THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 8, 2024

Jelena Ostapenko

Press Conference

J. OSTAPENKO/Y. Putintseva

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Jelena, through to the quarterfinals. You must be happy with that.

JELENA OSTAPENKO: Yeah, I mean, it's a really special place for me here. I love to play at Wimbledon. Yeah, I feel like I'm playing really well these matches. Yeah, hopefully I can keep it up.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It feels like you're in the zone for this tournament. You're playing freely. Was there something before the tournament that clicked or is it just arriving here?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I feel on the practice I was always playing really well. I was trying to bring these kind of things to the matches. I feel like I'm playing more my game, and especially in deciding moments I'm just going for the shots. I don't care if I miss it. I'm just playing the next one and the next one. I feel this way it's working much better.

Q. You mentioned in your post-match interview on court your junior title here. What do you feel about Wimbledon and what do you think you bring to Wimbledon?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I mean, I think this tournament is very special with the traditions. It's just when you come here, the atmosphere is completely different from any other Grand Slam. I feel this place is, like, I don't know, for every tennis player it's a dream to win Wimbledon.

Yeah, especially also for me, as I won it in juniors, of course my goal was always to do my best and try to win it in singles, in women's singles, as well.

Yeah, I feel like they kind of like me here (smiling).

Q. Why do you think that is?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: Probably maybe because I won juniors here. They kind of followed how I'm growing up as a player and as a person. I'm, like, still playing here.

Q. I saw at the weekend you invited a couple of Ukrainian kids with free tickets. How did that come about?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: Actually, one of them is my - how you say - relative. Yeah, the other are his friends. That's how it came up.

Q. You've only dropped 15 games so far. You seem very happy especially on court. How do you think you've been playing your level? You've been clinical so far.

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I feel like I'm just doing the things that I have to do. I'm playing aggressive, playing my game, yeah, just enjoying it probably more than before.

Q. Not to jinx it or anything, but there's a lot of injuries and retirements through this tournament. Do you talk about it in the locker room? Does it feel like it's more than usual or...

JELENA OSTAPENKO: We were just talking that this year grass is a bit more slippery than before. That's probably what we're talking about in the locker rooms, yeah.

Q. After your last win, there was a lot of talk about how you'd face Iga. Were you surprised when you ended up playing Yulia?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I honestly knew it's not going to be an easy match because Yulia won Birmingham and she can be a dangerous player on grass. She can play different tennis, she can slice, do different things. I knew it was going to be not an easy match for Iga, especially probably grass is not her favorite surface.

I honestly watched the match. Honestly, I was ready for both opponents. I was trying to focus on my game, what I have to do.

Q. We don't know yet who your next opponent will be. If it's Danielle, what would you say that best describes her and the opportunity to face her?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: Danielle is I think similar player to me. She's also playing aggressive. I think she's a great player. We played before. We had like a tough battle. For sure is going to be a tough match.

I mean, it's already great to be in quarterfinals. I think I have to focus on what I have to do and just enjoy it.

Q. If it's not her?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: Barbora, we actually played last year on grass, final of Birmingham. Yeah, she's also good player. But I think I have to focus more on what I have to do and just, like, do my things.

Q. How would you describe your level of confidence right now versus any other time in your career?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I think I'm probably more confident and more mature on the court this tournament especially. I kind of know what I have to do, and I'm doing it quite well, especially in deciding moments. I'm just doing the things that I've been doing before, like when I won French Open, when I was back in top 10.

Yeah, I feel like I'm doing those things better than before.

Q. Do you have a preference at all for your quarterfinal opponent or are you just focusing on yourself?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I'm just focusing more on myself and on things I have to do. I think if I play well and do what I have to do, I can be a dangerous player for both.

Q. When you say you're just playing your game, not caring if you're missing or not, you're playing a very risky game. People love watching you play. How do you reconcile you're playing such a risky game and don't care about missing?

JELENA OSTAPENKO: I mean, I have the ability to hit the ball hard, so why I shouldn't use it?