	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 22, 2010

Dinara Safina

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

D. SAFINA/E. Baltacha
6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you feel about the match?
DINARA SAFINA: Well, I think it was very solid match from my side. I played good. Pretty satisfied with everything I did.

Q. Have you had a quicker Grand Slam match than that? It was 57 minutes.
DINARA SAFINA: I think I do had in French Open last year. First three rounds were really quick. And I think it's nice to win this quick. I remember last year playing three hours on the heat.
I better play like this than three hours.

Q. Elena said she was overpowered. Is that basically what the game was all about?
DINARA SAFINA: Well, overall my game is trying to put pressure on opponent, not that they put pressure on me. So I was manage to dictate from the first point of the match.
I think it was going everything right. And during the match I was trying to do it more and more, to give her less, less time.

Q. You looked really relaxed out there. What did you do on your day off?
DINARA SAFINA: Well, yesterday what I do? Nothing. Practice as early as possible because I want to have as much rest as possible. So I practice early. Then I come back to the hotel. I eat somewhere close to the hotel. Then just hanging around in the room, watching movies.
The only thing I did yesterday, I went to the bookstore, and I bought from Julie and Julia cookbook. This is what made me walk out of the room.

Q. Did you see the movie?
DINARA SAFINA: That's what made me buy the book. I had to buy two books. I like cooking. I'm having new apartment in Moscow. I'm like, Okay, instead of library of books, I'll have cookbooks. I want to cook.

Q. Did you watch any tennis?
DINARA SAFINA: Yes, a little bit of Baghdatis against David Ferrer. Very good match. Was somewhere else playing? I think that's it.

Q. Are you a good cook?
DINARA SAFINA: I'm just starting, you know. Until now nobody got sick, so this is the positive (smiling.) They might like, not like, but if they have problems with the stomach, it's not good.
But until now, nobody would complain about the stomach (laughter).

Q. What is your signature dish?
DINARA SAFINA: Actually, I can make not bad asparagus, risotto with asparagus. This is the thing that I can do. And, of course, green salad with olive oil.

Q. Today's match, what would you rate it on a scale of 1 to 10? Improvement from the first couple of matches?
DINARA SAFINA: I think it was about 7. I think it was better than medium, so it was 7. I still think that doesn't matter by the score that I had to win easier, but just in some moments in some games what I could do better.
But this match is -- as I said, as more matches I'm going to play, I'm going to try to do more and more things and feel more and more comfortable on the court.

Q. When you walk into a bookstore in Melbourne, do a lot of people recognize you? Do you like that?
DINARA SAFINA: Actually, yesterday nobody recognize me, so I don't know. Sometimes they do recognize. Because then I was sitting outside and someone girl came just to me and said like, Good luck.
But overall not so many people. Or maybe they're scared to come. I don't know.

Q. What did you think of Elena's game?
DINARA SAFINA: I think it took her a while to break to the top hundred. I think now she's in the right track. I think she find her team. This is the most important thing that was same happening to me.
I was somewhere where I felt like I could be better, but I could not find the right people next to me. So I think she find the right team.
I can say she broke top hundred, and I think she's better than she's ranked. So I think it just matters by time once she can get higher rank.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297