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PILOT PEN TENNIS AT YALE

August 27, 2010

Nadia Petrova

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

N. PETROVA/M. Kirilenko
2-6, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Slow start, but you picked it up in the second. Did you find your serve or what?
NADIA PETROVA: I think what helped me a lot today obviously winning the first game of the second set. That momentum, you know, when Maria called for the physio, those couple of minutes did very well to me. I really saw that I can come back, that she's struggling with some back issues.
I had a good conversation with my coach. I felt I got back in the game. I thought I played the right game, cut down on my mistakes, focused a lot on my serve.

Q. From the first match, you start slowly then seem to pick it up and dominate. Is that typical?
NADIA PETROVA: Well, it's not typical. It did happen in the first match. It happened today. The other two matches were straight sets and I played very good from the beginning.
It may happen after a very good match, which I played yesterday. It was phenomenal tennis. This is very common in tennis. It's really hard to play the same game each single day. You do good and you do a little worse. It's a little bit up and down.
The great players obviously can maintain this consistency and perform each day on a very high level.

Q. Can you talk about how you're feeling after that first set. Was there any frustration?
NADIA PETROVA: Oh, there was definitely frustration. Really had hard time keeping my shots in the court. I had 33 unforced errors in that first opening set. Even though I was trying to go for the shots, trying to be a little bit more aggressive, but just couldn't find the court with the balls.
My serve hasn't been a weapon as well, you know. So it was kind of like -- it wasn't a good opening set, obviously.

Q. When you see she has an injury to her back, how much does the game plan change? Are you hitting different shots?
NADIA PETROVA: Yeah, definitely. I mean, it definitely helped me to get my focus back, get my head together. I saw she had difficulties moving. So that was my first goal: keep her on the run, make her stretch, use my serve as a weapon, try to win as many free shots as possible, then put pressure on her serve, try to be a little bit more aggressive so she has to come up with the amazing shot.

Q. What a difference a year makes from here. You lose in the first round last year, now you're playing in the finals.
NADIA PETROVA: That's the beautiful thing about tennis. You know, every week there is a new opportunity.
You know, I don't like looking back, what happened last year. That absolutely has nothing to do with this present time, so I try to just make the best out of it.

Q. Can you talk about taking advantage of the opportunity you got at the last second to get into this tournament.
NADIA PETROVA: It's amazing. I got a phone call from Anne late Friday afternoon. I was still in MontrÃ©al just about to leave hotel and fly to New York. My focus was on a good preparation and practice there. Then suddenly I received a phone call from her. She offered me that last wild card.
It was just a great gift in that moment. I got very happy. I'm sure my team was also very excited to come here and play an extra tournament before the Open.

Q. First final since '08.
NADIA PETROVA: Has it been that long ago?

Q. Do you feel you're playing better tennis?
NADIA PETROVA: I've played a decent tennis throughout those years. I've had good wins. But just maybe I was a little bit out of luck. I lost a couple tough three-setters. You know, maybe whatever happens now just pays off the hard work that I've been putting in, no matter if I didn't have a good results.

Q. Looking to the final, let's say it was Elena you were to play, you lost to her the last five times.
NADIA PETROVA: Right (smiling).

Q. What do you do to turn that around? How do you look ahead to playing another Russian?
NADIA PETROVA: Oh, it doesn't absolutely bother me. You know, I've already learned to deal with this extra pressure. I take it as another match. I don't try to think who's on the other side of the net. Just take it as another opponent.
I'm really focused on my best weapons. If it is gonna happen that it's Dementieva, I'll just really have to be aggressive and don't give her a chance to come back in those rallies because she's a great defensive player. When she gets into this kind of hit-and-run momentum, she's unbeatable, everything is coming back. I have to keep my points short and be aggressive.

Q. If it is Caroline, she won the last two years, she won the two matches you played out of the three on hard court.
NADIA PETROVA: Right. Uhm, I've lost two times already this year to Caroline. So I'm really looking forward to that next meeting. I know the mistakes that I've done. I'm really gonna try to do my best to come with a better strategy, better preparation for that match.

Q. Is it easy to put to one side the fact that she's won here the last two years and is obviously extremely comfortable in the conditions, the crowd, the court surface?
NADIA PETROVA: You know, it's great to advance to the final. I'm sure when it happens to the player, they get to the final, for example me, I go out there, I try to have a good time, I try to give everything I have left and make sure that the crowd gets a good match, that it's entertaining for them. It's like give it all, give it all.
If I'm able to do that, you know, win or lose, I'm still happy.

Q. At Indian Wells you were really in the lead against Wozniacki and seemed to get very angry with yourself at that point.
NADIA PETROVA: Well, I dropped the first opening set quite easily also with a lot of unforced errors. I was able to win the second set quite easily playing the right game. Then, you know, she broke my momentum a little bit. She took a bathroom break. She took quite a long time when she came back. I felt like I was a little rushing. I completely lost the timing and the feeling of the game.

Q. You've played your best tennis this year in the slams, wins over Clijsters and Venus. Is there something as you get older that makes it easier for you to get more motivated for those matches?
NADIA PETROVA: Definitely I'm looking forward to play those matches. I don't play, unfortunately, enough these kind of matches in smaller tournaments. So it's a great opportunity to really push yourself to the limit against those players. It does happen at the Grand Slam.
I enjoy playing the slams because you feel this kind of extra buzz, this extra pressure. You feel this kind of difference between any other tournaments. I really like that kind of match situation, playing in the big stadium. I'm always trying to do my best there.

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