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U.S. OPEN

September 7, 2009

Nadia Petrova

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

M. OUDIN/N. Petrova
1-6, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You seemed to have that right where you wanted it, and then it slipped away. How did you see it, and why did that happen, do you think?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, I have a feeling, you know, like I didn't really finish my job off on the court. At 4-3, having 40-15, went for my shot down the line, and that didn't -- then the next point has been a long rally, and she just came up with an unbelievable winner down the line.
Winning that game kind of gave her a second breath, you know. She realized, Okay, I'm back in the game. And probably after winning previous matches pretty much in the same way, she thought, you know, I can do it again.
So, you know, kind of gave her hope and a chance by losing that game.

Q. So you felt a huge change in her level?
NADIA PETROVA: After that point she started playing more aggressive, started going for the shots. She's just been running and getting every single ball and just trying to make me play an extra shot.

Q. How did the crowd factor into the match?
NADIA PETROVA: Honestly, didn't bother me. I had my box right there. People I care. So, you know, absolutely just blocked it away and I did not care. All I focused on doing my job.

Q. What was your impression of her game?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, she done very well. I mean, she won quite a few very good matches, and, you know, it's a lot of pressure and a big stadium.
I must say when you do it for the first time you feel so excited and everything is so new and kind of like you have absolutely nothing to lose and you go and you do it.

Q. You have had a lot of big matches in Slams where things don't go your way towards the end and you tighten up a little bit. Did you get a feeling today like, It's happening again? Does that thought go into your mind?
NADIA PETROVA: Absolutely not. I just dropped a little bit of focus. But I think it was more a bit of fatigue, because I couldn't do much with my foot during summer.
So for me, the long matches are quite difficult.

Q. If you look at her serve, it appears to be pretty vulnerable to us and people are breaking it, yet she's winning these matches. How do you explain she's able to do it?
NADIA PETROVA: She tries to go for a high first serve percentage. She's typical baseliner. As soon as she gets it in, she's going to hustle for any other shots. It's really difficult, because I felt like I had to come up with a good shot, and I was taking my chances. I was trying to put pressure on her by going to the net.
But I was playing more highly-risk tennis than she did. She expects you to give -- I mean, to give you the point or mistake. But, I mean, I'm giving her big credit by running all over the court, getting all those shots back.

Q. She's now beaten four tall Russians in this tournament. Is there anything to that?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, now she gets hopefully a short and a little chubby Russian. (laughter.) See how she's going to handle that.

Q. Pretty strong Russian, though.
NADIA PETROVA: Exactly, yes. That Russian, I don't think she's going to go away. Well, it's going to be tough, though. I'm sure that she had a lot of tennis in her legs and she's having a minor injury, so it's going to be tough.
She has to come out and I guess play tomorrow? Okay. Well, anyway.

Q. What will you take from this match going forward? Anything?
NADIA PETROVA: I'm happy the way I'm playing right now. I had a tough summer and things start working out well for me. You know, I'm working back on court. I can go back to my physical preparation.
So I'm kind of like, I don't know, looking forward to finish off the season and have a good preparation for the next one.

Q. It's one thing to do it once in that stadium, but then to spend the day off, think about the next match, and think about it, do it again, are you surprised she's been able to maintain her level despite the whole phenomenon?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, I think she's just so excited after winning those matches. She's on a roll, you know. And she has nothing to lose. She goes, enjoys it, crowd is behind her. She's just having a blast out there.

Q. What would you say Melanie Oudin does best on the tennis court?
NADIA PETROVA: She's a very good mover. You really have to come up with a great shot. Seems like, you know, you feel like you're coming up with a good shot, and she just runs the ball down and she comes up also with incredible -- she's very good in defense. You have to really come up with a good shot against her.

Q. What had you seen from observations of her previous matches, and how did it work out today in terms of her performance?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, I must say I played the right game. Supposed to put the pressure on her, and I did that. I was trying to go as much as possible to the net, but I was not very precise with my shots.
With the wind picking up in the beginning of the second set, it made it very difficult for me on my serve, you know. I couldn't really use my first serve as a weapon anymore. I had to go for a percentage, you know. I had to put my first serve in, so that made it difficult for me.

Q. How would you describe the accomplishment, her run here a much younger player, a much smaller player than you and the players she just played? What are your thoughts on what she's accomplished so far?
NADIA PETROVA: Yeah, but we have the previous No. 1, Justine Henin. She was never bigger than Oudin. I think her -- the way she's built, it's actually an advantage. It's much easier for her to move around the court than for someone as tall as me or Maria and Elena. It's tougher for us to cover the court for us than for her.

Q. How hard does she hit the ball?
NADIA PETROVA: She strikes the ball very well. She likes the pace from the opponent.

End of FastScripts

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