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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN

February 16, 2011

Francesca Schiavone

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

F. SCHIAVONE/S. Zhang
6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Really good start for you?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Yeah, it was not easy at the start because she was playing really good. She was play really close from the baseline, so for me was not easy to open the court.
But she had some chance at 3-All, but I served good and attacked the other side. So think after that, I took a little bit of more confidence and I went in.

Q. Was it hot out there?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: No.

Q. It's okay?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: It's okay. We need to play a little bit with sun, otherwise it's cold and the muscle I feel much more. I feel better with the sun than with rain or cold.

Q. Did it feel to you as good as it looked? You won nine of the last ten games.
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Uh-huh.

Q. The commentators compared some of your shots to Justine Henin.
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: It's fantastic. It's good. But I think we have total different kind of play. But everybody, when you see one-hand backhand, everybody think Justine and Francesca.
But I put much more spin. I use this to defense and to play shorter. She use this to attack. She was. She finish. On the forehand, her forehand is much more flat.
But I can understand people that maybe just have passion for the tennis and see, Ah, she has the same like Justine. I hope one day they will say, Ah, you have the same like Francesca.

Q. How do you explain your fantastic fitness record? I mean, there was not only the very long match in Australia, but also you never seem to be injured. You're always playing.
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: I don't show you, but touch everywhere. (Laughing.) I work a lot like prevention, and I have some problems fix that every time I have to work on it.
If I can, I don't show. If I can play, I play. If I can't, I don't go to the court. But sometimes happen that you don't feel good.
Anyway, I think is working on the body and play every night. No, I'm joking. No, working every day.

Q. Does the court suit your style and the conditions, the fact that it seems to come off pretty fast off the court here?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Si. Was good to play like this and to finish straight in two set. Now to enjoy my interview and then -- yeah, yeah. You are not stress like Italian, so I can tell you everything that I want.

Q. Do you enjoy the interviews?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Depends. I think I like to do it because I want to understand what you think. But often happen that the journalists attack the player. But it's not. We are here to I think discuss and just - not to be friends - but I tell you what I think and I feel. You can tell me what you think.
But for sure I am a tennis player and you're a journalist. So you cannot say to me, You should play this one and not that one. Because otherwise I tell you, You should write this one and not the other.
If the journalists are smart, I think I enjoy.

Q. Do Italian journalists ask different questions to the rest of us?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: No. They are -- they want to know -- they are very technical. Too much technical, and very critical, you know.

Q. String tensions?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Si, but for nothing, you know. I think I improve, and Italian press are improving, because otherwise we can't speak together. So I wish one day that they can understand me and I can understand them - or you.
If tomorrow I read something wrong, I come to you and say, I didn't say this. Please next time, just to be correct.

Q. Do you think some of the questions that we ask help you to look into your own game? So maybe something that you haven't thought of. So we might ask you something about your game and you say, I haven't thought about that, and that might help you in the future?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: Sometimes you ask me something that make me thinking, so it's good. Sometimes not. (Smiling.) Yeah, it's good. It's good.

Q. Any preferences as to who you face next? Obviously Svetlana is in the mix.
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: For sure Svetlana. Yeah, because when you like to play tennis, it's good that you play against top player. Every day is a great experience, a great tennis. This is tennis.
I really want to play against her because we know each other, we play good tennis, we can enjoy, we can improve.
So, yeah. It's okay for Svetlana. I don't know against who she play.

Q. Pironkova. It's quite tight at the moment.
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: No, I don't think so.

Q. Can you improve on four and three quarter hours? Five? Six?
FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: No, no, no. I tell you, tomorrow after two hours I take the racquet and I put in the bag. (Laughter.)

End of FastScripts

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