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WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2008

Jelena Jankovic

LONDON, ENGLAND

J. JANKOVIC/C. Wozniacki
2-6, 6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Can we ask about the knee.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes. It happened in the beginning of the first set. I slid and my leg went straight and then bent so quickly, and it was a sharp pain in that moment.
But then, you know, I continued to play and play, and it was getting worse and worse. Because especially on grass you have to stay low every time. You have to bend a lot. And especially in the end, in the third set, I was struggling a little bit, but somehow came through.

Q. Why did you take the tape off?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It was getting numb, and I'm not used to. I never, never had any problems with my legs, with my knee, and I couldn't move. I just had even more pain.
The physio was not happy about that because I was taking a risk to get injured even more. That's what I chose because I wanted to win. With the tape I felt like I couldn't move, and I was having a lot more pain.
But at the end I did it.

Q. How is it feeling now?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's very sore now. After this press conference I will go to do an MRI and just make sure that -- just to know what I have and what it is. I hope for the best so that I will be able to play my next match.

Q. At this stage, is there any danger that you might not be able to participate in the fourth round?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I don't think so. It's a little bit swollen at the moment, but I don't think it's that bad. I didn't break anything so I'm not able to walk or move on the court. I have pain on it, but, you know, I don't play tomorrow, and hopefully now I can get some treatment and feel better for my next match.

Q. You aren't going dancing this weekend?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Unfortunately not (smiling).

Q. Is this match a classic example of a veteran player knowing how to beat --
JELENA JANKOVIC: You're calling me a veteran? I'm a veteran at 23 years old (laughter). Thanks for making me feel very old.

Q. Is it a classic case of a veteran player --
JELENA JANKOVIC: Oh, my God, he keeps continuing with the veteran. I don't feel good at the moment.

Q. An experienced player, how is that?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Okay. I'm older than the girl. I don't know how many years. She's 18 years old.

Q. 17.
JELENA JANKOVIC: 17? She's very young. I didn't know she was that young.

Q. She's not a veteran.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Her body's quite, you know, strong and mature for her age. So I'm six years older, or five years older. I think somebody said it's her birthday around here in Wimbledon or after Wimbledon. That's what the Danish people told me.
Of course I'm more experienced than the girl. I'm older and I played many more matches on the Centre Court. I'm the No. 2 seed. I'm No. 2 in the world. My opponent didn't have anything to lose. She's very young, motivated. She wanted to win, of course.
Nobody goes out there and puts, you know, the white flag. She did the best she could. But somehow I was really not happy with the way I was playing, especially the first set. I made so many unforced errors. It was very windy out there and very complicated for me to find my rhythm.
I was really, you know, disappointed with my performance at that time. And also throughout the whole match, I didn't play the way I wanted to play, the way I was supposed to play.
But it's also very important to somehow find a way to win when you're not doing it your best.

Q. A lot of the big names have lost in the tournament, a lot of upsets.
JELENA JANKOVIC: And I was thinking maybe I'm the next one (laughter).

Q. But you've only gotten to the fourth round here at Wimbledon. Maybe this surface doesn't play into your defensive skills that way. No one really is playing that great. Do you feel like this is a tournament you can win?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't go too far. I just play one match at a time. Grass is not my favorite surface. I play my worst record this year in Wimbledon, where I reached only the fourth round, so I hope to improve that record somehow.

Q. When you get out on the court, outside of what grass is supposed to be, do you really feel like it's playing radically different than a fast hard court?
JELENA JANKOVIC: What do you mean by that?

Q. Does the ball bounce a lot differently than a fast hard court?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The ball sometimes skids and you also have bad bounces. It's a very specific surface where everything -- if you lose your focus, if you lose your timing, it's very hard to come back into the match, to really get your rhythm again.
Like on other surfaces, on clay or on hard court, if you start playing badly, somehow you can get back into the match and start playing well again.
On grass, that is a little bit more difficult, because everything is happening so fast, in a hurry. You don't hit so many balls. So if you were hitting your ball, you know, too late or you have some problem technically, it's very hard to fix it.

Q. Consistency is rewarded in the rankings. You have a legitimate shot at No. 1 if you do well here. Is that in the back of your mind here?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm not thinking about that. I'm just trying to enjoy my tennis, trying to play one match at a time. I don't really want to get involved with the rankings or ranking points or who is losing, who is winning.
I really have to focus on myself and try to do the best that I can do.

Q. Have you thought about your next-round opponent?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Who am I playing? I don't even know who yet.

Q. Thai girl.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Tiger?

Q. Tanasugarn.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I was thinking, Tiger Woods (laughter)? I was like, are we playing golf on grass or what (laughter)?
Tanasugarn. I think she won a tournament a week before and she beat Safina in the final, so she must be playing very well on grass. And most of the players say that, you know, this is where she plays her best.
She's a veteran. Now I can say it, that I'm playing against a veteran and I'm the young one there. You know, she plays very flat. You know, she stays very low. She likes to play on this surface.

Q. Do you like grass any more this year than previous years?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. I will tell you at the end of the tournament if I like it or not.

Q. Are you surprised that Ana Ivanovic and Sharapova have gone out of the competition?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, it's surprising. Somehow the top players, the top seeds, even though they're not playing so well, somehow they get through these rounds and then they start playing better and better for the rest of the tournament.
But the conditions are quite tough here. It's very windy. You have a lot of bad bounces. You know, the players that they played against, they just go out on court and really played their best tennis.
They swing freely and most of those balls go in, so when you're not at your level you have a lot of trouble. So it's very tough to get out of that, and they couldn't somehow. And today I was lucky that I could, you know, get out of that and get through the match.

Q. What was the last tournament you actually did not call a trainer in one match?
JELENA JANKOVIC: What tournament?

Q. Do you remember the last time you didn't call a trainer? You didn't call it against Ana Ivanovic.
JELENA JANKOVIC: In the French Open I had a problem with my arm. I was swollen, so I couldn't play for nine days after the French Open. That's why I wasn't able to play Birmingham and defend my title there and finals in the next tournament. So I've been injured.
I had so many problems lately with my health. And this today it's really unlucky because I was sliding and I made some really sudden move, which is unusual. But, you know, sometimes you don't have luck and you twist your ankle or you injure your knee because of, you know, some sudden move.
What can I do? I don't like being injured. It's no fun going to treatments, going to have an MRI, sitting, sleeping in the physio room. I prefer to go out with my friends and just have a good time than being there all the time.
But, you know, this is what the players have to deal with, and injuries are part of the sport.

End of FastScripts

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