ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2021

Petra Kvitova

Press Conference

P. KVITOVA/G. Minnen

6-7, 7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You have played her three times already. I was wondering if she was doing anything different during the first two sets, because it was really close, or if maybe you weren't feeling as well as you wanted to?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I think, first of all, definitely she played very well. I didn't think that she played something different compared those two matches before.

But I think just she likes clay. I think she has a good game for clay. I would say that from my side it wasn't really good from the beginning. I was very struggling, I was missing a lot, I was double faulting a lot. I didn't really feel myself that well. I was pretty tight. And, yeah, it was really tough.

I mean, I was fighting not only with her but with myself as well. Yeah, I'm glad that in the end, you know, I beat myself as well and beat her, so that counts.

Q. Some people are suggesting that you should change your surname from Kvitova to Houdini after the famous escape artist who always got out of impossible situations. In a game like today, how do you find a way to win when everything seems against you and you're on the verge of losing?

PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I was just hoping that for some point it would just the turn the match. You know, I was already hoping the first set when I was down 5-3 and I was able to, you know, to even it and then we played tiebreak. I was, like, Okay, this is the chance to take the first set but suddenly it was gone.

You know, it's pretty tough to lose a set in tiebreak, and then you know that it's pretty long way to win it.

So that's how I tried it. I was just playing point by point. I started to serve a little bit better in the second set, and that was pretty important. I didn't really serve it out, unfortunately in the second. Suddenly I was facing match point, which, yeah. In this time you know it's match point, but you are not taking like this. I mean, that's why probably I would go for it and I made a winner, which was very helpful in that moment.

Since then I think I felt a little bit better, and I was just, you know, trying to, you know, still be on the good mood and then play better.

Q. You are facing Elena Vesnina in the next round. She's coming back on the tour after being gone. What's your thoughts about her and her match?

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, I saw the score, it was pretty quick. A little bit quicker than me today.

Yeah, of course she always played well. Now she's back. I don't know how she is and what kind of form she is in. Definitely I gonna find it out probably maybe even in my match. I will see.

But I think, yeah, we played few times before. She likes to hit it pretty hard, pretty flat.

Yeah, it will be different match compared to today.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about obviously Naomi's decision not to talk to the press at Roland Garros. You are someone who has been repeatedly asked about the tragic incident in your life, you know, how you'd react to that. And we just got a statement from the Grand Slam boards that she might be expelled from the French Open if it continues, and from future Grand Slams.

PETRA KVITOVA: Yeah, I saw the statement. Actually, I didn't know that is the rule of it. We will see how everything will end up.

But me personally, I was always trying to follow the rules and be fair not only on the court but off the court as well.

Now it's up to them to decide what's going to be.

Q. When you were saying you were feeling tired and not really yourself, I'm wondering if it's something going on or you think just a bad day or...

PETRA KVITOVA: Who has a bad day?

Q. You were saying you were feeling tired on the court.

PETRA KVITOVA: Me?

Q. Yeah. You said you were feeling tired and not really yourself today on the court.

PETRA KVITOVA: No, no, no, I wasn't injured. I wasn't tired. All good (smiling).