	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA (WOMEN)

May 5, 2009

Jelena Jankovic

ROME, ITALY

J. JANKOVIC/G. Dulko
6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. The rain was problem for you, or not?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, it's difficult when it rains and then you have to stop and, you know, focus again and start.
Especially when you stop at 5-5, it's very -- it was very important for me to start well from the first point. Because I needed to win that second set because if you go into the third anything can happen. I will be very tired as well, and I complicate my life out there.
So I came out and I tried to do my best after that, and I'm happy that I was able to win.

Q. You were up 6-3, 4-2. What happened at that point? Did something distract you?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I had two breakpoints to go up 5-2, and I don't know. I just let her come back into the match. I was angry at myself because I was thinking that I should have already been -- I should have already finished this match. Now I'm losing 5-4. She had after I think four or five set points.
It was very difficult for me, because I let her come back and she almost won that second set because I did mistakes and I stop kind of to play. I had everything under control, and all of a sudden, she's on top of me and she has set points to win the second set.
It was difficult, but I managed to somehow stay positive and stay strong and win that second set and win this match. It was very important.

Q. Rome brought you quite a lot of luck in the past years. You started again with your new career after few defeats a few years ago, and then two wins. To be here now, you feel fine? You feel confident also? Or some defeats you had and the problems you had because of your mother left you a little uncertain, unsure?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I always love coming back here. Rome is my favorite city, so I have done very well here in the past. A lot of great things happened here in this place for me.
In this moment I'm happy. My mother is doing great and she's here with me, so I think I cannot ask for anything more. When we are all healthy and when we are happy as well, then you can go out there and play your tennis and then you can enjoy.
The most important thing is to be healthy. And if you're not healthy and if the closest one in your life, if they have some problem, I think you're not thinking about the game and you don't care about tennis. Tennis is just a game.

Q. What are the things in your game that you will work on looking ahead for the next match? Was there anything specific aspects that you were unhappy with?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Coming from Stuttgart, the court here is a little bit slower and the balls are a little bit heavier, so you need to, you know, hit a lot more balls.
Some of the points are longer, so some of the shots, maybe you can do a lot with the ball and hit a winner, then it's coming back or whatever.
So I need to adjust a little bit to those kind of conditions, and especially on these kind of rainy days. It gets quite slow out there, so you need to run and move very well and be very strong mentally and physically to survive in these kind of matches.

Q. Djokovic has his own tournament in Belgrade. Are you hoping to do the same one day for the women's?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Maybe one day, but it's very difficult process. I don't know how this works, but it's very difficult because there are already tournaments that are organized and on the calendar, and you need to buy it.
So I don't know how to get the tournament to go. It's not as easy as it looks. But it would be nice, because we never had a big tournament in Serbia. Serbian tennis is becoming very, very popular, so it would be really great to play one professional tournament over there and having the crowd behind us.
Because we have the first time to play when we played Fed Cup in Serbia against Japan. It was like almost 20,000 people who came to watch me and Ana play over there. We had great support. It was unbelievable feeling to be out there and play in those kind of conditions and atmosphere. So it would be really great to play over there one day again.

Q. Did you have a sports complex with 20,000 seats?
JELENA JANKOVIC: We have an arena, yeah. It arena where they have concerts, where they have basketball games and many events out there.
So they made a tennis court, and it was really unbelievable. They broke the record in the Fed Cup crowd attendance.

Q. Playing Japan, so can you imagine...
JELENA JANKOVIC: If we play against USA or somebody, I don't think there will be -- the people cannot fit. They need to make even bigger stadium.

Q. Maybe you should create a company with Ana and create a tournament there.
JELENA JANKOVIC: It would on nice to have a Grand Slam over there. Then it's even better. No, but I don't think that is possible. It's always nice to play at home. I enjoy that.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297