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FEDCUP WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND: BELARUS v USAFebruary 4, 2012Anastasia YakimovaWORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS USA – 1 C. McHALE/A. Yakimova THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. When did you find out that you were going to play today? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Yeah, this morning practically when I came to the club for warming up because we were all going to warm up. I found out that Vika warmed up and she didn't feel well. She was in a lot of pain. Yeah, I heard from the captain about 10:30 this morning. Q. Were you surprised and did you feel ready to play? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Yeah. You obviously always feel ready because otherwise you're not here. But, yeah, it was tough because I was, of course, expecting. You never know what's happening in the last moment. But it's obviously different situation from what I knew the day before. Q. Talk a little bit about the second set. Obviously you were down 4‑Love but you came back. You must have felt like you were becoming a part of the match. ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Yeah, in the second set I had a little bit bad luck with the first couple games on my serve. I was 40‑15 up in both games. The 4‑Love, it was like I was playing better with each game. But it was a little bit unlucky that I went 4‑Love down. I felt I was getting in the match, so I kept on fighting and tried to push myself harder, to try my best. Yeah, it was nice. But I was feeling good that I could come back and make a good match, at least a good set out of it. Q. Can you talk about Christina a little bit, what impressed you about her, and did you sense she was getting nervous in the second? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Yeah, of course, it's actually tough to play for your country, especially every young player because you're just starting your career. It's something new for you. It's a little bit different from normal matches in normal tournaments because there's so many people behind you and so much expectations and stuff. It happens to everybody, for sure not only to Christina. From me, I had it in the beginning. She had it maybe in the end of the match. But, yeah, she's really good player. She probably was nervous, but she held it somehow in the end and she was able to close the match. She served a couple of good serves in the last game, so that helped her a little bit. So that's it. Q. It looked like you were having a problem with your toss. Was your serve off today? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Yeah, we are coming playing outdoors for I would say like about two or three months, the off‑season and Australia. It's always tough. Depends where you practice. Different lights, the ceiling and everything. Of course, when you're a little bit nervous for the match, yeah, it's getting shaky a little bit. But I tried to do my best a little bit. If I didn't throw the ball well, I was trying to get again. Q. Do you expect to play tomorrow, as well? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Well, right now, yes. Right now I think I have to be much more ready for playing tomorrow because if Vika wasn't able to play today, I guess it's much more chance that, as well, she cannot play tomorrow. You never know. Now I have to be even more ready than I was today probably. Q. Did Vika give you any advice going into the match today, anything she said to you when you found out you would be playing and she wouldn't? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: Well, it wasn't particularly Vika had something to say. It was just we were talking with the whole team. Everybody was saying if somebody knew something more about her. I played against her, as well, myself. It was not particularly her, it was just everybody from the team. We were just discussing a little bit the match. Q. Christina seemed in control in the first set. Was she doing anything you weren't expecting or was she just taking control of the game? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: No, she wasn't doing something that I didn't expect. I knew her game and I know the way she was going to play. It was me who was not on top of the game, so I was not able to make a point and make her run a little bit, just play a few shots so that she can start missing. She was doing well. She was returning well, doing some good shots. But I was not able to keep up with the level in the first set. That's why it was on her side. Q. Did you have any idea that Vika was having a problem with her back before this morning? ANASTASIA YAKIMOVA: No. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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