ROGERS CUP

August 17, 2005

Nadia Petrova

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Nadia.

NADIA PETROVA: Well, I did expect a difficult match. I knew she was a good player and I watch her at the French Open, so I had an idea how she plays, what her style is. It's been a bit difficult for me because, you know, at one hand to have a bye, it gives you extra time to rest and prepare, but at the other hand, it limits you from playing matches. I think the key for me now is to play more matches I can because I had a break after Wimbledon, and Sunday I got injured, so I couldn't really play. LA last week was really the first tournament. I still feel like I need to have more matches, to get more confidence and to feel better on the court. In the beginning was difficult. Difficult weather conditions as well, very windy. Haven't been playing well. I was kind of trying out my game, was not focused really well. A bit disappointed, frustrated. Well, after I lost that set, I pull myself together, I start to play more consistent, went for my shots, start to be more aggressive, start to come in. Third set, she started to hit the balls more. She kind of went for her shots. We had very long rallies. I lost a couple of times my serve. That was a bit disappointing. Made it for myself very difficult. At one stage, 4-3 down, I was serving Love-40. That was a very important game. After winning that game, I could see in her face she was very disappointed and she was frustrated. She just couldn't keep up playing that same tennis she did.

NADIA PETROVA: Right, of course, I had much more matches under my belt. I have a bit more experience. I do know when I really had to focus and when I had to give extra. Well, to play the youngsters, it's a bit tough as well because they come on court and, you know, they're just excited to be out there. They just try to hit everything. They can really pull out unbelievable matches.

NADIA PETROVA: Kind of. It's all kind of new for them. Everything they do, just make them move forward in the ranking. I guess the next year for them would be difficult when it comes to the point to defend those points and those tournaments. The frustration comes and the nerves coming.

NADIA PETROVA: Oh, definitely. Sometimes I have a feeling they don't realize what they do on the court. If they have a good day, they keep on hitting the lines and going for unbelievable shots. You know, those days can happen. Sometimes it doesn't go their way, and you can see more frustration when they play.

NADIA PETROVA: Yeah, by the end, yeah, when I broke her at 5-4, she really seems to be down. In that last game, she didn't even fought for it.

NADIA PETROVA: Well, you know, at one hand, when you have both tournaments one after another and you doing well, that extra day can really help you to recover. But at the other end, when you're coming after long break, you like to have more matches. The second-round match, it's a bit tough if you play somebody in the first round. You going to get somebody much easier, a player who doesn't have that level of tennis, you know, that you can really warm up, kind of have a warm-up match. But already she went through a round. She proved that she's a better player; she's more prepared to play me.

NADIA PETROVA: I haven't seen her.

NADIA PETROVA: Well, a little bit struggling, you know. But I'm really taking care of it, icing a lot. If I start to feel that it's irritating, I'm cutting down in hours of tennis, and doing more fitness.

NADIA PETROVA: Not at all. Not at all. I think also when you play a match, you really forget about the pains. I think the best example is Svetlana yesterday.