	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 19, 2011

Andrea Petkovic

CINCINNATI, OHIO

A. PETKOVIC/N. Petrova
7-5, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This is your second Premier semifinal of the year. Does it feel any different than the first time?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: When was the first time?

Q. Miami.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Oh, yeah? (Laughter.) No, it feels awesomely great still. No, I was really satisfied with my performance. I'm always happy. Doesn't matter if it's Premier level or international Grand Slam. Grand Slam's even better.
Still was satisfied with the way I played, so that's more important.

Q. You were holding your knee at one point in the first set.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yes. Actually it scared the heck out of me because it cracked at one point and it was my injured knee where I had surgery three years ago. So I was really scared. But nothing happened.
In my mind, when I looked at it, I felt like it was this big, and then five minutes later I looked at it again and it was perfectly fine. Then I told my coach how crazy I am and he started laughing.

Q. We obviously saw you dance after your match. It's been almost a year since you first danced against Nadia at the US Open last year.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Oh, yeah.

Q. Can you reflect a little bit on this past year?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: You mean the development of the dancing or of my tennis?

Q. Not about the dancing, just about the tennis.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: I think the match against Nadia last year was sort of a breakthrough for me because I had a really bad phase in the US Open Series beforehand, and that match really bought me back to my confidence and back on perspective and on my way.
I started working even harder. I was working hard before, but somehow that gave me motivation to work even harder and get more consistent and not have these phases where I lose three tournaments in a row first, second rounds.
So I really wanted to get rid of it. I feel like I've improved this a lot, but I also feel like I still have so much more space. This year, for example Rome and Madrid I lost two times second round, and Eastbourne, Wimbledon, I lost first and third round.
So once I get rid of this I'll be satisfied, but there is still so much more to improve.

Q. When you lose early in tournaments, is there a common theme? Is there a part of your game that breaks down?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Most of the time it's when I expect myself to, you know, when I focus on my game before the tournament, when I don't think of where I want to go.
But if I focus on my game and which parts I want to, you know, to see, to come to place, then most of the time I play good, I play my tennis. Then if somebody is better and beats me, that's fine with me.
But the worst thing is when I expect myself to obtain certain results and then I forget about my game and I start to get tight and then nothing is working anymore. It's not the forehands or the backhand or the serve, but my whole game just breaks down, and very dramatically. It's always a lot of crying and bad behavior involved.
It's actually probably quite interesting for others; for me, not so much. So I try to get rid of it.

Q. You're No. 11 right now. With another win you'll get back in the top 10.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Oh, yeah?

Q. Yeah. Do you think it's as possibility for you to be in the top 8 for the year-end Championships? Would you change your scheduling to maybe look to achieve that?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: That would be really, really great for me if I could reach the Championships. But it's going to be really tough, because especially Petra and Marion are trailing with a lot points before me.
But I think if I can hold my level that I'm playing now and if I can play consistent until the year end, that would be my great goal, to get to Istanbul.
So I really have to try to focus now and play each match, even if there are little obstacles like in my first-round match here. I really have to focus now and try to play each match with 150% intensity, and then I might get my chances. So that's definitely a thing that I have a little eye on.

Q. How would rate your defense now versus six months ago? Seems like you've improved. Do you agree?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, I improved. I worked a lot on my defense, because, you know, the thing was before I was always trying to go for my shots. Once I didn't feel so well and that was not working, I didn't have a plan B. I didn't have anything else, no slice, no high ball to recover.
So it was basically, you know, win or lose, die or live with your game or you can go home. So I really tried to improve on having a Plan B and getting through matches where my game is not working. So I brought in my slice, which is not perfect yet. Sometimes it just flies like...
But I try. I think the most important ball that I brought in now is my loop forehand and my loop backhand, when I'm running and trying to loop it up high and try to recover from that. It's still not perfect yet, but it's better than my slice. (Smiling.)
Q. What are your expectations coming into this tournament? Obviously you want to play well every time. Are you beyond where you thought you would be now?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, because I was really struggling in my first-round match, and that day I felt terrible. I felt really tired. I don't know, it was just that one day where you feel awful. My goal was somehow to get through this match, and I was I think two points away from losing. I probably should have lost this match.
So after that, you know, most of the time it's like this after matches, like that when you get through these matches you just relax and start to play much better. That's what happened, I think.
So the most important thing for me in this tournament was to get through that first-round match playing terrible and feeling awful.

