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CHINA OPEN

October 2, 2010

Kimiko Date Krumm

BEIJING, CHINA

K. DATE KRUMM/A. Garrigues
6-0, 6-4

THE INTERPRETER: Questions, please.

Q. Seemed like a pretty easy game for you today. How do you assess today's games?
KIMIKO DATE KRUMM: I'm still tired from the Tokyo, and I'm just tried to sleep last night a lot, and this morning also after breakfast I had time until my game today because my game, it start at 7:30 in the night session.
So I had the time. So daytime I tried to sleep a lot. After breakfast I slept again more than two hours.
So just try to my recovery the body most important for me compare to other young player. And then today's match, she of course is very tough player. She using more, many spin balls, and so I just -- I don't put pressure myself and just focus the ball and then don't thinking too much and started -- the day before yesterday I took a day off, so I didn't practice until just before the match.
So I don't know how fast the surface, and the ball also changing compared to last week. So I need adjust just before the match. So compared to the Tokyo, it's more slower here, so I was just think about the how throw or ball different or outside it's cold. Many things different. Temperature, compared to Tokyo, it's big, big difference today.
But I don't just -- just focus the ball and was very good today. I focus the ball, and my concentrate was very good. In the beginning I took the first set 6-0, so it was very, very big advantage for me today.

Q. Do you think it's more difficult for you to deal with your life in the tour compared with 15 years ago when you were playing against Steffi, Monica, some players like that? And what's the motivation for you to try to go on as 40-year-old player?
KIMIKO DATE KRUMM: Compared to '90s, with men's player it's more -- tennis, it's more speedy, more powerful and physical, also more -- everybody doing more fitness, exercise compared to before.
So everybody more powerful and technical also. It's most different return. It's more good compared to before. So that's why it's more speedy and more people attacking. For example, if I put the little bit shorter or slower or not enough close, not enough wider or something, and everybody -- immediately everybody hits the more, hits very hard, and people attack every shot.
And also people using the more down the line, and even I hit the almost perfect shot, but still, people can return -- most people using the down the line or -- down the line or attacking. Everybody has counter-shot.
So all the time it's -- physically it's very, very tough, I think. And my motivation? I like a challenge, so I'm enjoying the challenge every time, and then most time everybody asking me what is the motivation, but just I'm enjoying tennis, enjoy to play tennis and enjoy my life and enjoying traveling on the tour. Of course, age is -- I'm 40, and most people like only half age as me, so always talking about the age and -- but still this year my ranking is up around 50, 60 now. I don't know about ranking now, but anyway, I can play on -- I can play the Grand Slam for main draw, not qualifying, and then many tournament I can play the main draw.
So it's very fun, and then I can enjoy the challenge. So I don't get injury. I try to continue, I don't know, maybe one more year, two more years, yes.

Q. You won the first nine games of the match, but at 3-0 in the second set your opponent holds serve for the first time and then wins the next two games. What happened to you, your focus, or your game during this time for you?
KIMIKO DATE KRUMM: After, when I was leading 3-Love and then Anabel just stop, and few mistake and just are hard concentrate to get some point and some games, and she doesn't -- she start hit more harder and moving also it's good, and just happen.
And then next game -- next my game, my serve was a little bit some unlucky point, and then I don't change anything and just try to continue to play but just happen like that.
And then after 3-All, I start concentrate again, and then just lose my serve game, so just focus the ball. Then I tried to put on this pressure to her, because already I took the first set, so of course she has much more pressure than me, so just focus the ball to continue to just try do my best, yes.

Q. You beat Sharapova from Russia a few days ago. In the next round at this tournament you will face another Russian player, Dementieva. I want to know something about your strategy on the next round, next game.
KIMIKO DATE KRUMM: We play in Stanford this year before US Open, few weeks before the US Open, and I took the first set, and then second set I was leading 2-Love, and then I was mistake three points and double fault and it was big, big point.
So of course she -- we played the first time that time in Stanford, so of course she doesn't know how I play, and then I think she was a little bit confused a little bit.
And the next time of course she can adjust very much for first time. And then also she was in the final in the Tokyo, so I try to -- in Stanford, many times I went to the net, and I took many point on the net, so I tried to do same way.
Also I need to -- important is my first serve. If I don't in the first serve, of course second serve she attack me very hard. So I need to high percentage the first serve.
And also, most women's player likes hit very high ball, this height. So try to always -- even I play Sharapova or Hantuchova, always I try to hit using the slice ball to hit under the waist, height.
So I tried to using the slice ball and then attack at the net. It's most, I think, most important tactics next round, yes.

End of FastScripts

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