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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 19, 2011

Jelena Jankovic

CINCINNATI, OHIO

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously it's not expected with Shuai Peng having to withdraw. What does that do to you in terms of scheduling for you match against Petkovic tomorrow?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, obviously I didn't know. I was getting ready to play, and unfortunately Peng said just an hour before we were supposed to go out on the court she said that she can cannot go and play because she has some injury.
I was just getting ready and tipping my toes and doing my usual routines before my match, but unfortunately I didn't get to play. You know, I wish her the best, you know, to recover as soon as a possible.
But for me doesn't really change much. I played a lot the last couple days, so in a way it gives me some time to recover because I feel a little bit tired, and especially I had the last two matches I played were three sets.
So that's not easy on my body. I'm a little sore here and there, so I get an extra day to recover and feel better for tomorrow.

Q. You were one of the first players to sign with an Asian clothing company. Share a little bit about your appearances with that company in Asia.
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, I am working with Anta for about two and a half years, and we have a great relationship. I think at the moment I signed with them I was No. 1 in the world. I was one of the first ones to, you know, go with, you know, an Asian company.
And especially Anta is new on the market and they want to grow globally, but as well they're one of the biggest if not the biggest brand in China in this moment.
So I'm really happy with, you know, our relationship and the clothes they're making for me and everything. I think they have a very professional team. For me so far, it's going well. I think it's a successful relationship.

Q. What will you have to do against Andrea tomorrow?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, it's going to be a tough match. She's playing very well in this moment. I just want to continue to play my tennis. I feel good as well. It's going to be hopefully a good match, so the best one will win.

Q. Jelena, you with this walkover get more points and more rankings, which helps keep you as the No. 1 Serbian player. Is that something that's important to you?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Oh, my God. I don't really think about that. I'm just, you know, playing, and for me the most important thing in this moment is to play well.
I been working very hard, and I just want to play well in the big tournaments. Everywhere I play I want to give my maximum and try to do well.
I don't really think about rankings. I was No. 1 in the world, and for me if I'm Serbian No. 1, I mean, that is not important at all. I think it's important for me to go out on the court and do my job in the best possible way. Ranking come on its own if I'm doing well.

Q. Have you watched a lot of men's matches? If so, which ones?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I been watching some matches, and the recent one I watched was Nadal/Fish. But then I was on my way back. I was just coming over to the courts to do my, you know, practice session before my match. That was it.

Q. Do you have a preference for when you would play tomorrow if it's up to you?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm playing tomorrow second after 7:00. I already know the schedule, so now you know as well.

Q. You always take your balls from the ball kid on one side. Why?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I have no idea. That's just something -- there is no explanation for that. It's the same like some players, you know, do certain things in their own way. Some players go to the bathroom or, you know, the same shower cabin the whole time. All of them are empty and theirs is full, and they're waiting for a half hour so just that particular one opens.
There is different kinds of things. I don't know. I just like it. There was a time I was just taking from one guy, and I've been doing that for a long time now. There is not really a reason for it. Just go with it.

Q. You built a house in San Diego recently. How did you go about choosing to live there?
JELENA JANKOVIC: We have a lot have friends there, and I really like the climate. I think the climate is really nice throughout the whole year, and our neighborhood is really nice and quiet.
For me, I really like it a lot. I will have a tennis court as well over there, and a gym. So I think it's pretty nice place to live.

Q. Will you watch Djokovic tonight?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yes, but I'm as well going to try to hit some more a bit under the lights so I get kind of used to it.

Q. Your serve speeds are much faster than they used to be.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Whose? Djokovic's?

Q. Yours. And Djokovic's probably.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I know his is improving; I don't know about mine.

Q. Is it just technique?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. I think my serve is getting better overall. I been holding my serve, you know, much more than maybe in the past, because I always used to have a good return and I could break most of the players.
But then, you know, I had difficulty holding my own serve and I would make a lot double faults and kind of give away a lot of the free points.
But I've been working a lot on my serve, and I think it's improved quite a lot. I think I still have room for improvement and it can get a lot better as well. So I will just continue to work on it.
And not just on my serve, on my other strokes as well. Just get better as a player in general.

Q. Do you make it a point to get together with other Serbian players before tournaments or whatever, just when you're at the same site, go to dinner or whatever?
JELENA JANKOVIC: We all have different schedules, but we talk to each other when we see each other in the grounds or in the hotel.
We are all here with our teams, so we all have different things and different practice schedules and stuff like that. But we are pretty good friends. We try to hang out when we can.

Q. You look tired. Are you tired today?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah. Can you see I have bags under my eyes?

Q. No, you just sound tired. I don't see the bags.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I sound tired and I look tired. I have bags under my eyes. I think that shows. I mean, I played a match last night until like 10:30 or something. I didn't getting to sleep until 1:00, 1:30, because it's tough to relax after you been playing for three hours, especially the match I played which was very intense. You know, I needed some time to kind of calm down and kind of, you know, go into that relaxing, you know, mode, which is not easy.
So obviously it shows on my face and in my voice, so hopefully I will look better tomorrow. I will try my best to get my beauty sleep, as they call it.

Q. The walkover probably helps you in that regard. Gives you an extra day to recover.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not good, you know, because you get into the rhythm playing matches. But I think for me in this moment, even though it's, you know, unfortunate because I was really ready to play and I wanted to compete and I'm here to compete -- unfortunately when players get injured, I mean, you cannot do anything about it. It's really bad luck.
But like I said, I've been playing those three-set matches, and especially here, which is a city where it's very, very hot and not easy on your body.
You know, it gives me a little more time just so that I can recover and tomorrow hopefully wake up feeling fresher and ready to play.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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