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SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS

October 13, 2011

Alexandr Dolgopolov

SHANGHAI, CHINA

A. DOLGOPOLOV/B. Tomic
5-7, 6-1, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was it like playing on that court? Indoor courts, nobody there, no applause. Must have been a bit weird.
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, for sure it's a bit weird. It's the third round of a Masters Series. You don't feel that atmosphere a bit, but still you need to make yourself play.
It was pretty tough because the court is a bit faster, bounces are different. So it was really tough to stay out there and be motivated and try to play your best tennis.

Q. Did you feel maybe in the first set you were playing a little bit of his game? What did you do to change it in the second and third set?
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, I think we started out just as we could, you know, to just get used to the surface and the conditions we had. It wasn't really good tennis from us. We were just trying to hold the ball in the game and not risking too much, a lot of unforced.
Second set I just understood that I won't win that way and I needed to change something up. So I started to play more aggressive. I mean, I pulled it off. I had good shots, winners. He struggled a bit with the speed, I think. He was just trying to play the same tennis, not changing anything.
Yeah, I mean, that got me the victory.

Q. Are you surprised how quickly those last two sets went?
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, I mean, I was hitting pretty free on the court. I had some confidence. I just knew I had to go for the shots because I wasn't feeling the game too good. I knew that I won't overplay him, you know, just slow shots, that's his game, more just rallying. I wasn't comfortable with that game. It was bouncing really low from his shots. It's tough to get used to them.
I just went for the shots and I got them.

Q. Your first Masters quarterfinal. Great opportunity to reach the semis.
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, for sure. I'll just take it match by match. I haven't been playing my best tennis. It's difficult with the conditions here. I'm struggling with playing my game. I need to think a lot and be motivated to work on the court because, you know, the balls are flying a bit for me. I play a lot of, you know, low-percentage shots usually. Here I can't afford that.
For sure it's tough to play every match for me here, but I'm really happy to make a good result. It's really nice for me at the end of the year.
I hope I can do well next match.

Q. You were playing well the last two sets. Were you surprised at his reaction at the end?
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, it was tough to play. I was just going for the shots and making them. He didn't really do much on the court. He was just playing pretty much the same as he played the first set.
But I was just risking, risking, and making it. So, I mean, he could have just started doing the same and try to pull that off. But I couldn't say he was just like standing and missing a lot. It was pretty much me on the court. I missed. I made winners. He didn't do much.

Q. He said that he's 18 years old. His plan still is to be No. 1 by 2021, that he thinks it's possible. What's your plan?
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, that's pretty much what any player should want, I think. Of course, that's the goal. But I'll just work and try to set my goals part by part. I mean, you can't just set a goal to be No. 1 in that time. But, hopefully, yeah, that's pretty much the same goal, to go higher and higher. First would be to try to go in the top 10 and hold on there, then to go higher.
But I need to be lucky. I need to be injury-free. All that needs to come together to have a chance for that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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