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SONY ERICSSON OPEN

March 28, 2011

Andrea Petkovic

MIAMI, FLORIDA

A. PETKOVIC/C. Wozniacki
7-5, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Do you have a name for the dance that you do after you win?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: It's the Petko Dance. (Laughter.)

Q. Where did it come from?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: It was a bet with my coach at the US Open. I was playing really bad beforehand and I got Nadia Petrova in first round, so was obviously tough round for me first round US Open. He said, If you win you have to do something special.
That was the first thing that came to my mind. Actually, I wanted to get rid of it after the US Open, but the fans just -- they said like, Hey, we are just coming to see the dance and you're not doing it anymore.
So I brought it back in, but this is definitely the last tournament where it's gonna happen, and then I'm moving on to something else. (Laughter.)

Q. Must have been nice to do it one more time today.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I tried to do it as much as I can here in the tournament, because then it's gone. I'm a little sad, but it was -- it was a nice phase and it was nice fun, but now I'm getting a little tired of it. Time to move on.

Q. Maybe you could do magic tricks.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Magic tricks? If I could. (Laughter.) Well, any inspirations, I'm always open. If somebody has a new thing, you can send it to my e-mail address.

Q. Pretty magical today?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, I played well. You know, it was not like I played unbelievable. It was more that I was able to stick to my game plan and I was playing clever. I think this was the key to the match.
I was able to stick to my game plan even after losing the second set where I lost my concentration for two games, which obviously against such, against the top player in the world is already a set that's gone.
So I was able to step it up in the third set, and I'm really happy with the way I played.

Q. Are you comfortable telling us just what your game plan was in detail?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, well, as I said already on the on-court interview, most of the players think they can overpower Caroline. I think that's the wrong approach, because that's where she's most comfortable, when she can run and bring the most balls back.
Then once you lose your concentration for once on your shot, she goes for it. It's not like she's -- and, you know, some like to say that she's pushing, but it's not like the balls are slow and not short, you know. They are quite deep, so you cannot really attack them.
What I try to do is mix it up and to make her play, and then when I had the short ball to go for it. Because if you try to hit every single shot with full power, full power, full power, she just gets more comfortable, more comfortable, and eventually you're gonna miss. She's not gonna miss the last one.
So this is what I tried to do, just be patient and wait for the short ball, and until then try to mix it up and also give her the initiative to try to play.

Q. During last match sometimes you are a little bit emotional on the big point, last point, and you were not.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Today after the match point? I was quite...

Q. I wanted to say sometimes for the match point you are a little bit emotional.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Ah, okay. Yeah, that was long time ago. (Laughter.)
I mean, I know that people think that because I lost this one match against Kuznetsova with four match points. Afterwards, I said, I choked, and it was like this. I choked. But it was one match, you know. I'm not the type of girl.
Usually, I would say like 20 matches I serve out 19 of them. So I'm really not the type of girl that's choking. It was just that one match and I was young and it was my first second round of a Grand Slam, so I think it was just a special occasion.
As I said, I learned the most -- I think this match that I lost to Kuznetsova I had four match points brought much more to me than if I had won this match. I learned so, so much from this match, and so I think it's just -- I was calm. I was okay.
You know, sometimes it happens. Sometimes the other one plays well. Last match it happened to me. Benesova, she started sort of tanking. She hit unbelievable winners and I was able to stay calm. It happens. You just have to try to play point by point.

Q. Today was a big battle for two big fighters.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah. You can say that. (Smiling. )
Yeah, definitely that's one of my biggest strengths, that I never give up and I'm fit. I'm in the best shape I've ever been. I work very hard in my off season. So I think this is the one thing that really lies in your hand, being in shape and being able to run until you die. That's what I always do.
Sometimes when you don't have a great day, you just have to be able to start running and pushing the ball somehow into the court until you find your rhythm again.
That's the thing that you have to work on in your offseason. That's what I did, and so I feel confident with my body. Obviously Caroline, she's one of the fittest girls in the world, and that's why she's so good.

Q. Can you tell us just your background, how you got started in tennis? Did you ever do any other sports, or was it always tennis?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: It was always tennis. My dad used to be a tennis player, as well. He started off as a professional, but he didn't really make it.
So when I was -- I finished my school in Germany. We have 13 years of school. So I finished my school. I practiced as much as I can, but I didn't play any tournaments. That's why I'm quite late for a female tennis player.
Well, I had a big fight with my dad because he didn't want me to be a professional tennis player at that time when I was making decisions if I should go to university or try to be a professional tennis player.
And because my dad had already experienced this before and he didn't really make it, I think he didn't want his little daughter to go through the same things.
But, yeah, I had the bigger head in this decision, and I'm quite happy that it ended this way.

