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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2008

Jelena Jankovic

LONDON, ENGLAND

J. JANKOVIC/C. Suarez Navarro
6-1, 6-3

Q. After what happened to Maria today and Ana yesterday, you'd be probably grateful for a fairly routine match out there today?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I didn't really think about the other players. I don't want to get involved, you know, how they are doing. I just really focus on myself and how I have to play.
The conditions were quite tough today. It was very windy. But I did quite well, and I'm happy to win the match in two sets.

Q. And you won it fairly comfortably?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, especially the first set I was playing quite well, and the second set I had a long game which I should have won. At 3-1, I think I had 40-15 and I let that game go. But other than that, it was fine.

Q. You needed some time out after the French Open. Are you physically 100 percent now?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, after the French Open I had some health problems. I was sick and I had an injury with my arm throughout the French Open, and after that I couldn't also practice for nine days. And now I can finally play without pain, and I'm still not 100 percent healthy. I was sick, but I'm just -- I want to enjoy the games and try to play my best tennis.

Q. You're still sick you said?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm not 100 percent healthy. I'm still blowing my nose, but it's not that bad.

Q. How highly do you rate your prospects here?
JELENA JANKOVIC: What do you mean?

Q. Can you win this tournament?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm not thinking about going too far. I'm just -- I want to play one match at a time, and we'll see how I will do.

Q. Can I draw your attention to the next?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Who am I playing?

Q. Caroline Wozniacki. She says you know each other a little bit.
JELENA JANKOVIC: We speak to each other when we see each other. She's a nice girl. She's a young talent, and I will just go out there and try to do what I do best.

Q. How do you see her as a player and how do you see her potential?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know, it's tough to say. I don't know if I could really tell how far she can go. I would predict the future. But she has good potential, and she's a great player, so I don't know how far she will go.

Q. What are her strengths as you see them?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't really know. My coach would know that better because I've never played against her and I don't really watch much of women's tennis and I didn't play against her, so I don't really know so much the way she plays. My coach would know the strengths and the weaknesses a lot more than I do.

Q. He was watching her today then?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know, but he follows, you know, some of the girls that I'm supposed to play, so he's the one who -- it's his job to analyze the players and tell me and prepare the tactics and what I have to do in order to win my matches.

Q. It will be her first match on a big stage here in Wimbledon, and she's turning 18 after Wimbledon, so do you think that could affect her?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't really know. I mean, you can ask her if it would affect her or not. I'm going there to play my game and to play my tennis, and I don't really think too much about my opponents.

Q. I want to ask you about the English grass court season, the governing body, the LTA, trying to restructure the season, which may mean the DFS Classic, which is I know is a tournament you've won, will leave. How would you feel about Birmingham losing that tournament?
JELENA JANKOVIC: And then what will happen, no Birmingham? Just one tournament before?

Q. I think there will be another tournament, but it could be somewhere else in England like Nottingham maybe or maybe London or something.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, it would be sad if Birmingham lost their tournament over there, but as long as we have some tournament in England to play before Wimbledon, one or two weeks before, it's great for the players to play some matches and get used to the grass before Wimbledon.
This year I haven't played any tournaments before Wimbledon, but I think it's great to play at least one just to feel the atmosphere, get the timing on grass and just feel comfortable on that surface before you play the big event, Wimbledon.

Q. I think the LTA have said that many leading players would like to stay in London for the entire grass court season.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, it's always great, you know, when you can play a preparation tournament before the big event in the same country so you don't have to do much traveling.

Q. And do you favor combined events, men's and women's? Is that something that would appeal to you?
JELENA JANKOVIC: For me it's the same. I don't really mind if we are together or if we are alone.

Q. Was it disappointing for you not to be able to defend your DFS title?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I was disappointed that I couldn't defend my title in Birmingham. I really like that tournament a lot, and I think it's a great tournament before Wimbledon to get used to the grass. But due to some health problems, I wasn't able to go there and play. Hopefully maybe next year if it exists still.

Q. What would you put your level of fitness at in a percentage at this stage now?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. I'm still working a lot. I'm trying to improve my game, trying to improve my fitness, trying to get stronger and fitter each time. My goal is never to stay in the same place, always to keep going forward, to keep improving, which is the most important thing, because if you don't do that, the other girls are going after you and ahead of you, and so you always have to try to add something new to the game to get stronger, get fitter and faster. So everything is to get better and better.

Q. But I was referring more to your health problems. Would you say that you're 90 percent or more back to full fitness?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Full fitness, I don't know. I will never be perfect. It takes time, you know, to work on your body and to work -- I can always get stronger. I would love to get my shoulders stronger. I would like to get faster with my legs, get thinner legs and all this.
Of course I have goals. I have something that I would like to achieve, but some of the things don't happen overnight. It takes time.

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