QATAR TOTAL ENERGIES OPEN

February 25, 2022

Anett Kontaveit

Press Conference

A. KONTAVEIT/J. Ostapenko

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: You're through to your first 1000-level final. Just talk about how excited you are and how pleased you are with the week.

ANETT KONTAVEIT: Yeah, definitely very excited. I think really happy that I have managed to bring a consistent level of tennis throughout the week. Having another good week, and I think it's built some confidence.

Yeah, just really enjoying myself out here playing competitive tennis against the best players in the world. Yeah, I think it's really exciting that I have been putting myself in these new situations, giving myself these opportunities to constantly improve.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. On the match today, obviously Jelena was misfiring a little bit early but she started to come back in that second set, started to find her range. What was the key for you to hold her off from pulling off a comeback?

ANETT KONTAVEIT: Well, I think it was something, you know, I had to be ready for from the beginning. You know, she can outplay anyone, and then, you know, she might not find the consistency sometimes, so you have to be ready for that.

I was trying to play a consistent match and just do my best on my serve and hold on to it, especially in the second set when I was a break up. You know, I think sometimes when she's on fire, her returns are unplayable and it's just very difficult.

But I kept repeating to myself, like, "I'm really good at serving it out, I'm really good at serving it out," and eventually managed to do that (smiling).

Q. Talk about that confidence, though, how different it feels in those tight moments for you these days with the confidence that you have that you can serve out these matches, that you have all these wins behind you, compared to like a year ago when maybe a little more doubt would creep into your mind in those moments.

ANETT KONTAVEIT: Yeah, definitely. I mean, even now when I'm down breakpoints, I'm like, "I got this, I got this," like everything's okay. I don't panic so much as I think I used to.

I think the worst scenarios would pop to my head. I would think about all the things that could possibly go wrong. I think it definitely, it definitely shows, and like on court, I mean, you eventually like can't sort of hide from these thoughts. But now I just really believe in myself a lot more.

Also, if I lose my serve, I lose my serve. You know, I'll start over again. It's okay. I don't stress about these scores as much as I did I think before.

I feel like I'm out there to have a battle. You know, if I win the set like 6-4, great. If I have to work a lot harder to win the set or if I lose a set, that's okay. There is another opportunity, I feel like.

So it maybe takes some stress off trying to like, you know, close it out, or it's just sort of like a more positive way to think about these things.

Q. Do you think that positivity and that ability to stay relaxed and focused on the task at hand right now for you, do you think there is any pressure that you feel less pressure because, you know, you have all these points, you have all these results, and if you lose this match, it's not like your ranking goes tumbling, you know, all the stuff that can kind of stress a lot of players out when they hit top 30, top 20, top 15? Do you feel like you're kind of playing with house money a little bit?

ANETT KONTAVEIT: Yeah, I mean, I do feel like, you know, I don't think about the results that much. You know, it's okay. If I win or lose, I'm just going to try my hardest. If the player beats me, the player beats me. It's not a huge issue for me to lose a match if I have tried my hardest.

So, I mean, maybe that sort of helps. I'm not sure. I try not to think about the whole point situation, dropping or going up or whatever until after a tournament. So I'm just, yeah, trying to focus on what I have to do.

You know, most players lose every week. So it's normal to lose and, you know, you can't win every tournament. That's okay. I'm okay with it. Like I just sort of have this approach. I'm going to try my hardest, and whatever happens happens.

Q. Looking ahead, either playing a very familiar opponent in Maria again or obviously Iga. Can you just talk about the different challenges of playing each player?

ANETT KONTAVEIT: Yeah, I think me and Maria, we just played each other a couple weeks ago or a week ago, I don't know how long ago that was, feels like yesterday. I mean, she's a very good player. She's obviously in form. She's consistently, you know, making these results, getting to the final, putting herself in these situations.

So she's a very -- she's physically so strong. She serves great. You know, she pretty much had me in St. Pete. So, I mean, it's going to be a very tough match, but I'm going to try my hardest and try to play a consistent level again and really enjoy being out there in a final.

Like I said before, you know, whatever the result is, just happy to be there, happy that I have put myself in this situation again and just really a lot to fight for. I feel like I have a lot of this fight in me and this sort of desire to, you know, do well and play good tennis. So actually, it's very exciting to be in another final.

If Iga wins, of course I think she's one of the players, she's still young, she's improving all the time, she's had very good results already this year, so she's always dangerous. I think her game is very solid everywhere. She has a great forehand, very good backhand, good serve. Yeah, I think she's a great player.

They are both actually really nice girls too. So whoever wins, it's going to be a very tough match either way, but I'm going to enjoy the battle and just fight my hardest and do my best. You know, we'll see what happens.

Q. It might be Maria Sakkari in the final match for you. Does it make it extra difficult for you, or will it be just easier for you to face her in a final as you just won the match in the beginning of February against her in the 500 final in St. Petersburg?

ANETT KONTAVEIT: I think it's never an easy match against Maria. I think she's a fantastic player, and, you know, she also almost had me in St. Petersburg.

It's going to be a very tough match, but I'm just really glad that I'm in another final, that I have given myself another chance to play for the title. Looking forward to that match, looking forward to that battle.

You know, whoever wins, either Iga or Maria, it's going to be a very hard match. They are both fantastic players. Yeah, but I'm ready, I'm pretty confident and ready for a hard match and ready to fight for it.

Q. You were serving really great in the match against Ostapenko, first-serve percentage and first-serve points won also. Do you think it's more about the technique or confidence or both? Can you speak about your serve?

ANETT KONTAVEIT: I think it's improved as the matches went on this week. I think I played my first-round match when I wasn't serving so great.

So, yeah, I think serve, I mean, I haven't changed my technique or anything, so it's a lot to do with confidence. I think how you approach the match, how you're sort of approaching the service games, I think if you're trying to be aggressive or what you're trying to do, I think that sort of has a lot of effect on the serve.