ROLAND GARROS

June 9, 2021

Maria Sakkari

Press Conference

M. SAKKARI/I. Swiatek

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. People who only tune in to watch the ends of Grand Slam tournaments are about to see you for the first time, probably one of the great physiques in all of sports. Can you explain to us what your fitness routine is and how it contributes to the kind of play that you exhibit?

MARIA SAKKARI: Well, thank you so much for the compliment, first of all (smiling).

I mean, to be honest, it's not like I do -- I do a lot of track and field training. I run a lot. I lift a lot. A bit of everything, I would say. But, you know, I've been working with my fitness coach since I was 14. I think he has done a very, very good job with me.

It's actually one thing I really like to do. I actually like to spend time in the gym. I'm really enjoying it. I guess it's good for tennis, as well.

Q. Can you believe what you've achieved so far? Are you pinching yourself to some degree?

MARIA SAKKARI: Well, I don't want to get too excited because I don't have a day off tomorrow. I still have to play, stay focused.

But it's a big achievement, for sure. I'm enjoying, as I said on court, my tennis and myself. I have people around me telling it was going to come. You know, they were right. Maybe I was the one who was telling them, I was impatient, telling them, When and when and when? It actually came this week, so I'm happy about it.

Q. Question about Barbora. You played her in Dubai. What do you think of her game? What did you learn from facing her?

MARIA SAKKARI: Just to say the truth, I did not play well in Dubai. It was one of her best weeks. Credit to her. She played very, very good that week.

But different conditions, fast court, fast balls. I made a lot of unforced errors. I think, of course, it's going to be very tough, but I'm confident that my coaches will give me the right game plan. So far I have been executing whatever they said really well. I trust myself and I trust their game plan. I think it's going to work out well.

Q. Can you talk about today's match a little bit on a tactical level. It looked like you were targeting Iga's forehand quite a bit. Most players try to stay away from that wing. Can you just talk about the game plan a little bit, how you were able to break that side down.

MARIA SAKKARI: I'm not going to tell you (smiling). There's no way I'm going to tell you what I was doing. I'm not going to answer if that was true or not.

Every player has a way of playing, way of just executing the game plan. I feel like I have a heavy forehand, a good forehand on the clay. I have to play with it.

I served really well today. That's all I can say, yeah.

Q. When you play, there are famous people in the crowd that are coming to see you play, actors, singers, athletes, do you notice them? If yes, is it different? Is there more pressure because you know there's a famous person that comes to watch you play?

MARIA SAKKARI: Who was it? I did not see anyone. Who was it?

Q. I'm sorry. I don't know that there was one today. But in general if there are famous people that come to see you...

MARIA SAKKARI: I haven't been that far again, so they never came to watch me. I hope they come and watch me from now on (smiling). It's the first time I've made it that far in a Grand Slam. I usually play in smaller courts.

No one ever came to watch me, so I cannot answer that.

Q. Do you have any theory or guess as to why there are four first-time Grand Slam semifinalists who made it that far this year in the women's tournament? Also, can you think back to earlier in your Grand Slam career, you had trouble the first several times you made it to the third round, getting past that. Now you're sort of on a roll in making later stages, week two, at Grand Slam tournaments. I'm wondering if you ever worried that just wasn't going to happen for you? What maybe has changed for you lately at the majors?

MARIA SAKKARI: To answer your first question, I think all of us, the four semifinalists, have been playing really good this year. It's a little bit unfortunate the way the rankings still work, that there are some tournaments saved. You cannot really see what is the real ranking. So I think that's why it's a surprise for everyone.

But Nastia, she played really well in Madrid. Barbora, she played final in Dubai. She won was it Strasbourg last week? I mean, it happens. I don't know. It happens more to the girls than the boys.

But we are four very good players, players that can win a title, for sure.

Your second question, what was it exactly? I don't remember.

Q. About not passing the first week of a Grand Slam.

MARIA SAKKARI: Oh, yeah.

Yeah, I thought about it a lot of times that maybe that was my ceiling and I could not get any higher in the rankings, playing better in tournaments. But this year I proved myself that I'm actually playing really good. I beat a lot of very good players. I beat a lot of good players. Probably also I had the right people around me saying that I can do it gave me a lot of confidence in achieving that.

Q. I'm sure you wouldn't have imagined getting to your first slam semifinal and being the highest seed left. Does that mean anything to you, make any difference?

MARIA SAKKARI: Not really, no. I am the highest-ranked player. I mean, the rest of the girls are playing extremely well. I think the draw has changed so much so it doesn't really matter who was the highest ranked in this tournament. We're four very good players. I don't think the ranking matters, to be honest.

Q. I know you don't want to talk about tactics, but I hope you can talk about your coach, Tom. He came to the press conference yesterday. He said that one thing he brought to your game might be like tactics and strategies. Also he said that he quite obsessed about analyzing your opponent. He woke up in the middle of the midnight thinking about how you should play, like that. Can you talk about your coach? Do you think you can give a lot of credit to him bringing right tactics, strategies to your game?

MARIA SAKKARI: Yeah, I mean, Tom, as he said, he's obsessed with analyzing the players, which is a very good thing. Since a couple of months now, we've been watching the day before my match a video of my opponent, which really helps me, as well. We actually started doing it in Miami. I played well there.

I don't know. He likes this stuff. It's successful, I guess. I don't know. He has a very good eye. He always comes up with a very good tactic. The good thing about him, he always said, If I get the tactic wrong, it's my fault, blame on me.

He has, as I said, very good eyes. He sees things very well.

Q. Obviously Greece doesn't have a massive history of great success in the Grand Slams. Meanwhile you and Stefanos are both in the semifinals here. Do you have much of a relationship with him? Are you close with him? Can you explain where tennis exists in the spectrum of Greek sports?

MARIA SAKKARI: Well, now for sure it exists. Now it's probably the biggest sport these days. Football is over. Basketball is over. So tennis is in the spotlight.

Yeah, with Stefanos, I mean, we're very close. We know each other since a very young age. I mean, I see him every day here. We're actually having dinner with our teams next to each other every night.

I'm very, very happy for him and his family. It's very exciting times for Greek tennis.