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U.S. OPEN

September 7, 2009

Yanina Wickmayer

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Y. WICKMAYER/P. Kvitova
4-6, 6-4, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I was betting you were going to the semifinal. Were you?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Uhm, well, I'm still trying to enjoy my match actually (laughter). I don't know what to say yet.
I guess I have one more day off tomorrow to realize I'm in quarters and prepare for the next one, I guess.

Q. You both went out with maybe a potential match with Bondarenko or Wozniacki. Did that put you under more pressure to win today?
YANINA WICKMAYER: No, not really. I guess today was a match I know she was going to be tough. I know she beated Safina two days ago, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.
I played her before and I beated her on clay, but I know she's a really tough opponent.
So, yeah, even the match was really tight and really close, so I'm just really happy to get through this one.

Q. You were down 2-5. She also swept away a match point. Did that shake your confidence at all?
YANINA WICKMAYER: No, not really actually. From 5-2 to 5-All she played pretty well. 5-All, I just thought, Well, no breaks anymore. It was my serve again. I just thought, We'll start over, keep fighting for every shot.
Sometimes she makes a lot of winners; sometimes she made mistakes. I guess I just kept on hanging in there. She was the one that made the mistake.
So, yeah, really happy I got through this.

Q. At the beginning of last week, would you have thought you could be here now in the quarterfinals?
YANINA WICKMAYER: No. I think if you've never played quarterfinals, if your furthest in a Grand Slam is second round, I don't think you can expect anything.
I was feeling well the last few weeks. I was playing well. I was winning a lot of matches, playing good matches against the top players. So I was feeling pretty confident.
But playing quarters in a Grand Slam for the first time is just, yeah, a special moment I guess.

Q. When you look at what Oudin did here, do you take inspiration from that?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Well, they asked me the same question like two days ago. Well, I have to admire that she's really playing well. Watched a few of her matches.
I watched the first and the second set today. Yeah, she's a really good player. She's really a big fighter on the court. I love the mentality of her.
So, yeah, I guess it's just nice to watch that there are newcomers coming up, young girls that are trying to, yeah, get higher in the rankings and try to beat the top players.
I guess I'm one of them, the younger ones, who is trying to take over the spot. So, no, yeah, I saw her in the locker rooms, wished her congratulations, because it's great doing something like this.

Q. Where did you learn to speak so well English?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Well, I lived in Tampa for three years, so it's been a long time. I guess it always stays with me.

Q. In Tampa with a trainer?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Saddlebrook.

Q. Why did you go there? Capriati?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Well, uhm, I went there when I was nine. I lost my mom when I was nine. I wanted to get away from home. I loved playing tennis.
I was actually only playing for half a year. So I really enjoyed it, but just wanted to get away from home and do other stuff, be around other people. That's why we left.

Q. That was a mature decision. Was it your decision?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Yeah, it was completely mine. I still don't know how I did it when I was nine. I guess I was older than I thought I was.

Q. What was the reaction of your father?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Well, I have to admire him for giving up everything he had. He gave up his job. He gave up his friends. Yeah, he gave up the house, his cars, and we just left.
Yeah, he put his whole life, yeah, in point of me, so I respect him for that. Everything I have now is a little bit because of him just because, yeah, he trusted me. He wanted to make me happy no matter what.
I guess he always believed in me. He always supported me. Even when I had some few tough years, I didn't get through well, but he always been there next to me and supported me.
Yeah, he's a great guy.

Q. What did he do in Belgium?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Well, he did buildings. He was actually -- he had his own company. He told his guys all, yeah, he was gonna quit. So he gave up everything for me, so I guess a great guy.

Q. You said he was a builder?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Yeah, he made buildings.

Q. Construction?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Yeah, constructions and stuff like that. Yeah, all kinds.

Q. It was a big bet, you being nine years old, to expect you could become a tennis champion and leave everything.
YANINA WICKMAYER: Actually, he didn't leave everything because he expected me to be a champion. Actually he just left everything to make me happy. I guess that's a whole lot of difference.
When I was nine, I wasn't even -- I loved playing tennis, but I never thought I was going to be a professional and do this every day. I still went to school when I was nine. I was just a little girl enjoying playing.
I guess every year I kept on playing. I loved it a little more and I got a little better. That's how the story goes.
But he gave up everything just to make his little girl happy, not to make her a tennis champion.

Q. How did your mother die?
YANINA WICKMAYER: Cancer.

End of FastScripts

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