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AEGON INTERNATIONAL

June 15, 2011

Vera Zvonareva

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND

V. ZVONAREVA/S. Williams
3-6, 7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Are you more happy or more tired?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Actually, I'm not that tired at the moment. I feel pretty good, so definitely happy that, you know, I played a tough match today and happy that I won it.

Q. Tough to close out, though, wasn't it?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Um, yeah. It is never easy against Serena. She's a great fighter, and, you know, she came out with some great shots and some -- she played some good points at the very important moments.
But that's how good players do, so nothing bad. I kept fighting and I'm really happy that I won it.

Q. She has a reputation for coming back from the dead and winning matches that she's almost lost. Was that a thought on your mind?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Not at all. I think, you know, right now it's such a tough competition in women's tennis, and you see those kind of matches. Everyone is coming back every tournament from any score.
You have to play from the first ball till the last ball right now. You have to fight. There are so many matches; there are so many comebacks. That's not something you focus on. When you're on the court, you try to focus on the one point at a time. You try to fight from the first ball to the last no matter what.

Q. The second match back after nearly a year, how do you assess her game?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I think Serena is a great champion, and I have a lot of respect for her because I think she's done a great job coming back and playing some great tennis today.
It is never easy, but that is something that you can expect from Serena because she's one of few players out there that are capable of doing that.

Q. How do you think she's playing compared to the Wimbledon final last year?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, I never look back. I think Serena is Serena. She can have some better days, some worse days.
But she's a great player no matter what. I never try to compare any matches because they're different. Every single day is a new day, and you have to play and think about your game.
But overall I think she's doing a great job after not playing for one year, coming back, and, you know, spending over three hours on the court and fighting for every ball.

Q. What's the longest break that you've had injury-wise, and how long did it take you after coming back after that break to feel yourself again?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, I had some, you know, six-month breaks couple of times. Actually, surprisingly I was playing well after I was coming back.
Straightaway I won a lot of matches, even -- yeah. I was playing pretty good, so I know that sometimes that's how it goes.
You know, you prepare yourself. You try to practice. You train to come back, and then when you feel that you are ready, you're coming back.
I've done it couple of times, and I was -- it took me only couple of weeks, and I was playing very good.

Q. What did you like and what didn't you like in your match today?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I think I liked the way I fought for every ball. I kept my concentration, and that's something you need to do against Serena. You have to, you know, try to hold your serve, try to break hers.
The unforced errors a little bit inconsistent throughout the match, especially a few mistakes in that first set that costed me a set. But then I was able to, you know, play a little bit cleaner in the second and the third set.
But also I started making a little bit better decisions on the court. Sometimes, you know, I wasn't taking advantage of some short balls, and you have to use it more on the grass.
Sometimes I was maybe playing a little bit too aggressive from the situations where it was too risky, and sometimes I was playing too passive in situations where I had to take risks. Just, you know, few little choices that I didn't make right. Otherwise I think the game was pretty good.

Q. You've obviously trained, had a big coaching change. What's been the difference between before what you're doing off court and now?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Not much. I think -- you know, I'm established player already. I'm experienced player. I know, you know, how I want to play and I know what I need to do on the court.
It's not about -- I don't know. It's tough to say. It's just a little bit -- maybe everyone can bring a little bit different, look a little bit different approach to how you train and just give you right support. That's what it matters at that level.
You know, nobody's gonna come there and tell me, Oh, you have to play different game and change me, because it is impossible. I'm still going to be myself on the court, and I still have to make my own choices when I'm on the court.
Maybe just few different things that we work on. Yeah, just the right support. That's probably the biggest change.

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