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ROGERS CUP WOMEN

August 8, 2011

Jelena Jankovic

TORONTO, ONTARIO

J. GOERGES/J. Jankovic
6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: As you know, we have a new format here with the virtual press conference. So we are going to do questions obviously coming from Toronto. And then for our friends over in Montreal, they can obviously ask questions as well followed by questions in Serbian.
So questions in English, please.

Q. What happened tonight?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Um, you know, it was my first match after, you know, the break, you know, since Wimbledon. So obviously, you know, I had a hard time, you know, playing my first match.
You know, I need some time to get, you know, my rhythm and feel comfortable, you know, on the court playing matches again. So I made some, you know, bad errors and I made actually a lot of errors.
I wasn't really feeling my game out there, and, you know, it was tough. I felt really rusty out there. So, you know, I tried, you know, the best that I could, but obviously I need, you know, some more time and hopefully more matches and I'll be better.

Q. Was there a certain point when you realized tonight really wasn't going to be your night?
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, but, you know, there was some points where, you know, you kind of could have hit them with the closed eyes inside the court, and somehow I managed to miss them.
So that was, you know, frustrating at times. But, you know, that is tennis, and, you know, it's not easy, you know. My opponent was playing really well.
She has played a few tournaments right before this one, so she's, you know, ready. I just -- this was my first match since -- you know, like the last time I played was in like end of June.
So, you know, just, you know, I'm not match tough yet, and I need to get -- I need to get there, and hopefully I will do better in my next tournament.

Q. What did you tell yourself after the first set to try and regroup going to the second one?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I was trying to come back, and I was doing okay until 2-All, and then I had 40-15. Again, you know, I made those -- you know, I made that, you know, swinging volley which went out.
You know, instead of, you know, winning the game, I gave her a chance to come back and win that. You know, then it's 3-2 for her instead 3-2 for me, which is big difference.
You know, these kind of things happen, and you just have to stay positive and keep going and keep working hard and try to get that.

Q. It seems like this is a much longer break than you usually take at this time of year. Why did you decide to do that?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I took a little bit of a break. I just -- you know, I wanted to, you know, have some time with my family and, you know, as well train and get ready. I felt like I needed more time to get fit physically because I had a lot of injuries.
You know, I feel good. It's just that, you know, I need to feel -- it's completely different practicing and then going on the court and playing the matches.
I need to really, you know, play those things and, you know, kind of know what to do at the right times, which showed today that I was really -- you know, sometimes I wanted -- you know, I had a lot of options in my head, and I always choose the wrong one.
So when you're playing a lot, you just go with your instinct and you do much better. But, you know, obviously you have to work at it, and there is next week and next week and hopefully I'll get there.

Q. Could you talk about sort of how you split your time between vacation and training? And also given today's match, do you think that was still a good thing to do to take so much time off?
JELENA JANKOVIC: What do you mean by splitting my time?
First of all, after Wimbledon I took some time off, and then I just started training and getting ready. I was training for about three weeks and really tried to get fit and ready for the summer, you know, events.
What was the other question?

Q. Even though obviously you were a bit rusty today, do you still think it was a good thing to take an extended break?
JELENA JANKOVIC: There was some, you know, good points out there. There were some things I did well but obviously not good enough. Like I said, I was rusty and there were times I just didn't do the right things and didn't sometimes, I think, move my feet.
I got stuck with some balls, and I kind of didn't make up my mind, you know, doing the right things, just going for my shots.
I was thinking too much out there. I was thinking, what should I do? Where should I play? That kind of confused me, you know, there. I didn't do well.
But I just have to continue, you know, to work and we'll see. Hopefully I will do better in my next tournament. I hope for the best. I have to stay positive.

Q. You made the final at the Rogers Cup in 2007. Is the loss a little bit more disappointing considering this is somewhere you have had success before?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, it is. I really enjoy playing here, and I had some success and really good matches in the past here.
Unfortunately, you know, I was hoping, you know, to have a better result this year, as well.
But it didn't happen. That's part of, you know; that's the sport. Sometimes you lose; sometimes you win.
You cannot always do what you expect of yourself. Sometimes things happen, and obviously I wanted to go far and, you know, play semis, finals against the top players. But it didn't happen. So, well, we will see hopefully in the next events.

Q. I don't mean to pry too much, but if you had to choose one thing that wasn't really working tonight, what is it your footwork, your aim, cardio?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It was a mixture of things. It was not maybe one thing. It was, you know, my footwork, and then, you know, my execution of shots as well like -- you know, I didn't make up my mind. And like I said, I had a lot of ideas. You know, if I have a ball and then I'm thinking I should go down the line, I should go cross, I should do a dropshot.
And then I always managed to choose the wrong one, and I managed to make a mistake, which is not good.
But that's what happens when you have been practicing for a while and I didn't play. You know, obviously I didn't play the tournaments, you know, in a while.
So it's completely different, you know, playing the practice matches and then playing in a big stadium and playing a real match.
So obviously it takes time. I'm one of those players who needs time to -- the more I play, the better I get. There are some players that can just -- they didn't each need to play for a year. They can come and feel really good on court. That's all individual.
I just have to work and get better at this, you know. Hopefully, you know, just stay positive and do my job in the best possible way and learn from my mistakes.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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