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PILOT PEN TENNIS AT YALE

August 26, 2010

Nadia Petrova

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

N. PETROVA/S. Stosur
6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. 6-1, 6-2 seemed surprisingly easy over Stosur today. What was it that you were doing well?
NADIA PETROVA: It seemed surprising, that's the right words for this match.
Well, what can I say? I played really well today. I know Sam really well. I played first six months of the year doubles with her, so got a lot of time to practice with her. So I know her game very well. I know her strengths and weaknesses.
Today, you know, I was really in charge of the game and I didn't give her any chances to come back. I was just keeping that kind of pressure, trying to make her to come up with a better shot.
Very happy with my serve. It worked absolutely well. I got a lot of free points with it. I just really tried to stay consistent with the returns. My goal was to have a good power behind the ball and also be consistent with my shots, not to give too many free points.

Q. It appears there are going to be three Russians in the finals here.
NADIA PETROVA: Semifinals.

Q. Is there rhyme or reason to that? Why is it so many talented players are from Russia?
NADIA PETROVA: It's a big country, what do you expect? How many millions? 140 million people living in that country. Sport is very big in my country. It's not only tennis; it's soccer, it's hockey, it's gymnastics. We are very dedicated to what we do.
Even though last couple of years Russians were not really doing so well, if you look at the rankings before, maybe it was like five Russians in top 10. But now it's just a few.
But still we're able to come up with a good tennis here and there. I mean, if you look at the draw, you know, pretty much everywhere one of the Russians is doing well.

Q. Is it a huge emphasis as a kid in Russia, tennis?
NADIA PETROVA: When I started, it was very popular. We had a lot of tennis schools which were for free. It was a part of the sport program. So I believe, you know, people saw a good opportunity also to travel the world and also, you know, make a living out of their hobby.

Q. Seemed like one of the tactics today was to attack Sam's backhand quite a bit to open up her forehand. Can you talk about that.
NADIA PETROVA: Yeah, definitely Sam has a very dangerous forehand so you have to stay away from it. One of the tactics was to try to get her into her backhand side and then make her guess, you know, surprise her from time to time with shots to her forehand.
Looked like at the end of the match she was kind of falling apart because she didn't really know if I'm going backhand or forehand. So she kind of start making more errors at the end.

Q. Is it easier for you to play another Russian or easier to play a non-Russian?
NADIA PETROVA: I'd say it's easier to play a non-Russian. There's a lot of rivalry, a lot of competition between Russians. We always want to be better and higher ranked amongst each other. Of course, there's a bit more pressure.
But at the end of the day it's another opponent, someone you have to play on the other side of the net. With the years, you learn to block it away and try to focus on the things you have to do.

Q. Is it more satisfying to beat a Russian or non-Russian?
NADIA PETROVA: Every win is satisfying. You definitely get more response from back home because people are talking more about that. Obviously, my parents are getting much more exciting when I'm beating Russian than non-Russian. But for me it's another match, it's another W.
I try not to get so excited, you know, by beating another Russian. I'm really focusing on getting further in the tournament and hopefully getting a title.

Q. When you come here, being it's the week before the Open, is getting a title as important as getting your game finely tuned for the Open?
NADIA PETROVA: Oh, yeah, definitely, it's a great way to start the Open. You're on a positive note. Especially for me, it would be big achievement, would give me a lot of confidence because I really had unsuccessful hard court season. San Diego I lost in the first round. I struggled with a heat illness. I battle for like a whole week, which also influenced my result in Cincinnati. I didn't get enough matches.
I'm really happy to be here and to finally start playing the game that I play.

End of FastScripts

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