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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP WOMEN'S OPENAugust 15, 2010Victoria AzarenkaMaria KirilenkoCINCINNATI, OHIO AZARENKA-KIRILENKO/Raymond-Stubbs THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Congratulations on your title. After losing here early in the singles, did it help this week a lot, making you think it was a good week all in all? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, for sure I had a lost my first-round match in my singles, but I don't even think about it anymore. Q. You two beat a team of veteran doubles players. As players who mostly play singles, how is that tough? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, you know, we had to come up with a lot of different things. If we play the same way, they gonna adapt and take advantage of it. So we had to always mix it up and try to be aggressive and not to let them play their game. So that's what we did. It was tough because there were so many good rallies. Especially both of them have really good serve. It's tough to keep up. Q. Do you think it's harder for them to play against a team that doesn't play doubles a lot and somebody they haven't played at every tournament? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Maybe. We play first time against them with Maria. As I said, we always try to come up with something different so they wouldn't get their rhythm. So I think that's one the toughest. It's not about who's singles or doubles players. It's about what you can bring out on the court. Q. Is it attempting to pull out of doubles when you're out of singles? You have tournament next week. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, you know, I don't do that much unless I'm injured and I have to recover. Doubles is always fun for me to practice. It's a good practice. There's nothing better than the match. You can always work on your singles stuff in between matches. Q. Vika, you won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles early in your career. Do you have thoughts about trying to add to that list? You had so much success early on. Do you think you could set records in that category if you wanted to? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I don't know. I love playing mixed. You know, I actually played World Team Tennis, and we won all of our matches. It's fun for me. It's just tough when you go far in singles in Grand Slams and in doubles, because there is no short matches. It's tough to play all three. But maybe I'll surprise you guys in US Open this year. Q. You think that having the shorter format for doubles really helps you be able to play more? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Definitely it's easier, because sometimes you have two matches a day and it's tough. So the shorter format a good. Q. You have nice touch at net, and yet in singles you don't necessarily go up to the net as much as some people. Why do you think that is? VICTORIA AZARENKA: That's the kind of thing I'm trying to bring to my game, you know. I haven't been playing doubles lately a lot, and I'm trying to play more. So I'm gonna work on it, and my singles as well. Q. The crowd seemed to really enjoy this match. Could you sense that? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, it was great. There was so many people. It's amazing when so many people come to watch doubles. It gives you good energy, you know, to try to stay in the match, because the weather change completely at some point. I don't know, for me it was an amazing feeling how many people were out there. Q. Will you stay and watch the singles final? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Um, no, I gotta go. Q. Have you ever played an afternoon match where they needed the lights on? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Not that I remember of, but maybe. Q. Are you playing mixed and regular doubles at the US Open? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yes, I am. Q. With who? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Safina. Q. When you win a big title like this with Maria and she has a regular partner and you play with other people, does it, make you wish that you played with her more often? Is it tough to stop playing with someone right after you win a title with them? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I mean, you can't look at it that way. Of course it was great to play with Maria. You know, we just started two tournaments together. Maybe later in the future, because everybody, you know, already sets up for a longer period of time. Maybe later we can play some more together. Q. Your opponents today have played more than 200 doubles finals in their career. VICTORIA AZARENKA: That's a lot. Q. Were you nervous going into the match, or did you think that you could compete with them? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, of course. You cannot think that you cannot compete, otherwise you don't even have to, you know, go out there. But, I mean, they're amazing doubles players. They have so much experience that you cannot even imagine. As I said, we had to fight and come up with something special every time. That's what we did. Q. You won two titles this year. How much confidence does that give you going into the US Open? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Um, it gives a lot. You know, for me, even though as said I lost my final singles here first round, I still played pretty good. You know, I'm happy being on the court competing, so for me the most important is to play day by day. Now I'm gonna be back playing singles, and I'm really excited. Just working hard for the US Open. Q. Maria, congratulations. So this is back-to-back doubles titles here. How does it feel? MARIA KIRILENKO: It feels good. All titles, well, you know, even if doubles or whatever, so I'm just happy, you know, to win these doubles. Q. Both of your partners from last week and this week are such different personalities. How do you manage that? MARIA KIRILENKO: After the first round you start to a little bit understand your partner, what she is doing. Then you like understand each other. And then I don't know, we just talk a lot while we're playing, and then just working. Q. Talk a little bit about your experience playing with Jie Zheng. Was that your first time playing with her in San Diego? MARIA KIRILENKO: Um, yeah, first I played with her. The first time it was good to win a title. (Smiling.) Q. Do you think that people's off-court personalities affect their playing style on court? MARIA KIRILENKO: I don't understand the question. Sorry. Q. Who are you planning to play doubles and mixed doubles with at the US Open? MARIA KIRILENKO: I don't know yet. Doubles I'm gonna play with Radwanska, but mixed doubles I don't know yet. Q. Does winning this doubles title just help you feel better about this whole week since you lost in singles? MARIA KIRILENKO: I mean, of course nice, you know. I lost the singles, but then I played some doubles match to get some good practice here. I think it's always help, you know, the tennis. End of FastScripts |
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