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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA (WOMEN)

May 19, 2007

Jelena Jankovic

ROME, ITALY

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Another convincing win. Your confidence must be really high now on this surface.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I really don't know what's going on. I expected a really tough match because Patty played really well yesterday against Serena. I don't know what was going on.
And she also has a really difficult game, especially because she's a lefty and has a really tough spin. Her ball bounces really high so it's a little bit different game than the other girls have.
But I was trying to play more to her backhand so she cannot spin it a lot with her forehand, and I did it.

Q. What happened to your serve in the last game?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I really don't know. It was terrible. It is just terrible. I was like, Oh, my God why this has to be on TV? No, but I don't know. I just was a little bit tired in the end for some reason and my serve just didn't even go over the net. Almost bounced on my side, but that's okay.

Q. This happened other times?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It happens to everybody.

Q. To you?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's not only me, it's everybody. It can happen on your serve, it can happen on other shots. But what I can do?
I just try to play -- try to somehow get back and try to start the point and just hang in there and try to win.

Q. Comparing to Charleston where you won on clay, is this one more difficult or not?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. I cannot compare these two tournaments, but I'm really happy that I'm in the final again.
I'm just trying to -- hopefully I can win another title this year. It will be my third one if I do it tomorrow. But I just want to enjoy it, and I am looking forward to playing again tomorrow.

Q. Are all your relatives and the family 100% Serbian, because you have these eyes that could be more oriental in a way?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I don't. My parents are both Serbian.

Q. Grandparents?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, no. I just got this look from somebody, postman or who knows. I don't know.

Q. Who is your coach now, your father?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No.

Q. Not anymore?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I have a sparring partner sparring with me, but hopefully in some time soon I will have a coach that will be full time.
But for now I have a part-time coach who helps me off and on in the Grand Slams and in the bigger tournaments, so for now it's like that and we'll see.
We're working to have -- so that I have a coach all the time, full time.

Q. Can you give us the names of those people, sparring partner, coach?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sparring partner is Richard Brooks.

Q. American?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, he's actually Spanish but his father is from England. But he lives in Spain and was born in Spain.

Q. (From Italian) This was already asked, but she had a problem with the camera. It was an easy match. Did you expect that?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I didn't expect an easy match. She's a really great player, and it's always difficult to play a lefty. I really expected a tough match because she played so well yesterday, and beating Serena was really unbelievable win.
But I don't know how I did it today. It was also in an hour and fifteen minutes, and I really didn't expect that at all. Especially on clay she plays really great. It's her best surface.

Q. Who would you prefer to play in the final, and who do you expect to play in the final?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I really don't know. For me doesn't matter. I just try to concentrate on myself and try to put the serves in. You know, I'm just (laughing) it really doesn't matter who is on the other side. Either Kuznetsova or Hantuchova. I just want to try to play the best that I can and we'll see.

Q. How do you feel physically, tired?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I'm not tired. I feel pretty good and I just had a little bit of a problem in the beginning of the first set when Patty served a big serve and I reached for a shot and my wrist was a little bit -- it was like, Whoa, because I didn't hold it tight and it fell a little bit.
In the middle of the first set I felt a little bit pain and I was scared, but now it feels fine. We'll see when I cool off. That's the only concern. But other than that I feel fine and I'm healthy hopefully with this.

Q. What part of your game do you think you can most improve?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The serve for sure. No, the serve and my volleys. I need to be really ready when I come in because I have good groundstrokes, and when I come to the net I need to cover the court a lot better and just come in and have better volleys.
So at the moment I'm No. 5 with this game, so if I improve it can be a big difference.

Q. The answer you gave before to him when he asked you who do you prefer, all the players always say the same thing: It doesn't matter.
JELENA JANKOVIC: For me it doesn't really. It does not.

Q. They're technically different.
JELENA JANKOVIC: But you have to match up. You have to play all the players, doesn't matter. You eventually play either of them. Maybe I can play Kuznetsova tomorrow, other tournament I'll play Hantuchova.
So it doesn't -- really you just have to concentrate on how you have to play and on your tactics and your shots and try just to find a way to win.

Q. But each would be different.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, a little bit, but mostly you have your own kind of way how you play. You adjust a little bit to the other player, but not so much, yes.
They can adjust to my game.

Q. Will you play next week?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know yet. I don't know. We'll see. I'm playing here in Rome now, so I want to be at this tournament and try to enjoy it and I will think about it when the time comes.

Q. Patty appeared to use a nasal spray out there. Did you detect any physical problems on her part?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No. Didn't look like she had any problem, but I don't know what was going on with her. Maybe she was sick or something if she's putting that.
But when she was playing the points you cannot really tell what's going on, but I just was trying to say focused on myself and on my game.
But she had a little bit difficulty adjusting because she couldn't play her game the way she likes it. She likes to open up the court and get you out and start spinning, and it really messes up your rhythm.
Because all her balls bounce high so you cannot really attack and you're off your balance. So I didn't let her really do that, and her serve was not really going very well, so I don't know.
Maybe she played unbelievable yesterday, so it's really hard to play two times, two days in a row like that, like the way she did.

Q. (From Italian) You have made a lot progress. It's visible. Which part of your game do you think brought you to this difference in your tennis?
JELENA JANKOVIC: He asked me that yesterday. No, I really don't know. No. It's not just one shot that has brought me here. It's all together, like a package. Your shots, your game, the attitude on the court, the hunger to win.
Every time you go on court you want to find a way to win even though you're not playing well, and just all together. It's not one shot that has helped me to come here.

Q. Do you remember to have seen the tournament of Rome on TV when maybe Monica Seles was playing? Did you ever think that you would have been able to reach a final one day, and what that means for you? Because Rome is kind of a sort of tradition.
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's a Tier 1 tournament and a big tournament. It's unbelievable to be in the final. I remember when I was younger that I watched some matches here in Rome.
It's unbelievable that after many years I'm here and I'm playing and some other young girls are watching me, so it's great.

Q. Are you watching Seles?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I watched her and I watched Graf and the other players as well.

End of FastScripts

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