AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2005

Svetlana Kuznetsova

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Svetlana.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I felt like I played a little more focused my first matches, but still I was happy today with my game than I played my last match, because I had a little bit less my unforced errors. But still I think it's left a little bit to get in my game, you know, to roll it up. And I hope next match I'm going to play better. Well, I have to.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I mean, if Maria going to win, both of them is going to be tough matches. So I played Maria last time. I lost in indoor courts. So I think for Maria it's more comfortable this surface than the indoor. So she beat quite easy. I beat her easy in outdoors in Beijing. But, I mean, we'll see what's happens. And I know to win this match, I really have to play well, both of us. So it's going to be very interesting match.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Because my game matches more with outside courts, and she plays better in indoor because her tennis is a little bit more flat and I have more with spin, so.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: We're okay, you know. We are good. We say hello, we talk, you know, but we don't see each other so much because only in locker rooms.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: She's younger two years. I never met her before we start to play WTA events, you know, so. We've been going different ways.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think she's all right. I think she's talking to everybody. She's a bit different, you know, like each of us, you know, we are all different. We have maybe little bit groups, you know, when you play Fed Cup. When we play Fed Cup, we going well between each other, you know, because we have to stay as a team. But we're all fine with her. Nobody does nothing, you know, something against her. Everybody's going well with her.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You know, it's not my decision. I don't know when I will play with her Fed Cup. The decision takes Tarpischev. So he will decide the person who play. I don't mind, as soon as we defend colors of our country, you know. So this is important for me that everybody gives the best, that's it.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't mind. As soon as everybody fights to defend our flag, I don't mind who plays.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Definitely I have much confidence. Definitely when I play Grand Slam, it's not enough to me, you know, to pass two, three rounds. You know, definitely I want to go higher and higher. I mean, now I'm in quarterfinals. Before US Open, quarterfinals was for me like good result, you know. Now I feel like it's okay, I want to go more forward and I want to improve my game. Now for me starts really tough matches, so I'm really looking forward to improve my game in these matches.

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You know, I'm playing in Australian Open. I don't want to even think of this, you know. My agents, everybody take care of this, and I trust them. I just do my job. I play tennis. So this is the most important for me. I'm pretty calm. I know nothing going to happen to me, you know. The person who should be nervous is this person who said about this. I didn't do any errors. I didn't do nothing, so.