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U.S. OPEN

August 30, 2007

Svetlana Kuznetsova

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. To be able to come back after this second set, is it good psychologically to know you can turn it on when you need to?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Well, you know, like in the second set, I still -- I mean, I missed so many of my chances. I've been missing so much unforced errors. I was not moving my feet.
But still I knew I was comfortable. If I get it all together, if I really want to do it, I'll get it all together.
It's not good second set, for sure. Well, you know, when it happened, it happened. It was too late to change something. So I said, you know, nothing you can change before it. So from this moment I just started to turn it on and just play the right shots.
I think I never been in my life so many times in the net as today. And I'm pretty happy to come a lot to the net. First of all, I've been so shock you know, because I had so many chances to come in and sometimes I saw I didn't do that. I didn't go inside.
And then I go to the (indiscernible) with my third set. Again, I'm not happy it went to the third set.

Q. Was that match sort of like your season: up, down, but in the end pretty good?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Well, I hope my season going to be good in the end. Yeah, maybe (smiling).

Q. Talk about your season. Your first title last week. How are you feeling in general?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You know, I think I been there but not there, you know. I played matches. I kept my ranking, but I think I can do so much more than I've done.
You know, disappointed. If I look back on my results, some important matches which I should have won I basically didn't. Basically like four finals I played I didn't play well either of them.
No, it's disappointing, but then it's a good thing, you know. I still got things to work on. Hope to make it better the end of the year and the new year. You know, I still have time. I have to use my future opportunities so it doesn't happen to me again.

Q. Does the win here feel like a long time ago, or does it feel pretty fresh?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: No, it feels pretty much a long time ago (smiling). I try to focus. It's a new era, kind of. It's been three years, you know. I have it, but I don't think about it. I want to try to do it more times, just do my best. Yeah, that's it. It feels long ago.

Q. Can you talk about her speed and defense.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I have to say I have a lot of respect for her game. With her height, her strength, with the speed and power in tennis, now it's harder. She deserve a lot. She compete so good.
In the second set, I've been playing with myself basically. If I've done error, I lose it. If I win, I win it, you know. She doesn't play fast. I play much faster. She doesn't have good serve, but she can win, you know, against me. Like she can put aces or something.
But she makes you play every ball. She makes you play uncomfortable shots. She has very smart game. You have to be really focused every ball.

Q. Another Yankee hat you have there.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Another style hat. It's my favorite color. It fits me, so okay.

Q. Teal is the color. Ever see the San Jose Sharks, the hockey team?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yes.

Q. That's the color of the team.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Well, I don't know. I just like the color, that's it. I don't know.

Q. What does etiquette mean to play in front of a New York crowd here?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I feel like it's a city I had success in. It's always going to feel great. Today was my first match since 2004 on Ashe in singles. It means a lot to me. I feel great out there. It's always amazing to come and play. I feel very comfortable on that court.
Some central courts, I don't feel very comfortable. Here I feel nice. I feel good.

Q. People have been talking about since the beginning of the tournament that the top half is much loaded.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't see the draw. I don't know.

Q. Well, let me show it to you.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't want to see it (smiling).

Q. Well, the Williams sisters --
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't care. I don't know.

Q. But do you feel it's better to be in your half of the draw at all?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't care where I am. I just want to play my matches, whoever I face. It doesn't depend on me where is the draw, so why should I care? I just care about my next opponent, that's it.

Q. But why you don't look at the draw?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: What's the point? What's the point to see where is Maria, where is Serena? What's the point if still I have three, four, five matches to go? Sometimes you play the matches in front before you actually be there, so it's not necessary.

Q. To dream.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't want to dream. I want a reality.

Q. Are you happy the Williams sisters, because they're lower ranked, are in the other half of the draw?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I don't care where they are.
THE MODERATOR: I think we need to move to a different subject.

Q. In the Fed Cup we have five Italians coming to Moscow. They all lost. So they are not anymore at the US Open. Are you going to play?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I am playing for sure, hundred percent.

Q. You play?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah.

Q. Because Petrova and Chakvetadze played singles in the semifinals against the U.S. Are you going to be there to play singles? You asked to play singles only?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: You mean, they want me to play doubles?

Q. Do you go because you want to play singles?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I want to go because I want to defend colors of my country, and I didn't go to semifinals because I had problems with my shoulder. Straight after the semifinals, captain asked me if I would like to play.
I said for sure, definitely I would love to. After here I go to Russia to prepare, play for my country.

Q. Having all the Italians lost here, that means you are the strong favorite.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Yeah, you know, it's tennis. What says on paper, it doesn't matter much. We have to go in with team spirit. Italian team won last year, and in final. They got to have something. We got to respect our points. Doesn't matter who's favorite or not. We got to just come there and just play our best.
To play in Russia it's pretty much pressure. Hopefully we're going to enjoy it so much.

Q. This is the only major where they play a tiebreak in the fifth set for the men. Do you feel like tiebreaks on a faster surface are more important, you're more apt to get into them and you have to be ready to play them on grass or cement?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I mean, it's tricky. Tiebreak is pretty tricky thing. It just comes two free points and it can change everything. There's lots of pressure when tiebreak comes. It's hard, but this is something different. I think the tennis players should be ready to play both.

Q. Do you practice them a bit more coming into the hard court season?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Tiebreaks?

Q. Yes.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: No.

Q. Marat said the other day his past championship doesn't mean that much to him. It's a great memory, but it's in the past. He's in the present. When you look back on your past championship, do you feel the same way or do you feel that's a source of pride and a confidence builder?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I kind of agree with Marat. I read this this morning in newspaper. But in the same thing, it's a pride of mine. It's great achievement for me. It was the best one. So I cannot say it's in the past, forget it. I cannot say that.
Definitely now it's new thing, new start. Everything you have to do -- hopefully to do it more, try to do it more times. Definitely it bring some confidence to know that you can do that.
It makes difference to have one or not to have one. People who don't have it don't know how they gonna feel, how can they go through. This is good experience.
So it's both things together for me.

Q. Chakvetadze, she's had a really strong last few months. Do you think she's ready to make a big step at a major?
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I think everything is possible. I think the draw is pretty open. But the thing is, what's her best result in a Grand Slam?

Q. Maybe a quarter.
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: The question is if she can handle the pressure. The question is for every player, I think.

End of FastScripts

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