Q. How does he feel now about it?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Oh, he's supporting me. He's totally behind me.
You know, the best thing is that I can profit from his experience and that I can, you know, take the best things out of what he maybe did wrong or what he failed to do.
That's a good combination of having my coach, and my dad travels with me when he can. He's still working so he's not always with me, but when he's there, I always feel comfortable, and I gain so much from his experience that he had as a tennis player, as well.

Q. What were the circumstances of your family moving to from Bosnia?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: As I said, my dad was a tennis player, and as he didn't make it so much, he started playing money tournaments and team matches in Germany and coaching to earn some money for his family obviously.
When it started getting -- back then in Yugoslavia it already started being problems and Tito died, and then already, you know, things were heating up. My dad took my mother and me to Germany. He planned on staying there for three, four years, but then the war obviously destroyed so much, and so we stayed in Germany.
I grew up in Germany. I was born in Bosnia, but I basically grew up in Germany. The way I think is German, although I have still a big connection to the Serbian players.

Q. So is Steffi Graf one of your idols, possibly?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: She's definitely my idol, but the funny thing is it's more now that I learned to appreciate her, because I was still quite young when she was playing.
So, you know, when you're young you see a player, but you don't really understand what makes them so good. I spent a lot of time watching tennis on YouTube, and especially the old matches. I really enjoy myself. And just learning from the best, you know, trying to take out.
I had the honor to practice with Steffi in Las Vegas right before Indian Wells, and she's still amazing. She's still hitting the ball so well. I'm sure she still would be top 20 if she wasn't getting injured so easily now.
But it was such a huge experience playing with her, and also getting to meet her and to see what a wonderful person she is.
So she's definitely my idol, but to be honest, Serena Williams was always my idol.

Q. Speaking of Steffi, what does a stat like this mean to you that you're the first German to beat a top seed at a tournament since Steffi bought Hingis in the French final?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Oh, I didn't know it. Um, well, I get the questions actually every time from German reporters about Steffi. For me, it's just such a huge difference between us, because she's -- I would never compare myself to her because she won what, 22 Grand Slams?
I managed to be in the quarters, which is good for me. I'm happy about it. But it's just not nearly as close to winning 22 Grand Slam titles. So just being in one sentence with her for me is a great honor, but I don't really understand the comparison because I'm so far away from achieving anything close to what Steffi achieved.
I'm working hard, and I hope maybe to achieve a 10th of...

Q. What is it you like about Serena?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, you know, I just can -- I really relate to her with her fighting spirit on court, and she impressed me so much with the way she turned around matches even when everything was lost.
I just remember this match against Azarenka at the Australian Open where she was down 6-2, 4-Love and Azarenka was playing unusual and she kept playing unbelievable. Serena just stepped it up two levels, and it was too much for Victoria. That impressed me so much.
She was the first player that really, really, yeah, that really touched me emotionally on the court.

Q. A lot of people in tennis are fairly closed and don't want to say the wrong thing, don't want to offend another player, don't want to cause problems. You seem to be pretty open-minded and pretty willing to express and say exactly what you think. Does this get you in trouble at all?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: It gets me often in trouble. But no, just -- and sometimes I talk sarcastically and people don't seem to get it, especially in the writing media. You cannot really bring that to the media, so I get in trouble all the time.
But I learned to deal with it in the last -- I'm not so long on the tour. I'm now on the tour maybe for one-and-a-half years. But I learned to deal with it, especially in the beginning.
I made some mistakes that got back to me, and I'm more careful now. But I still try to stay as honest as I can.

Q. What's your relationship with the Serbians? You mentioned those players. Do you have relationship with the Serbian players at all?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I do. With Ana I play doubles here, and we are doubles specialists now. I didn't win a match in doubles for a year. That's the background story. Ana and I tried to play doubles a couple of times and we always lost against players we should have won probably. Now we've won two matches and we are so excited.
The thing is, okay, this match maybe changed something, but before everybody was congratulating me on the doubles. They were like, Yeah, doubles. Come on. I was like, yeah, I won singles too. Nobody seemed to care.
Obviously Ana and Novak, we are all from the same age. We are all born in '87, and we spend a lot of time during the junior tournaments. I'm very close to both of them.
But I get along with all the others, with Janko and Jelena. We get along very well, but Novak and Ana are the closest to me.

