	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

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 18, 2010

Elena Baltacha

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

E. BALTACHA/P. Parmentier
6-4, 3-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were hit by a cramp. Was as much of a surprise to you as it was to us watching?
ELENA BALTACHA: I've actually had cramp before. I had cramped very badly in Doha about, well, three years ago now. It was literally both my legs, front, back. Everything, just completely went.
But I think then it was different because I wasn't in good physical shape and I was struggling physically. And, uhm, I think today it did surprise me when it happened. But I think today it was just to make sure of a few things that probably set it off.
You know, today was a very important match for me 'cause on paper I was the better player. But I knew that I couldn't take her for granted. Her highest has been 40 in the world. She's young. She's 23. She hasn't really done anything recently that much.
Obviously I've come into this week playing some very good tennis; I've had some good results, you know, and there was a lot on it, because I knew if I didn't win a round at least that I was gonna come straight out of the top hundred.
I've worked so hard to get myself into the top hundred, and now I fully believe that I am a top-hundred player, and hopefully top 50. It would have been just such a shame, you know, to just come out 120, 130 after this week.
I wasn't prepared -- there was no way I was going to go down without a fight. I think all that just slightly tensed me up a little bit. There was a lot of tension, and I think that's why I started getting cramps.

Q. Did the break help?
ELENA BALTACHA: Yeah, I mean, thankfully it started raining at 3-3, and then the physios, the WTA physios, were fantastic. They got ice. They started giving me more electrolytes, and it really did help. It just kind of calmed everything down.
Uhm, but what I found difficult was when I went back out again, because my legs were really cold obviously from the ice. I didn't want to warm up too much because I thought, I'm gonna start cramping again. Because I'm a very physical kind of player, I like to kind of go to the back of the court and jump around and really get myself pumped up.
I found it quite difficult that I had to kind of get really flat, and then just before the points I had to get myself up again, you know? That was a little bit difficult, because sometimes if you go too flat, then you just go flat full stop. Because I'm very intense all the time, I found it a little bit difficult.
But I knew I had to do that, because otherwise I would just start cramping again so...
But I think I handled it really well. I'm just really delighted that I managed to come through it.

Q. Do you think you'll be able to relax a bit more for the next match now that you've defended your points?
ELENA BALTACHA: Yeah, definitely. I have nothing to lose. I'm playing Katarina. She's a very good player. She's a seed, so I can just go out and just play tennis now, you know, without getting tight, and just give it everything I have.

Q. Looking back on last year, you played Mauresmo. You had a few chances. Do you feel that was one that got away a bit?
ELENA BALTACHA: Yeah, yeah, I do. I think I'm a completely different player now. I sometimes think, when I think back to last year here, I think, Oh, my gosh. I was not only a completely different person but player as well.
I think it showed then that I definitely had the potential, and I'm getting there now. I'm getting better now. I'm more solid as a tennis player now, and hopefully now I can just kind of go up and up and keep getting my ranking higher.

Q. Just the conditions were difficult, terribly windy.
ELENA BALTACHA: Yeah, it was very windy. You know, actually in Auckland it was pretty windy, and Hobart. So that kind of helped in a way, 'cause it was pretty gusty. I kind of had the similar conditions in the two tournaments before, so it wasn't anything of a shock.
But it was difficult, and it was the same for both of us. So it was kind of like who could manage to kind of control, you know, ourselves a bit better kind of in the wind.
But, no, I mean, I didn't really want to kind of think about it too much. I just wanted to get on with it.

Q. Were you aware that half the crowd were Turkish?
ELENA BALTACHA: No, I wasn't (smiling). No, I wasn't. Do you know what, I didn't -- the only time I looked was actually at Nino when I started to cramp, because I just started panicking a little bit.
But I didn't even look at anyone in the crowd really, so...

Q. Was it disconcerting when she would be firing off a forehand, then six or seven would go flying off the edge, to get a rhythm, then shanked?
ELENA BALTACHA: Yeah, it was -- my tactics was really trying to get to that forehand side. And I knew that she is very hot and cold, especially at the moment. I don't think that I kind of capitalized enough on that forehand.
Uhm, a lot of my balls were kind of going center, center, forehand, and it didn't quite get her out wide enough. I think it allowed her time to take a bigger swing, because she's got quite a big loop on that forehand. I was trying to hit it flat and rush a bit.
I think overall I did enough to do that. But, you know, in a way I wish I could have kind of punished her a bit more.
But, yeah, it was a bit -- I had to really concentrate because, you know, one, she hit an unbelievable forehand, and then she would hit a shank. You just kind of have to stick to your guns and just really believe what you're doing, just try to keep firing it. So, yeah.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297