibly, like, a really tough 39-year-old? Like what do you think about the tour and the depth and just how many people are able to bring that high level on any given day? KIKI BERTENS: I think it's just good for tennis in general. For me, really, it doesn't matter so much who is on the other side of the net. I always try to win. So, yeah, for me it doesn't really matter if it's, like, a 17-year-old or a 39-year-old. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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