Q. I want to ask, seems like all the Serbians have this kind of personality that you have, just very open, very engaging, very funny. Why is that? What's in the water there?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I really don't know. Yeah, you know, it's true, but also we are around all the time, so you just -- like you take on the colors. We are like chameleons. When we hang around all the time together, you know, and Novak is making his jokes, you start to try to be funny, as well. Sometimes you are; sometimes you are not.
And it's just a very good energy between all of us. So I really enjoy all my time spending with them.

Q. When are you going to do your next Petkorazzi video?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: My next Petkorazzi? Oh, I'm working on, but the problem is always when I play well I have less time to do it. So to be able to do a good Petkorazzi video I should lose earlier.
But I think I'll keep focused on my tennis and Petkorazzi is my second priority. Maybe after the tournament maybe I will have a few days to try to film some behind-the-scenes stuff.

Q. Today looks like you were trying to chase the No. 1. Really you look like pushing all the time. That's your idea today? You are surprised about your performance today, or is that was your idea, to push and push and push and push?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, well, surprised -- I am thrilled that I won, but to say that I'm surprised would also be maybe the wrong -- you know how I feel? When I went into the match I believed that I can win, but it's just every match that I play I believe I can win.
It doesn't matter if it's Caroline, first in the world, five-times Grand Slam champion, if you don't have this belief you're never gonna win. So this was definitely very important for me going into this match and believing that I can win.
But once I was in the match I didn't think about -- I just played point by point and I didn't think about anything besides. I just, you know, I knew I had to stay tough in all the rallies, and that's why I played each point with the highest intensity possible.

Q. Speaking of your doubles yesterday, you and Ana are doing your on-court bets. Who came out on top in the end?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I won 20 bucks. I was so -- and Ana, I think she shed one tear, because I hit aces. Today I hit on set and match point. I was so proud.
I usually go more for percentage and trying to mix it up. Yesterday like in the first or second game I hit three aces, which is 15 bucks already. Ana and I have a bet. Every time you hit an ace you get 5 bucks, and we exchange money then.
Also on decisive point I hit return winner, which is also 5 bucks, so 20 bucks all in all. She earned -- I think she had one ace and one important volley, so that was $7 so $13. (Laughter.)

Q. Would you say your mental growth has been the biggest part of your game?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Definitely. You know, I was always mentally tough in the juniors. I don't remember, you know, being -- I love the close moments. I love the challenges and I love when it's 4-All in the third, even if I sometimes lose it in the end or mess it up. But afterwards, I always feel the most alive in those moments.
But it's just -- it was a long experience for me, you know, playing against the top players, learning what to do in key moments, because sometimes I would just rush because I was like, Oh, yeah, now I'm gonna get it. I was just rushing and missing unnecessarily.
So that was definitely a part of growing up and getting the experience playing on the big stages, playing the top players. You know, it's always different watching and feeling what they do on court when it's important, and I'm still not at the end of my road.
I still feel like I'm at the beginning, and I still feel like I have so much, much more to learn and so much more to improve.
But I also feel like I have come a long way from when I was starting on the WTA Tour.

Q. Has she paid the 20?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Ana? Yeah, immediately. You have to pay in the changeovers. We already exchange -- yeah, it's true. (Laughter.)
It's true. Forty has pictures. You have?
Because otherwise, you know, you can sneak out and then it's gone, the money. But you have to fight for your money.

Q. Did you study a lot of Caroline for this game? Because I feel she didn't study you, and I didn't see her father at your match. I was there in your matches, and I didn't see her father. Her father is in the matches before she gonna play with you. What do you feel about?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, obviously for her it's tougher to study me than to study her, because I watched her some, and I really like watching her. So I watched her so many times on TV.
For me it's much easier to analyze her when she's around so often on TV, and also in Indian Wells I watched so many games. My coach, he's just a tennis maniac, so he watches basically every -- even if it's a -- if you ask him doubles result in a challenger in Uruguay, he can tell you the results.
So he's gonna watch the matches, too. I don't know, maybe he saw some matches and he thought he knew me. I don't know how they prepared, but I know that I prepared 200%, and that I knew what I was coming.
But as I said, it's much easier for me when she's around all the time. I was not around that much, so it's tougher for them to analyze me. Sometimes it's an advantage when you come in as an underdog and unknown.

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