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SONY ERICSSON CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 3, 2008

Vera Zvonareva

DOHA, QATAR

THE MODERATOR: Vera Zvonareva is the world's No. 9 from Russia. She's played 82 singles matches this year with a record of 61-22. She reached a career high of No. 8 following the Moscow Finals three weeks ago. She's won two tour events and a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics. This is her second appearance at the Sony Ericsson Championships. Questions in English.

Q. Congratulations on the way you've turned everything around. It's fantastic. Can you tell us how you've done it?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Oh, it's obviously, it was very, very hard to do it, you know. It feels great to be one of the best 8 players at the end of the year.
It's, you know, there are always ups and downs throughout the year. Like everyone else, I had them, but I kept working hard every day, was trying my best. Well, at the end of the day I'm here. It's just great. It feels great to be here.

Q. How difficult was it for you to pick yourself up mentally when your ranking was going down? You had problems, how difficult was it for you during that time?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think it was very hard, you know, because you're doing something, and you're trying so hard, and it's not working. You're wondering if you're doing the right thing or the wrong thing, which would you change. And you're trying to change things, and it's not still working. So it was very difficult.
But I had great support from my coach. He would always give me great advice, so I wouldn't go down. I would still keep working and trying, yeah, to do my best. At the end of the day, it worked.

Q. Obviously, you have a lot of ability, but are you surprised how far you've come back so quickly?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Sorry?

Q. You have a lot of talent and you've come up so far so fast. Are you surprised at how quickly you've done that?
VERA ZVONAREVA: You know, I don't really think about these things, you know. I know that I can play very, very good tennis like probably a lot of players here. It's just a matter if you can manage it and do it all the time and show your best in the matches.
I think I know I can do it, and I think I believe in myself. That's the most important part. Rankings doesn't really matter, as long as I keep working and improving and getting to, you know, that level which I can play at.

Q. Your late run into the lead group at the last day means there are four Russians playing here, and probably there could have been five had Maria been playing as well. How proud does that make you to be the dominant nation in this class championship event at the end of the season?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think it's great. You know. Especially after our success in the Olympic games. I think, yeah, it's great. Before it was only maybe Kournikova, Anna Kournikova they were the first ones. Then the tennis became so popular thanks to the help of the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, who got involved and loved the game, and he introduced the Russian kids to the game. Then everyone started coming and playing tennis.
And it's just great to see all of us to be here right now. I remember being a little girl, 7, 8 years old running around watching big tennis events on the TV. We couldn't even dream about it that we'll ever be able to, you know, to be part of it.
Then we got so much support from Russia, the people love tennis. Of course, it makes me happy to see, you know the girls that I know since I'm 6 years old.

Q. Did you have a tennis idol at that time?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think Andre Agassi, he was my favorite one. But, of course I also really liked Kafelnikov. He was very big, he was Russian, so I really enjoyed his game.

Q. But no women role models for you?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I don't know. I think Steffi Graff, and maybe Martina Hingis. I really liked the way they were playing. But I think the real idols were Kafelnikov and Andre.

Q. You came back very quickly after the injury, that's very impressive. Did you also make improvement considering the mental part of the game? Because before that sometimes you were still very nervous on the court and almost crying on the court. Do you feel better now?
VERA ZVONEREVA: You know, I think I'm just more experienced and more mature player right now. I've been on the tour for a few years, so maybe I have, yeah, like I said, I have more experience behind my back and it helps on the court.
It also helps you to understand that you'll never play your perfect tennis out there. But no matter what, you have to try your best. You have to find a way to win the match, and that's what makes it interesting for me. So, I don't know.

Q. What were you expecting at the beginning of the season? Were you expecting to do so well?
VERA ZVONEREVA: You know, I never really had any expectations. I don't really look at the rankings, or I never say I have to do this and this and this. I just try to work hard, you know. Trying to improve every single shot I have. Just my game in general.
If I think something is not perfect, and I probably always think that something's not perfect, I try to make it perfect. That's why I keep going back on the court and practicing.
It doesn't matter if I win the match, I don't know, 6-Love, 6-Love, or another one 7-6 in the third. I still feel like I can improve. I feel like I didn't do maybe something like enough. That's what makes me go back on the court to try to improve my game.

