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ROGERS CUP

August 17, 2009

Heidi El Tabakh

TORONTO, ONTARIO

S. STOSUR/H. El Tabakh
7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It was a very close match. Tell us how it went from your perspective and how it felt being in the main draw for the first time.
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Yeah, well, I was a little bit nervous before the match, but I got out there and didn't think about it too much. Got broken the first game, and I was like, you know, if I think about it I might get too nervous, so I just didn't think about it and started playing.
It was a very close first set; second set, too. Yeah, so I felt good out there for the most part.

Q. What did you and your coach talk about when you asked to speak to him during both sets?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Yeah, well, this week I'm fortunate enough that my brother, who is my coach this week, was able to come with me and he's been helping me all week.
You know, he talked more about me taking care of my business, you know, trying to put more first serve percentages in, because that made a big difference, I think. She was attacking a lot of my second serves. He helped me a lot with strategy and just staying loose and focused, not getting too tight mainly.

Q. Other than increasing your first serve percentage, what was your strategy out there?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Well, you know, she's a very aggressive player. She likes to run around her forehand.
So, you know, I was trying to serve mostly to her backhand, attack her backhand, to get an easy ball to put it away.
She served very well, so on the return I just tried to be aggressive, but she served very well, especially in the second set.
You know, and like I said, I try not to worry too much about my opponents, and I know if I take care of my game and my job that, you know, I could play at my level, so...

Q. How do you rate your own performance here this week, and how much better do you think you can get from here?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Well, it's been a very good week for me. I played a lot of great tennis, I think.
Just kind of proved to myself that I do belong in this level, so I think I feel very good, very confident, and it's going to help I think my career with the couple wins that I had here.
You know, just kind of proved to myself that this is where I should be.

Q. Has it changed your goals for the rest of the year?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Um, you know, I would say yes, you know. Now that I know that I could beat these girls, you know, then I'm going to maybe start playing more WTA tournaments and less Challengers, but I'm going to have to sit down with my coach and re-evaluate my goals and all that.

Q. You said your brother is your coach?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Yes, for this week he's been helping me out.

Q. What's his name?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Meedo El Tabakh.

Q. Can you spell that?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: M-e-e-d-o.

Q. Who is your usual coach?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Kelly Jones.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about your tennis background, as a teenager where you mostly played?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Right. I started out when I was eight years old in Egypt. That's where I'm from. That's where I was born.
So I started out there, and mainly clay courts, not very nice courts. Yeah, and then after that we moved here and then I've been training in Florida for the last couple of years.
Yeah, I so never really had I'd say a home because I was always moving, but that didn't really affect me.

Q. Are you Oakville or Burlington?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: I mean, I would say actually London, Ontario, but right now I'm based in Tampa, Florida.

Q. I just met you today, so you'll forgive me if it sounds like a basic question. I find this fascinating. I want to learn about the circumstances that brought your family from Egypt to Canada. Also, I was watching you upset a very good player, Sania Mirza. Now, with Sania Mirza, as you probably know, because she's from India and she's Muslim, there was a lot of controversy about her, especially regarding playing doubles with the Israeli Shahar Peer. What's so funny, being in Canada, you probably know Sharon Fishman's parents were from Romania and Israel. I just want to know if you're from Egypt if you're Muslim, and if you are Muslim, did you have to deal with the same kind of problems Sania Mirza had?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: I am Muslim, yes. I moved from Egypt early, so I never really had problems with that at all. I'm playing for Canada. I'm not really playing for Egypt, so I am representing Canada so I never really had a problem here.
Yeah, with Sania, it's a bit unfortunate because her country is a little bit strict and all that. But I'm not playing for Egypt right now, so it's not really bothering me at all.

Q. Heidi is a pretty unusual name for someone born in Egypt. Why did your parents give you that name?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: I don't know. You've got to ask my parents.
No, but I think my mom really liked the movie Heidi and the story. No, really; that's why I'm named Heidi. I'm not kidding.

Q. Everybody likes an underdog. Are you anticipating or have felt already that the crowd is kind of getting behind you?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: Yes, and it's great to have that feeling. You know, I'm the type of player who likes to kind of hold my nerves. I don't get very emotional. I try not to.
It's been great this week having the crowd supporting me. It's a first experience. It's a great experience.

Q. You mentioned that you're not playing for Egypt; you're playing to Canada. How does it feel? Because today the fans were just cheering for you the whole time. How did that feel for you as a Canadian?
HEIDI EL TABAKH: It felt great. I've never had that feeling before, having a lot of Canadians cheer for me. Doing well in Canada is a bonus. You know, you have all these people coming out and supporting you. You just feel great. You feel like you want to play your best tennis, give a great show, and I hope that's what I did.

Q. Could you please tell me if there are other people in your family that play tennis? Were your parents pros or...
HEIDI EL TABAKH: My parents, they only played for fun, but my brother Meedo, who is actually here with me this week, he's a great tennis player. He's currently playing for the University of Illinois in Champaign. After he's done he's going to play on the tour, as well. He has a very good potential, and he's been helping me out this week. He's my coach.

End of FastScripts

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