PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX

April 18, 2023

Ons Jabeur

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ons, welcome to Stuttgart. How do you feel here? What are the conditions?

ONS JABEUR: Thank you. It feels nice. The conditions are a little bit different from last year. Obviously the courts are slower, I feel, and heavier. I'm here couple of days already and getting used to the courts and the conditions.

It always feels great to come back to Stuttgart.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I saw your practices here quite a lot of times in these last few days, and I saw a very different player compared to where you were in Indian Wells. I'm asking if you can talk a little bit how the process went from Indian Wells to here? Obviously you won Charleston, but was it difficult to get out of that moment?

ONS JABEUR: Is it better player now? (Smiling.)

Q. Definitely.

ONS JABEUR: Yeah, the process was kind of difficult. You know, coming back to Indian Wells and Miami, I wasn't expecting much result-wise, because I was testing my body and getting healthier was the important thing, and getting used to playing matches with all the stress and everything.

It wasn't that great. Especially Miami I wasn't feeling, you know, 100%. But I am glad that Charleston was a better start for me. We were able to work harder and were able to put the work that was supposed to be done already.

Yeah, I think I'm in a good track right now. Healthier, for sure. Honestly, it's clay season and it's a court that I love so much. So I'm just going to enjoy my time here.

Q. Now that you have won Charleston, can you talk about how important that title run feels to you? But then also, how much insecurity maybe did you have in January, February, March with respect to coming off of such a great year last year and maybe wondering if you can replicate that, if you can get back into the winner's circle?

ONS JABEUR: Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you. A lot of thoughts were in January. A lot of positive and negative ones, you know.

Sometimes I feel like, it's okay, it's meant to be that I don't start great the year, the most important thing is I take care of my health, and everything happens for a reason, and whatever is meant to be to happen this year is going to happen as long as I give 100% and I follow whatever I need to follow.

On the other side, it's like, oh, the other girls are playing really well. I'm gonna come back to the same level or not.

But, you know, I took the decision to play Indian Wells/Miami just to show, you know, that I'm back here and I'm still, you know, alive kind of (smiling).

You know, just Charleston was honestly unexpected title, you know. For me, I was taking it one step at a time. I was trying to find more motivation and just finding, you know, my rhythm on the court.

Everything was amazing. You know, I did not expect to not drop a set there, and my tennis was much better each match. That was reassuring for me.

I was very, very patient, you know, even though sometimes it did not go my way. I know during practices I'm playing really well with other players, and now just will continue and do that. The key was for me to be patient and wait for my game to come back.

Q. Is it difficult to be patient for you, considering what you represent, for example, for your country and probably you have also more pressure to deal than what we can imagine, for example?

ONS JABEUR: I think is more difficult for me to be patient because I am not a patient person at all (smiling). So to learn that, and, you know, tennis is such a sport that frustrates, and if you're not sometimes patient enough, then it will get under your skin.

The pressure of my country or my continent is something else for me. I always try to take the positives out of it. Sometimes I like to play with some pressure on me, but I don't like to get it a lot, you know. So I always try to manage to keep it like nice enough, because, you know, it's funny, when you hear people waking up at 3:00 a.m., 2:00 a.m. in the morning just to watch your match, you know you don't want to do bad. You want to make it worth for them to watch your match.

So for me, those little things, they are very, very big for me. I want to just put a smile on people that follows me and give hope and believe in their dreams if they have dreams too. Not just in tennis but any other.

Q. Speaking of just patience, you now obviously come off of that title in Charleston. How do you remain patient going forward? How much does that performance that week, not just the title but especially the way you played your last two matches against Dasha and Belinda, change what you expect of yourself in Stuttgart, in Madrid, in Rome, at Roland Garros?

ONS JABEUR: Definitely taking each tournament at a time. Those matches really helped me gain my confidence back and believe more in myself, knowing that I am this player, I am able to do this, I am able to come back after, you know, injuries.

It was pretty fast for me. The first thing I do, you know, usually I take my time after injuries, I'm someone that takes a lot of time, but I will try to take one match at a time like I do, gain back the game. And for me most importantly is I gain back the game that I know how to play. The results will follow, for sure. I will try not to put a lot of pressure on defending points or whatever.

For me, clay suits my game very well, and conditions are much different, Charleston, here, Madrid. So for me adapting to all of this and coming back and even be better player is the goal for me.

Q. An opinion on your first match here that's going to be against either Ostapenko or Raducanu. Will you watch the match this evening?

ONS JABEUR: Yeah, I will be watching a little bit. Two great players, you know. Both they hit very hard. Maybe Ostapenko maybe a little bit more.

It's going to be fun to watch all the calls and the marks and the no Hawk-Eye, so let's see how it's gonna be (smiling). For me, I'm going to have popcorn and enjoy every time Ostapenko goes for the referee (smiling).

I think it's going to be beautiful match -- I hope both they get tired -- and be ready for my match.

Q. Just a question about being a player who can play on all surfaces, and I know that like hard court has been the one that you have probably had to focus on improving more than naturally, you're great on the natural surfaces. What is the key to being a good all-surface player?

ONS JABEUR: I'm a person that connects to nature more, you know. But depends with the hard. You know, depends. I think tennis is a sport that we adapt all the time, no matter what, with the jet lag, with flying, with suitcase every time.

So I think it's the same thing for the surface, you know. I believe if any player puts in their head that they can play great on each surface, no matter what the game is -- and you can see. You know, so many they proved, Rafa had trouble, you know, adapting to grass, and then, you know, he won Wimbledon after and everything.

So it depends what you put in your mind. You make the surface adapt to your game (smiling). For me, I am lucky because my game has a lot of touch. I can hit hard; I can slow down. That's lucky.

I always put the hard work to each surface, you know. So if it's clay, then I try to slide and adapt to it. If it's grass, then, you know, only dropshot, you know. So it's just always, for me, it's always about adapting and not complaining about anything.