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APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEYJanuary 10, 2012Jelena DokicSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES M. BARTOLI/J. Dokic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Good glimpses in the second set. You almost wish it would've gone three sets? JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, it was unfortunate. I froze out there. It was not a matter of ‑‑ it was not about tennis. It was not about her being the better player. I just really, really got nervous. Yeah, I really froze. My legs and my arms and everything just couldn't move. So, yeah, it's always unfortunate to lose a match that way when you're like not playing your best or when you're not able to compete at 100% or when you get nervous and tight. Yeah, it's unfortunate. Q. Was that carryover from yesterday? I saw your left thigh was strapped, but you've had that for a while. JELENA DOKIC: It has nothing to do with injury, no. Q. What do you put that down to? You're such an experienced campaigner, to freeze is a bit usual. JELENA DOKIC: Well, I've been playing very well in practice. First round here was good. Had a good doubles match yesterday. I almost kind of felt like, Well, if I play well, you know, I can have a good match or I caneven ‑‑ and I think that was obvious in the second set. It was not ‑‑ the rallies I was controlling. My serve he let me down and I wasn't able to‑‑ as much as she served well, I didn't serve well, so that made really the difference. It was really just nerves, which is, yeah, it's hard. It's tough when you get so nervous and tight, when it kind of overtakes your whole match and you're not able to actually play the match that you want to. But it's okay. You know, she's played 60 or 70 matches last year, and I played five in the last five months. So that's also a huge difference. It was not so easy for me just to come out and perform and not feel anything. And it's always hard when you play at home have to that. So, yeah, combination of everything, but it's okay. I'm hitting the ball okay. I feel like I'm hitting well. Things that I'm working on are there, I just need to put it together. Q. What can you do for the next match in case that happens again? Are you worried about it many coming back? JELENA DOKIC: No, because it's just a matter of me not playing matches. I usually don't have that problem. It was really just a matter of, yeah, for five months I haven't been there. It's been three or four matches on and off because of injury, so... It's good. Maybe it's good to get it out of the way here and not have it in Melbourne and for the rest of the year. So, yeah, it's okay. I have still doubles tomorrow, so I'm happy about that. I can get some more court time and practice the things that I need to work on. See how we go and then just go to Melbourne. Q. It's probably pretty obvious, but having an injury‑free year would be nice for you after the last few years with the stop start. JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, it would be. I feel good, though. We've done a lot of injury prevention and physical work, so I feel like hopefully it will be okay. I have no problems. Haven't had any for the last, you know, two months or so. So, yeah, that's the key. Because if I can, you know, stay injury‑free, I can put those tournaments and matches all together. That's how your game comes together. Q. Does it encourage you the longevity in the game today? It seems it has changed from when you were first on the tour and then ten, twenty years before that when most of the players that were dominating were very young. Now you see players going through their late 20s, 30s, like the Williams sisters. JELENA DOKIC: I think it's changed in general, not just in tennis. I think you see even swimmers at 40, and even other sports going up to 35, even the guys. So I don't think it's so much‑‑ there is in women's tennis still some young girls that come up, but I think it's changed. You still have the Williams sisters; Kim can play well at any time that she shows up; you know, Francesca winning French Open at 30; Na Li doing the same thing. So I think it's changing a bit. If you look at even the top 20 it's a lot of older girls or, you know, past 25 that are there. I think it's changed a lot in the last, let's say, ten years. Q. Apart from a being able to string a few matches and get a few tournaments, what would you like to see yourself do this year? JELENA DOKIC: Um, well, obviously just the injury thing is the main thing. Just being able to be on the court every week and every day, being able to practice and able to play singles and doubles and play not nearly every week, but having a full schedule, that would be good. So, yeah, I mean, I would like to obviously play Melbourne and continue on to Fed Cup. Then I have quite a few tournaments on the schedule after that. So really just injury‑free. Everything else will come together, because I think time and time again I've shown that I have the tennis. So it's just for me at the moment stringing the consistency together. Q. What did you discuss with the trainer out there today? JELENA DOKIC: With who? Q. With the trainer, with the coach. JELENA DOKIC: With my coach? Oh, no, I mean, I was just really nervous. Got really tight. Wasn't able to compete. Yeah, it was very frustrating, because we've put in so much work on the court, hours and hours in the last three, four weeks especially. I've been playing well, and that just didn't happen once. So it was really disappointing to have kind of the nerves really take over my game and not be able to play. But, um, you know, she got me a little bit looser for the second set. After broke to be 2‑All, if I was able to play a better game and not be so nervous at 2‑All, I think the match could have turned around. Q. Was what your game plan going into the match? JELENA DOKIC: It was actually hard because I've never played her before, so ‑‑ not even practiced really, so it was very difficult because you didn't know what to expect. I knew which side was weaker, and I kind of was in a way also expecting maybe a little bit harder, more aggressive player. Yeah, also took me a few games to get used to her game. Yeah, I would like to play her again and play that same match again and see what happens. Q. When was the last time you felt those kind of nerves? JELENA DOKIC: Um, this much, not for a while. (Laughter.) Q. Not in Australia before? JELENA DOKIC: No, not really. Yeah, no. Maybe a little bit here last year. I don't know. Sydney for me is different. It's difficult because I grew up here. You know, I always want to do well here. Melbourne is the same, but I train in Melbourne at the end of the year every year for two months, so I almost feel like home there. Maybe that played a part in today's match. But usually I can control it. Usually it's not like that. I can get myself together even if it happens pretty quickly, within two, three games. At the latest by the end of the first set. That was not the case today. It was disappointing because it was not about the forehand or backhand or the serve, because I haven't served maybe two, three double faults ‑‑ even in last match I didn't serve I think maybe one. Even in Auckland I served well. Doubles yesterday also I served really, really well. No double faults, which we've been working on getting more kick on my second serve. Today I wasn't able to do it because I was so nervous. Yeah, it's hard. Q. Are you confident you can get on top of the nerves before next week? JELENA DOKIC: Um, yeah, I think so. I mean, I think it's hard. You see it with Sam also. It's very hard to play for us at home because we want to do so well. I think it's like that for a lot of players and you feel the pressure. So it's really about us wanting to perform so well in Australia because we love it here and the crowd is so great to us and the whole country is behind us. That's all it is. We just really want to ‑‑ for me, I just really want to do well. Yeah, I mean, I think in a way it's a good lesson. No matter how much you think you experienced in your tennis career, you always can learn something every day. I got to take this match today really as a huge lesson, learn from it, and just get on court tomorrow and just continue working. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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