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ZHENGZHOU OPEN

September 11, 2019

Sofia Kenin

Zhengzhou, China

S. KENIN/A. Cornet.

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. Can you give us your thoughts on the match and what you're most happy with your game?
SOFIA KENIN: She's a really tough player, I know she's going to get a lot of balls back, I knew I had to be patient, it was going to be a very physical match, it was going to be a grind, conditions are not the most easy, it's pretty cold and windy as well, so I knew I needed to grind it out. She's a good player but I'm happy with myself with the way I played and handled everything.

Q. What do you think made the difference today?
SOFIA KENIN: I think at the critical points I was able to convert. Every game was close. I think I won one or two games, which was pretty easy, I felt, which was a good break because she really gets so many balls back and it's really not easy to play someone like her. And of course she was, the highest rank was 11, so I know she has a lot of experience and has been there longer than me, so I knew she was going to find a way to convert. And of course she did. 4-1 I was up and I, she picked up her game, which is obviously expected for a player like her.

Q. Are you happy with where your game's at this week? Of course you've had a couple matches in quite difficult conditions.
SOFIA KENIN: I feel like my game is well, I've felt pretty comfortable the first day as I got here. Of course different conditions coming from New York to Zhengzhou and, yes, it was really tough, by I thought my practices went really well and I felt my game was there. And I feel really comfortable on these courts and I feel like I'm playing well.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.

Q. What's your feeling about the work done by the volunteers in this tournament?
SOFIA KENIN: The work by the volunteers has been really good. I really like this tournament, the organization is really well, I really like it, I think they're doing a great job and it is my first time here and I really like it here, so, yeah, I like it.

Q. I've asked other players, in this month there is going to be a Chinese festival that is called Mid-Autumn Festival. And in this festival families always get together and get a happy family reunion. So I'm wondering, in your country do you have this kind of festival?
SOFIA KENIN: Yeah, I guess Thanksgiving is really a family tradition and, yeah, families get together. Of course Christmas, of course birthdays. So, yeah, there's a lot of nice events that we have and, yes, families get together and we spend a lot of time together and it's really nice.

Q. Right now your ranking is number 20. I'm wondering, do you have any expectations for you to improve it?
SOFIA KENIN: Of course, yes, always would like to be Top-10, I think that's the next step, of course. But I'm just going to play every match and just try not to think about it. My goal is to try to get to the Zhuhai, it's in the beginning of October, I think -- yes, beginning of October. So I would like to get there and I feel like right -- I mean, right now I'm in -- so hopefully I can just play well and just have a great Asia swing and come back here and see all of my fans.

Q. In the next round you're going to play against Karolina Pliskova. So do you have any strategies for preparations for her?
SOFIA KENIN: I've played her I think three times already. Yes, I lost all of them, but, yes, she's a really tough player, big server. Yeah, it's going to be a tough match, but each time I feel like I play better, so hopefully I can just convert opportunities and, yeah, we'll see how it goes.

But last time I played her was in Rome and I lost in three sets, so that was the only time I took a set from her, so hopefully I can play well and hopefully get the win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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