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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP WOMEN'S OPEN

August 10, 2010

Jelena Jankovic

CINCINNATI, OHIO

J. JANKOVIC/V. Dushevina
6-4, 3-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Did you change tactics in the third set to be a lot more aggressive? Seemed like after the break you really came out firing?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I tried to, um, you know, play a little more aggressive. I thought I made quite a lot of errors, you know, during those two sets from what I've seen from the statistics. When we sit down there is a statistic that shows I almost had like 40 errors from two sets. That's a lot.

Q. It is.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I said to myself, I got to, you know, construct the points, wait for my chances, and then be aggressive. That's what I did.
And as well, you know, the break kind of, you know, helped me. I recovered a little bit and got my energy back, and I was able to finish strong in the third set.

Q. How tough is it for to you play this late at night?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, it wasn't really tough to play late at night. It was just, you know, getting used to these tough conditions. It was quite humid and hot, so you're sweating a lot. It's tough to play.
But, you know, like it is for me, it is for her. So I really tried my best out here there, and happy to win this match. It was a tough match, tough first round.

Q. How does your ankle feel? I know it was bothering you in San Diego.
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's feeling good. I really didn't have any problems on the court. I'm starting to move much better. I wasn't really thinking about the ankle, and that's a good thing.
So I'm pleased with that.

Q. Were the balls flying for you? Because Kuznetsova mentioned they were really flying on her?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, maybe that's why I made that many errors.

Q. 37 unforced errors?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, 37 unforced errors in two sets. Maybe because, you know, from -- I've only played one match in San Diego, but that court over there was slow and the balls didn't really go anywhere.
Then when I came here, you know, it's completely different conditions. The balls are flying and the court is much faster. So maybe that was it.
And of course you cannot really expect yourself to play your best tennis, but I really did what I had to do. And Vera played very well. She made me play all these balls. She played very well. She didn't really give my much, so I had to really work for it.

Q. The two aces that you served in the last game...
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah. (Smiling.)

Q. Did you do something differently, or were you just annoyed and just like, I'm hitting an ace?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, at that time I started, again, you know, making some errors. I was like, I have to hold this serve. I have to hold my serve and finish this match.
You know, I was able to serve it out. I served two aces, and then I was able to be aggressive and finish the match off. So, you know, happy with that.

Q. As defending champion and being ranked No. 1 here, do you feel there's more pressure to win?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Not really. I'm not really thinking about that. I'm just happy to be playing here and happy that, you know, my ankle is okay, that I'm able to play these matches here. I'm happy to be in Cincinnati. So I just want to give my best in every match, and we will see how I will do.
I don't really have high expectations. You know, I know I can do well. It's just a matter of -- you know, hopefully -- you know, my goal is to get as many matches as possible. And the more I play, hopefully the better I will get.

Q. You play Amanmuradova in the next round. She's a qualifier, but she's only lost five games in her two matches here. What do you know about her game at all, if anything?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The only thing I know is she's a real tall girl. She's one of the tallest on the tour, and I think she has a big serve. But I have never played against her in the past, so, you know, it will be an interesting match.
Hopefully I can return well and play my tennis. I'm always expecting a tough match, and I just want to play the best that I can.

Q. With respect to injuries, do you think it's a matter of sometimes you get up and you feel like I'm injured or I'm not, or is it just a matter of degree? Do you think everyone is injured to a greater or lesser degree?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Really depends. You know, with my position, you know, I twisted my ankle, and it's tough, you know, when you have something like that. Takes time for it to recover and you can't really train.
But then it becomes mental, so you have to loosen up and feel confident with that ankle so you can move without thinking -- like I did today, thank God.
But I think a lot us, we have injuries. It's a tough sport. We really do our best. We are all working so hard out there. Some things, you know, you can't control and you get injured. You have to do your best to get back on the court. It's part of the sport.

Q. It seemed like a pretty long match, especially being at night. When did your adrenaline kick in the most? Did you ever feel like there was a certain point where you got it going?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Maybe in the third set. I was like, Okay, I got it, you know. I got to kind of clean my game, be more solid, and try to construct the points. You know, I really wanted to win. I didn't want to, you know, get out of tournament so early like this.

Q. Were you happy with the way you served? First serve was 61% but you had eight double faults.
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, when it comes to my serve, I had some ups and downs throughout the match. There were times when I would serve aces, and then all of a sudden I just serve a bad double fault.
So maybe it was, you know, as well a lack of concentration at times. You know, I know I can serve well. It's a matter of focusing and taking my time, you know, and thinking about what I have to do.
But at those times, I think I just lost my concentration and served those double faults. Hopefully I can have a better focus in my next round and make less of those errors.

Q. Speaking of lack of confidence, when the crowd is talking sometimes, do you ever hear or get distracted?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, when the crowd talks I don't really get disturbed. It's just fun to be out there. I'm just happy to be competing. I like, you know, the crowd when they're involved and when they're loud. For me, I really like that.
I'm just that kind of a player.

Q. Do you hear what they're saying sometimes?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sometimes you hear, but I try to focus on the match, on the points, as much as I can. There are times when you hear what people are saying around you, but it's not really a big deal. It doesn't really kind of put me off.

Q. Your return game was actually really great in the third set. You won 62% of your return points won. Did you do anything different on the return? Obviously you broke her twice.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Like I said, I wanted to make her play more and cut down the errors. I didn't want to give a lot of the free points. I wanted to be more solid, and that's what I did. You know, wait for the chances, for my opportunities. When I had them, I took them. That's basically what I did in the third.

End of FastScripts

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