	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ZHENGZHOU OPEN

September 13, 2019

Zheng Saisai

Zhengzhou, China

A. TOMLJANOVIC/Zheng Saisai.

6-1, 6-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.

Q. You played two matches for almost four hours and a half. How do you feel physical?
ZHENG SAISAI: Not bad, but my back feels sore. Maybe I stretched too long. And these two matches are too close and tough. Riske is a tough player. At the beginning I didn't play well and both of us ran a lot. I felt tired after the first match but I had a rest and recovered physically. In the second match at the start my opponent played pretty good, very aggressive, and played the ball very deep. I felt a lot of pressure. In the second set I slowly felt my game, however in general I was too passive the whole match. In the third set I had more opportunities than the second set and in the second match I think I didn't focus in some crucial moments and my mind went blank at that time. So maybe I didn't prepare mentally for the second match.

Q. It has been almost four months since the French Open. In that tournament you played both singles and doubles and you had the second place in the doubles. So what adjustment did you make and improve yourself during these four months?
ZHENG SAISAI: Actually, after the French Open I noticed that if you are nervous in your mind, your body will be very tight, then you don't play well on the court. So I tried to relax and focus on my game and this is the way I try to play in every match.

Q. In the first match what is your strategy for Riske? Because we saw she seems to fall into your control both on the net and the baseline.
ZHENG SAISAI: In fact, we played six times before, so we are quite familiar with each other. I lost the first three times, then, as I improved my game, I learned how to make her feel uncomfortable on the court. And during the match I looked for opportunities from her forehand to make her run. That is a tough match actually. In that match I slowly found my game and in the second set I think I played much better. I felt tired after the game because there were a lot of long rallies.

Q. After the US Open Zhengzhou is your first stop and you made it to the quarterfinal and this result is not bad. What do you think of your performance throughout this tournament?
ZHENG SAISAI: My singles game ended early in the US Open. After that I practiced a lot for the doubles, so I think my form decreased a little bit in my singles game. When I trained here with my coach I made many easy mistakes in training. So in general in all the three matches I made too many unforced errors and I think I will talk with my coach later and make some adjustments. I hope I will improve after this.

Q. In the second match in the third set did you notice your opponent had a spasm in her left leg? Did you have some strategies for that situation, because we thought this could be a turning point.
ZHENG SAISAI: Actually, I haven't noticed that, because she always plays aggressive during the match. I just saw her standing all the time when we switched the court. And I was tired too, so I didn't pay much attention to her, I just tried to stay with her. You know, two matches in one day is not so easy. I think she added up the speed at the end of the match from the baseline, she was more aggressive and she took some chances. On my own side I think I missed a lot of opportunities at the beginning of the third set, like on the net and some drop balls. I think that that was the key to the match.

Q. Last year you won a title here in the same court, but that year was a 125K tournament. So this year it becomes a Premier tournament. What is the biggest difference do you think, compared with last year?
ZHENG SAISAI: I think the court is different. The speed slows down here at this time. This is the biggest difference. The balls don't bounce too much. Besides there's more crowd here this year. Yesterday, when it rained, I noticed some fans still waited on the court. We really appreciated that. And as a home player here I'm thankful for their support and I hope next year I will improve myself and make a deeper run.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297