Q. A couple of matches you almost ran yourself into the ground to be able to qualify here. How much do you have now that you've gotten here?
VERA ZVONEREVA: You know, it's very difficult to say. Obviously, I was exhausted last two weeks I was playing. It was very difficult to make myself go on the court every day and keep working. I think I played seven weeks in a row, including lots of travel and surface changes.
I think I managed it, you know, pretty good. So now I have a few days off, hopefully I can, you know, hopefully I can recharge my batteries a little bit, and then I can go back on the court tomorrow.
Especially I played in the championships before in Los Angeles a few years back, and I remember it was very difficult and tough on me to do it at that moment. So, hopefully, now I'll have a little more experience and I'll be enjoying this moment and this tournament.

Q. During this championship, can it mean something more to you compared to the other players or all the players have the same chances?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I think everyone here is very, very good player, obviously. At the end of the year, it's the with 8 best players here. So I'm sure everyone has chances to win the tournament.
But I think women's tennis is at a very high level right now, and everyone is ready to compete here. So I think it will be very, very interesting to see this week.

Q. There are four different Russians but very different between yourselves. Which one is the closest to you like human being and sort of a relationship in exactly who you are as Russians?
VERA ZVONEREVA: You know, I think I'm pretty close with everybody. I know all of the three Russian girls here. I wouldn't just say someone. It's very difficult in tennis to be like close because we all have our own schedules. We even though it seems like every tournament we play we're together, you know. We travel throughout the year and we travel the same tournaments.
But, in fact, I sometimes I see girls only on site for one minute or two minutes. Because each of us we have our own schedule and the way we do it. It's busy, but otherwise when we're back home in Moscow, we practice together and we train. So it's all good.

Q. Do you think that next season do you really dream to be No. 1 or do you think you first have to be more consistent in the Top 10 to try to think to this spot?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I think everyone dreams to be No. 1. And otherwise no one would be here and competing. You know, everyone is here to do their best. Me, I'm not really thinking, like I said, about the rankings. Of course, I want to be No. 1. But for me, the biggest challenge is to, I think, to try to make my game better and better every day. It is, I don't want to just be satisfied with the game I have, because I know I can do even more. I can play much better. If it's what I'm trying to do.
If, at the end of the day, I play my best tennis, the one I know I can play and I'm only No. 20 in the world, well, that's okay. But, you know, as long as I improve, and I try to make my game perfect, that's the biggest challenge. I'm not really thinking about the rankings.

Q. But do you think the situation on top allow the other players to think this is a real chance?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I think there are always chances. It's 50-50. The chances are for everybody. Like I said, right now there are so many great players out there. I think it's difficult for everyone, but I think everyone can do it.

Q. If you speak about the group with Ivanovic and Kuznetsova, what do you think about their quality?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I don't know where the question was coming from. Okay. Can you repeat that, please?

Q. The first group Jankovic, Ivanovic, and Kuznetsova, what do you think about that?
VERA ZVONEREVA: Well both groups are very difficult my group is not easy. You have two Serbian girls that are making highlights for the past year. You have Svetlana who is a Grand Slam champion. So it's going to be very difficult.
But I think it's going to be very interesting because you can't even predict what's going to happen there. You never know. I think it's a very interesting group.

Q. But do you prepare the first match with Kuznetsova?
VERA ZVONEREVA: No, first match is very important. But I don't really -- I haven't seen who am I playing first.

Q. First match tomorrow?
VERA ZVONEREVA: Kuznetsova. Okay. I've been doing media, so I haven't heard about it. But, yeah, it's going to be a difficult one. But there are no easy lunches. I haven't played Svetlana for a little while. But I've played her many times before. We've always had tough matches. So I'm looking forward to, you know, for a tough match.

Q. You talked earlier about Russian support for the game and producing so many good players. But other countries, too also put resources into the game. What's going on specifically in Russia? Any type of training approach that is benefiting the players or is it more of a question of individuals?
VERA ZVONEREVA: I'm not sure. I don't know. Because if you look at all of us who are here this week, we all had our own paths. Everyone made it here in a very different ways. So I wouldn't say that we all were coming from the same type of camp, from the same training. It's not like that.
But I think because -- I don't know. We've had lots of competitions back home. And we are pretty competitive, all of us. And what made us maybe push each other a little bit more. Also believing in each other a little bit more. Because we know that we're all competing back home, but when you see your friends doing so good, winning matches on the tour, you believe in yourself more that you can do the same. Then they look at you, they believe you can do better.
You always sort of challenge each other, but in a very good way because you also give each other lots of belief in yourself.

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