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ROGERS CUP

August 21, 2009

Alisa Kleybanova

TORONTO, ONTARIO

A. KLEYBANOVA/J. Jankovic
6-7, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You look fresh as a daisy. Do you feel fresh as a daisy?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, yeah, I feel pretty fresh right now. Anyways, it's too early to talk about it, because normally after such matches, the worst things happen the next day. But I really hope that I'll be as fresh as I am now the next day, as well.

Q. What have you done since the match to make sure you'll be fresh tomorrow?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, I've done some stretching, you know, some cooling down. Definitely afterwards, before I go to sleep, I'll get a massage. I have my physio here with me. He's really helping me a lot this week, because I have some tough matches before today, as well. I'm still alive. I hope to survive another one.

Q. You didn't look tired at the end at all almost. Did you feel tired?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: You know, physically I think I didn't feel tired. It was a very mental game today.
You know, when you have so many important points and every point that you play is so tough, you have to give it 100%. It really kills your brain more than physical. I've also been working a lot on my fitness condition last few months, so I think it helped me a lot today.
I really -- I don't think that I could survive something like this maybe about six months ago. I think this really paid off during this match today.

Q. How did you take all the challenges? What was going through your mind when all the drama was taking place on court?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: I can't tell that I was really nervous about it. It was just -- you know, I was surprised at some balls that were clearly out or in for the umpires, and also for me sometimes, and then it was completely a different situation on the challenge.
So, you know, it was tough for me to blame the people, I mean, the umpires and the referee of the match that they didn't see well, because it was really difficult, you know. We played so many close points, and we really played some balls so close to the lines that it was I think tough for a human eye to catch exact spot of the ball.
So I think that was all about the electronic calling today. It was really difficult also for me to see some balls, so I just took it as it is. If it's in, it's in. If it's out, it's out.

Q. Does that win rank among the bigger or maybe the biggest of your career thus far?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: I'm not sure about it, because I had a win against Venus in Madrid and she was I think No. 3 at that time. For me today it's not as much about the ranking. It's about my game.
I think so far as I've beaten already a few players this level. I think today was the best match that I've done, you know, for myself. It was really -- mentally I think I played the best, and I'm really happy that I went through even the match point down and a lot of set points that I didn't use in the first set, and I think, you know, it's really good for me, for my confidence, that I went through all that, and I was able to win 6-2 in the final set.

Q. In the first two sets you had so many opportunities to close them out. I'm just wondering how you stayed focused and kept your composure as you did and able to pull off the victory.
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Yeah, it happens. You know, I think it happens to every player during the career when you have some matches and you feel like you're so close to finish it or the set and you just can't do it. You know, it's -- because it's tough for everybody. It's very emotional and very mental game. It's not just hitting the ball out there.
So during this week, I already had a match that I had to win being like about five or six match points down, and I went through and I was able to finish a match by winning it. So today I was just thinking at those points, you know, not to think about the score; just to stay there and play until the end of the match. I knew that I was playing very good tennis for me.
So, you know, I just said, Enjoy and relax. Don't think about the score and don't get nervous, because when you get nervous, you can't control yourself anymore.
The clue today was to stay calm and, you know, see clean every point, just to be really as relaxed as possible.

Q. Jelena said you were able to beat her by finding the angles and keeping the ball low. Would you agree with that?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, today my goal in the match, it was to try to play the game which is not, you know -- to try to play my game and not to let her to play her game, because we definitely have different style of tennis.
For me, it was very important to play as fast as possible and really to get her off-balance and to give the rhythm to her that she's not feeling comfortable with.
So I think I managed to do it, because I don't -- I mean, some points she didn't look very comfortable playing the points out, and I think I did a good job really playing fast and low without letting her having too much time to prepare, because she's a really smart player. I think also physically she's maybe one of the best players on tour, you know, running around the court and placing the balls out there. She's doing amazing job.
So for me, it was very important to play fast so she doesn't have time to do all the tactical things. I'm happy about what I did.

Q. Someone asked Jelena what the difficulty was with playing you, and she said it was playing someone with nothing to lose. Did you feel that that was the way you attacked the match? Did you have nothing to lose, in your mind?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, you know, today I think it was maybe one of the first times, not maybe the first one, but you know, I really been working a lot on court and physically, and last month I didn't have great results, but my team and me were really working a lot on building the confidence even if I didn't have any really, like big, big wins in my career so far. I didn't have the consistency beating good players.
So today I went on the court just, you know, not thinking that I'm playing against Jelena, that she's such a great player and I have nothing to lose. I really went on the court to win the match, and you know, to just to believe in myself, that it's not a lucky time if I win it, you know. It's not accident.
It's something that should happen a lot, and I think I really have the game. Still I need to improve a lot more, but I have the game to just go out there against these players and beat them, not just, you know, hoping to have a fight or to get as many games as possible.
So I can't say that I didn't have nothing to lose. Obviously I think she had more pressure than me out there, but I went on the court without, you know, being like happy with winning every point.

Q. Did you feel coming into this week that you might play this well, or has it been a bit unexpected?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, you know, it was a question of time, when I'm going to feel really my game so well as I did the last few matches, because also last week in Cincinnati I had a very good win first round, and in the second round I played against Zvonareva and I lost 7-5 in the final set.
This was already a very good performance of me, you know. Even if I lost, I showed good tennis, I think, during that match, and there was already a small step forward for me also mentally. And when I came in here I had already the confidence about my game.
So, you know, as I said recently, I didn't have that many good results, and I was really working a lot, training a lot, so I just was kind of waiting for when everything was going to pay off. So I think maybe this is a tournament that the things that I've been working on really started to help me during the matches.

Q. You say there are some things in your game you still want to work on. What do you plan on tackling first?
ALISA KLEYBANOVA: Well, definitely I have to continue working on my serve, because it's one of my best weapons. It's not working perfectly yet all the time, but I've improved already a lot, and I want to keep going on it, and then more aggressive, trying to come to the net more, you know, just taking advantage on the court, you know, being as fast as possible and to give opponent less time.

End of FastScripts

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