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PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 13, 2006

Elena Dementieva

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Elena.
Q. You were pretty happy after that win.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think it was a very tough match. You know, first time we were playing against each other. I was very surprised with her forehand. She has such a good forehand, such a good acceleration from the elbow. I was in trouble the whole match.
It was not easy to win today. I don't think I was playing my best. Sometimes it's all about, you know, fighting, stay positive. I think I did it today.
Q. At times she's very inconsistent. She has the great forehand. Today she was a little more accurate?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I don't know. Like I said, I never played against Sania before. But I think she's a good player. She has some, you know, dangerous shots. I was in trouble to close the set. You know, it was 4-2 in the first, 4-1 in the second, 5-1 in the third, but she never give up, she was playing till the end. A lot of fight today.
Q. How do you feel she moves? Movement with her last year again was somewhat of a problem. Were you able to get her moving and then create the errors from her?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I was trying to move her. From the forehand, it's very difficult to do something really because she hit it so fast and so powerful. You're really just trying to play it back.
But, yeah, that's the way to play. You're just trying to move her, just play everything back. She's a big hitter. She goes for the winner. Maybe she doesn't have enough patience yet.
Q. But you have a great forehand yourself. Do you find that her forehand is as powerful and as good as a lot of the top players?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: It's different. Like I said, she has acceleration from the elbow, which is very unusual for a girl. That makes the ball goes very fast and flat. It's difficult to play this one back.
She feel very confident with the shot. She always go for the winner.
Q. Is it much different than playing Davenport's forehand, which is also flat?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: But Lindsay, she has a different. She has a very heavy shot, deep and heavy. It's a completely different forehand.
Q. How do you feel about your serve now?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Was up and down the whole match. You know, I had some good games and some bad games, especially in the third set when I was 5-1 up. I lost two times my serve. Yeah, don't feel like it was a good serve today.
Q. Do you think it improved in the last year or so? Did you work on it specifically?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think so. I think it's been improved. Not as good as I wanted. I'm sure I can serve better.
But, yeah, that's the thing I'm trying to improve. That's the thing I'm working on.
Q. Almost every person who has seen you practice or practices with you say in practice your serve is really good.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Really (laughter)? So don't tell me it's a mental problem.
Q. A lot of it's confidence, because you're serving well in practice. Sometimes if you're hitting it well early, you stay with the big serve. If you're not, you kind of go back.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think by playing a match, all the nerves, it comes to you. Sometimes in a difficult situation you always come back to, you know, the old motion that you had before.
It's very difficult because on my practice I go forward with my serve. Here during the match, I'm trying to be ready for the next shot. Especially with Sania, you know how powerful she can be on her return, so you're just trying to think about, you know, not only one shot, you're trying to think about how to win the point.
But I think, you know, I have to take some more time between the points, especially on my service game, you know, just to be more focused on the first serve.
Q. So you're thinking almost about defending after your serve?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Probably yes, especially after my second serve.
Q. Tokyo, your first Tier I, talk about your form, how you feel about your game overall.
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I had a very long trip. I was playing Hong Kong, Australia, Tokyo, Paris, Antwerp, lots of tournaments. I've got a lot of confidence after winning in Tokyo, some great matches, players. Antwerp, as well.
Here, it was kind of difficult because I just came from Moscow with the weather adjustment. It's my first outdoor tournament.
But I feel like match by match I'm getting better. I'm getting into the rhythm of my game. Just hope to play better tomorrow.
Q. Isn't the weather the same in Moscow that it was here the last two days?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, maybe it's a little bit colder in Moscow. But you really don't expect to see such bad weather here. It's been lovely all the time.
Q. You beat Hingis very badly in the final in Tokyo. Was it closer than it would appear by the score?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, what can I say? That was one of the best day when you, you know, just go for the winner, you do everything perfect, That kind of game I had.
I think she was playing good the whole tournament. I had so much trouble in the earliest rounds. Then in the final, I just felt completely perfect. You know, everything was there.
Q. She can fool a lot of players, not necessarily the veterans, but against you, do you feel like you can run with her, hit your shots and you'll be okay?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, you know, it's not very easy against Martina because she has such a smart game. She knows how to play every single player. It's never easy because you think that you have enough power to go for the winner, but it's very important not to overpower her because she can use your spin very, very good. You're going to be in trouble.
I think it's very important to play against her couple of times just to understand how well she can play, to find the winning way against her.
Q. So you remembered your win in Filderstadt?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yes, I do.
Q. You remembered it back from Filderstadt, you got on the court in Tokyo and...
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, it was not the only match we played. We played a couple times before. I beat her before Filderstadt. I beat her in Filderstadt. I know a little bit how to play against her. It's never the same. I feel like she play more powerful now. It was a difficult match. But, like I said, that was the kind of perfect day that you have sometimes.
Q. You might meet with Ivanovic in the quarterfinals. Seems to be a match-up of a player who has a really good serve and you struggling a little bit. Can you comment on her and what you might expect in that match-up specifically?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I mean, first of all we have to play one more round. I'm just trying to focus on the next opponent. I think Ivanovic is a very good player. I had a practice sometimes with her. I think she's very powerful. She's very talented young player. She has a great serve, as you said.
To play against someone like her, it's very interesting for me. But it's going to be tough if we're going to face each other.
Q. Do you think she's going to be top 10 at the end of this year?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: It's hard to say. She has everything to do it. But I don't know how soon can she be on the top.
Q. Can you comment about today's match and how well Mirza played during the match?
ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think it was a very good match. We fight a lot. She's a great player. I never play against Sania before. It was very difficult. She has a great forehand. Playing defensive, not the way I like to play. But she didn't give me any chance to go forward, you know.
Yeah, I mean, I think she's really, you know, a tough player to play. Especially on the hard courts, she very fast with her forehand and backhand as well. She put me a lot of trouble in today's match.

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