Q. Talk about your next match. What do you have to do well to win?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, I played against Jelena two times this season, and it was two times very good matches on a high level, but also very tough matches because there were long rallies and it was very tough.
The conditions here are really tough with the humidity, so I'm definitely going to have to play each point with full intensity.
If it's Peng, I never played her before, so I really have to go on YouTube and also watch some matches and try to -- because I never played her before. I practiced once with her, but just like for an hour, so I would really have to work myself into her as a player.

Q. Some players struggle with their fitness throughout the year, maintaining fitness, but you seem to have gotten fitter. Can you talk about that? Sometimes it seems like the way the schedule is you don't have breaks between tournaments to really commit and get in the gym.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, you know, the thing is I put a really good basis in the off-season in December. I really planned my vacation to have eight weeks, and I really made a perfect schedule with my fitness coach and coach.
The first two weeks I was only working on my condition and fitness. There a lot of weights and running involved. I put a good basis there, so I felt like, okay, I'm on a good basis at the beginning of the year.
Then naturally with just playing the tournaments and not being able to work as hard, your fitness just slowly goes down. So it was really important for me to take the break after Wimbledon. I took four weeks off and I took five days off where I didn't do anything, and then I took another three weeks where I worked as hard as I did in December also focusing more on the fitness than my tennis.
That how I think I'm going to be able to survive this season. It's really tough, especially for me now this year. It's the first time where I have a lot of the matches. It's easier like when I was 50 in its world and I played two matches a tournament. It's much easier to stay on your fitness level.
Now having these matches, you really have to make your scheduling right. I think the most important thing is after Wimbledon, even if you're not doing well and you feel like you have to gain some points, you have to try to avoid thinking about that.
You have to get your fitness back on track if you want to survive the whole season. That's my opinion; everybody has their own.

Q. Germany has a really strong Fed Cup team now.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yes. We're going to win.

Q. Can you share a little bit of the camaraderie you have with Julia and Sabine?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Sure. I think the most important thing about our friendship is that we've known each other for so long. I think Julia I know for like 12 years; Sabine for at least ten or nine. So it's a different thing when you grow up together.
We always had the competition between each other, so it's nothing new now. Even if reporters and journalists from Germany, they sometimes try -- they tried in the beginning, but they saw very soon that it was impossible to put some kind of competition between us.
But when it's always been there for ten years, it's nothing new even if you come to the top level now, to the pro level, to the premier, Grand Slams.
It's just a thing. We always respected each other and we always shared rooms together. We went through so many things. I remember playing with Julia three 25,000 tournaments here in the States in Tampa, and Fort Walton Beach. (Laughing.)
I mean, we didn't have no money. We lived off Pizza Hut all the time. These kind of things just brings you together. Doesn't matter if somebody is playing better or worse, I think we all know that we profit from each other. I know that I profit from Julia playing well; Julia knows she profits from Sabine playing well.
So we just have this natural companionship that grew through the years. Sometimes Fed Cup teams are just like, Okay, now one week we have to be a team. Try to bring on some team spirit.
But I think that just doesn't work as natural as it developed on our German team. So I'm really thrilled and I always love playing Fed Cup.

Q. This is the first year for the combined event here. What do you like about it?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, I like when the guys are around because they're quite cute. Actually, I think Cincinnati did a really good job because I was a little afraid. Some tournaments have space problems, and I'm -- probably most of you know that I like to practice very much, so I need to have my time and I need to warm up one hour before my matches.
I always got to do that here. So as long as I get my practice times, I don't mind having men being around at all.

Q. Is there anyone you follow in particular in the men's game?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: You mean...

Q. Do you follow any specific men's player more than others?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, my favorite spectacular player is Tsonga, I think. He plays the most spectacular tennis. But I think everybody knows I'm a huge Rafa fan.

Q. Except they three German players, there is Angelique Kerber, who beat you even.
ANDREA PETKOVIC: Uh-huh. I think she has a 10-4 head to head with me.

Q. What's going on with her?
ANDREA PETKOVIC: No, no, she's going to come back. I called her and I asked her to come to my academy where I train, and she came there for four weeks and practiced really, really hard.
I promise you she's going to be at least top 30 like in six months, because she worked really, really hard and she's a great player and she's definitely going to come back.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297