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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 20, 2011

Jelena Jankovic

CINCINNATI, OHIO

J. JANKOVIC/A. Petkovic
6-7, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk a little bit about the matchup with Maria the challenges she presents.
JELENA JANKOVIC: You're already about Maria. I just finished Petkovic.

Q. Just in terms of challenges of facing Maria, what that brings to the table.
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's going to be a tough match. Obviously we're playing in the finals tomorrow, so there is one more match to go.
I feel pretty good the way I played tonight. Hopefully I can play like that tomorrow. I just want to try my best. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can, you know, win, you know, my second title here. That's my goal.

Q. Did you feel like it was 2008 again?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I felt like it's 2011, like it's my time here. (Smiling.) And the most important thing, I really had fun tonight. I really enjoyed every minute that I spent on court.
Even in the beginning when I wasn't doing well, I had a slow start, and Andrea was playing very solid and doing the right things. But as the match went on I was playing better and better and started feeling more confident.
Then, you know, I really felt comfortable on the court. I really knew what I was doing. It showed, especially in that second set. I thought I played pretty well and finished the match off in a good way.

Q. The walkover obviously helped you to get some more rest. You look like you have more energy tonight.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I think so. Because those last two matches I played in three sets, they were pretty tough on my body. I was sore. I cannot lie about that.
I haven't been competing in a long time, and this is my first tournament after a long break that I played, I don't know, four matches in a row. It's completely different practicing for a couple hours or five, four hours a day.
But then you play a match which is intense and you're under pressure, the next morning you wake up and everything is sore and hurting and stuff like that. But I'm feeling good now and looking forward to the final.

Q. When you come out and you see your opponent is so taped up on one leg, how does that change your game plan?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I didn't really, you know, think about that. I really didn't let that affect me in any way.
So far, if I didn't see the tape around her leg, I would probably never notice that she has some problem because she was moving really well and she never showed any sign of, you know, maybe some pain or something like that.
I thought that she played well. I think overall it was a good match. I just focused on my tennis and what I can do to win the match.

Q. What was the huge difference between the first and second sets? You obviously broke her a lot in the second; in the first set once. Did her level drop? Yours increase?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I had some problems returning. Especially on that forehand side I was making a lot errors. Then I kind of figured out the way -- you know, I kind of saw my mistakes, what I was doing wrong. As soon as I figured that out, I just continued, you know, that tactic. It worked.
It showed in the second set, because I played pretty well and I didn't let her play her game. I had all the control.

Q. How have your practices been this week? Did you have an idea you would have a good week here based on that?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I practiced well. There were times I was frustrated with my tennis, especially on the practice court. I want to, you know, work on certain things, and it's really not easy, you know, when you're hitting thousands and thousands of balls and trying to, you know, perfect your tennis, perfect your game.
It's never going to be perfect. You're always going to, you know, have room, you know, to get better and improve. But you never know. When you begin the tournament, you always wish and hope, and your goal is to do well and to win the tournament and go far.
But you never know what's going to happen, if you're going to do well or you're going to lose early. But, yeah, I'm happy that I'm in the final.
So far so good. So one more to go tomorrow.

Q. You had Ricardo Sanchez join you here this week. Considering you're in the final, do you think he's going to be sticking around for a while?
JELENA JANKOVIC: He came here -- yeah, he has some business to do, so he's helping me out. Like I said before when you guys asked me, we are really good friends. You know, we know each other for a long time, and he knows me as a person and as a player. It's nice to have him in the box again.
We'll see what will happen in the future.

Q. The first set she had a really lucky shot that just went over the net to get to the to the tiebreak. Did that affect your thinking in terms of how the match was going? It was a tight first set, she gets a lucky shot, and now you got to play a tiebreaker.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Not really. Luck is part of the sport. I think we all need some luck here and there. She had her part, but as well I was lucky in some shots as well.
That's part of the game. You cannot really do anything about it, just go and play the next point and focus from then on. You cannot really think about all, Oh, she had a let or I wish it went my way. You cannot lose time thinking about that.
You just have to focus on the next point and just continue with your game plan.

Q. You mentioned the forehand errors tonight. Is that because you're trying to be too aggressive? What's causing some of those errors, and how do you fix 'em for tomorrow?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I thought in the beginning I had some problems, not really problems, just she played well and, you know, I kind of needed some time to kind of, you know, figure out, you know, my way into the match and see, you know, how I can, you know, work my style of game against her and do it well.
As soon as I kind of, you know, saw that, and when I figured out what I was doing and I started doing it right, I just continued. I never let her come back again into the match. I thought I did pretty well, so I'm happy with that.

Q. Looks like you're using a new racquet. You've had an equipment change. Talk about that a little bit.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I'm testing some racquets. This is a test racquet. It has no logo on it, anything like that. So we'll see. When the time comes, you guys will know.

Q. How long have you been testing racquets?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, just before I was coming here. So I'm testing and seeing how it goes. When the time comes, you guys probably will see something, some logo or something.

Q. You served more aces than anyone, I think, here this week. Did you know that? How does that feel?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Is that right?

Q. As of day before, yesterday night, yeah.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I think I'm serving more aces and more double faults more than anything. I think those are my statistics. I also had four double faults tonight as well.

Q. Four double faults, three aces.
JELENA JANKOVIC: But, you know, I think my serve has improved over the last, you know, year or so. It's getting better and it's becoming little by little my weapon, where I can hold my serve with a little more ease and not just panic and always be kind of under the defense when I'm serving.
I can have some more free points and start controlling the points and, you know, run my offense. So, you know, I think the serve, you know, plays a huge part in my game. You know, I think it can get a lot better, but so far so good. We'll see. Hopefully I can just continue.

Q. You saved almost all of your break points tonight, 7 of 8 saved. Did you play the points differently? More focus? In other words, how did you save as many as you did without getting broken?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. It's tough. You just have to focus and try to play those points right and try to play, you know, high-percentage tennis and not go really for crazy shots. But at the same time, go, you know, for your shots when you have the right, you know, ball to go after. So I thought I did that.
And I'm especially happy with my net play tonight. I was coming in quite a lot. I was putting a lot of pressure. I read a couple points where she had kind of an easy ball kind and I would just stay there and read her and put the ball away.
So I'm pretty pleased with my net play tonight. Overall, happy with the win. So it's not bad to be in the final again.

Q. You have a great record against a lot of top players, but Maria is not a player you have a very good record against. You two go back a long way. Can you talk about your history with her and what's made it so difficult for you to win against her in the past?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, actually we haven't played against each other for a while now. I mean, she's playing very well in this moment. It's going to be a tough match. I want to try my best. I want to try to play my best tennis. We'll see.
Hopefully it'll be a good match.

Q. Was there anything you saw on her service game that enabled you to break a little bit easier?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Against who?

Q. Tonight.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I think in the beginning of the set, in the first set, I had some difficulties breaking her. You know, I wasn't returning well. I was down 4-2 in the first set and I kind of wasn't there, especially on the returning games. I was struggling a bit.
But then I kind of figured out the patterns and I kind of knew, you know, what to expect, you know, from her ball, you know, coming. And, you know, then I just, you know, focused on that and it worked.
So there is nothing I can say more.

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