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BARCLAYS DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN

February 16, 2010

Jelena Jankovic

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

J. JANKOVIC/A. Rezai
4-6, 6-4, 7-5

Q. That was a hard afternoon's work, wasn't it?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, it was a really difficult match. My opponent played really well. You know, she was hitting the ball so hard and so flat. Especially, you know, I had a hard time you know controlling the balls because they're flying a little bit. So it took me some time to get in the rhythm and feel my game.
You know, I thought I fought really well in the third. You know, especially coming from Serbia, and I've just been here for a couple of days, the conditions were really different. You know, it was a little bit windy. The sun was in my face. Balls were flying. You know, it's completely different conditions, so it was my first match.
I managed to fight very well out there and managed to win the match. So I'm really happy about that.

Q. What sort of temperature was it in Serbia when you left?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It was, you know, snowing. It was like really, really cold, especially when you're playing indoors. The last matches I've played were indoor in the Fed Cup, and the conditions were really perfect. No sun in my eyes, no wind, you know. So, you know, really different to be here.
But, you know, it was not easy for me, to be honest. But I was able to win the match, so that is the most important to get through this tough round like this, and it gives me confidence to continue.

Q. You were looking a little bit nervous in the second set?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Who?

Q. You.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I did? Not really. I didn't look nervous. I wasn't nervous. Maybe I looked nervous, but I wasn't nervous (smiling).

Q. She's got a decent ranking now, but she looks like a player with a big future?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I think she's really a good player. She's a tough player to play against. And she has had some really good results lately. She's had some really good wins, and it's not easy at all. You know, I was able to, you know, to stay in the match and to little bit at times lift my game and get through this match. She played really well, and I was lucky to get her today.

Q. Do you think your fitness and her apparent lack of it played a big part toward the end of the third set?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I was tired, you know, as well. Maybe I was -- maybe I looked like I had energy to play couple more sets, but I was tired as well. And like I said, you know, coming from Serbia and playing in the heat was not easy - and the wind.
And she was hitting the ball really hard, you know. The whole concentration for me, it was taking a lot of energy out of me.
But, you know, like I said, I just tried to stay positive. And even those times when I wasn't doing well, when I was making a lot of mistakes and not doing the right things, I just said to myself to keep going, to stay positive. To just fight and things will come into place.
And, again, I won. So it's good to get this kind of matches and you know especially get out of them as a winner.

Q. When you come in from the snow to here, say you've only been here three days, is it a balance between spending as much time at home as you can and having enough time to prepare for a tournament? You could have come two or three days earlier, perhaps?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah. But as well I had an injury on my back, and I was also in doubt if I was going to play Fed Cup. But I chose to play. It was very important for us. We were playing at home, and I would give my best, and won two singles matches against Kuznetsova and Kleybanova.
And I took some time after the Fed Cup to get some treatment and get better. And that's why I came here just three days before. But, you know, I'm here. I won my match. And the longer I stay here, the better I will get.

Q. You mean more fit?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm fit. You know, just it's a little bit different. I'm not a machine. It takes some time to get used to.
It's three hours difference, you know, it's not easy. You cannot sleep when you want to sleep. In the morning you cannot wake up, so I'm having those problems, you know since I came here. I sleep very late, and in the morning when I'm supposed to go to breakfast, I'm like a zombie (laughing).

Q. You said you felt tired out there. When you feel tired like that, do you try to hide it from the on opponent?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, as well my legs were not moving, especially that first set and like most of the second set. I just started moving a little bit better in the third for some reason. I just felt so slow, and I couldn't really react. I was late on every shot. I was letting her dictate the points.
Then I said to myself I need to get going somehow. And I didn't know how to get myself, you know, moving again. But little by little, like I said, with the positive attitude I was able to stay strong out there and get through this match.

Q. Have you had any time to have any Dubai adventures in the three days you've been here as you normally do?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, just a little shopping with my parents. I'm here with my parents and my sparring partner. No, we're staying in the hotel close by here, so little bit of shopping, but not really much for now, because I'm playing in the tournament and I have to save as much energy as possible.

End of FastScripts

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