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BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 16, 2010

Jelena Jankovic

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

J. JANKOVIC/S. Peer
6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Nice run here. Congratulations.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Thank you.

Q. What do you think the key has been so far to your wins here?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, I think today I played real well. I was just focused, and I played really aggressively. So that was the key to today's match.
You know, I had a tough match last night, so, you know, I didn't know how I was going to hold up physically. And especially Shahar, you know, Shahar Peer is a really dangerous opponent. She can play really, really well, and she's a fighter.
You know, I just had to really hold my ground and go for my shots, and I'm really happy with my performance today. You know, I did. You know, I never backed up. I just kept going for my shots and I served well, I returned well. I'm really pleased how things went today.

Q. Are you getting more and more comfortable with the tournament conditions? I know some players have complained about it.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I think, you know, every match I think I'm getting better and better. The more I play, the better I get. The more dangerous I get, I think my tennis, you know, the level of my tennis keeps rising.
That's what I'm looking for, and that's the kind of player I am. So I'm just happy that I was able to win today. I'm in the quarterfinals, and I look forward to playing my next match.

Q. Do you pay attention to all the upsets that have been going on in the women's draw?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Not really. I just try to focus on myself and on my job and what I can do to win my match, you know, my matches. I mean, I cannot -- that has nothing to do with me.

Q. Do you feel like this could be an opportunity?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Doesn't matter. You still have to beat, you know, those players who are on the other side of, you know, of the net.
So doesn't matter who it is. You still have to, you know, run those balls down and hit those balls and fight every point. I mean, it's not easy. All those players, they know how to play. It's never easy.
So like I said, I'm just focused on my job and playing my tennis, and I'm happy that I'm playing better and better and improving each day.

Q. We in the media, our job is to talk about obviously the different players. I'd like to sort of switch the perspective and just ask you an unusual question: What do you think of the job that the media does in general? Do we tell your story, or do we do a lousy job?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. Sometimes you're writing a lot of interesting stuff. Sometimes you can turn it into different context, but, you know... (laughter.)
I mean, that's part of being a journalist, I guess. You guys share the stories, you know, worldwide so fans and people can follow us and get the inside stories, and I think it's great.

Q. What was the happiest moment with you and media, maybe when you saw your first picture on a tennis magazine, and when were you most unhappy?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. You know, that's probably when I was probably very young, as a kid, and you win your first tournament or something and then you see your little picture getting, you know, into the newspapers, and you save that. You're so proud that you're there. I mean, you keep that article, and that's how it starts, little by little.
I mean, that's always nice. I don't know what is the worst, you know. You know, as a professional tennis player, you're gonna have good articles and bad articles about you, so you can really -- to be honest, I don't like to read everything about me. I think it's better. Keeps me more calm.
I don't really -- I just focus on myself and don't put, you know, don't think about too much when I'm competing and playing a tournament.

Q. You clipped the first stories and so forth. When do you think you stopped taking the clips, cutting them?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. Some people were telling me, Jelena, you never save any articles. You never save any of your pictures. They say it's going to be nice when you're going to be a grandmother to show your grandkids or something, like, how you were doing and what you have done in your career, you know, when you're gonna get older.
But I've been lucky. Some of my fans, they made really -- it's like a history almost since I began playing on the professional tour, you know. I got a couple of books with pictures and articles. It's really amazing.
So I keep those books that I got from fans. It's like I couldn't do it on my own, so I'm really grateful for that, because it's I think great memory for the future.

Q. If you win this tournament, are you going to throw a party at your house with no roof?
JELENA JANKOVIC: (laughter.)
With no roof, you know, if it rains it will ruin everything.
You know, I don't look too far ahead, but, you know, that would be nice if I can go far and if I can do really well in this tournament.
But, you know, I'm just in the quarters, and I just want to play one match at a time. I played well and I'm playing well, so just look forward, you know, to playing, you know, more matches. We'll see what will happen.

Q. We have a tight schedule. We want to make sure we fit it into our schedule, the party. And get through all those security gates.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Okay.

End of FastScripts

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