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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMENFebruary 22, 2012Jelena JankovicDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES J. JANKOVIC/F. Pennetta THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Was that an easier match than you thought? You played so well. JELENA JANKOVIC: No, it wasn't an easy match at all. I think from the start we were, you know, back to back. There were some really tight games. It could have gone either way. I hung in there. I was down a break in the first in the beginning, and then I managed‑‑ I lifted up my game and I started playing a lot more aggressively and I started controlling the points a lot better and I put pressure. And especially I think as well I served a lot better than her. I was holding my service games and I was waiting for the opportunities to break her. I did that and won that first set, and kept going in the second. Just towards the end my serve, you know, got‑‑ you know, I don't know, I little bit lost my rhythm. Maybe it's the wind or something, because at times I was tossing and it would swirl and I wouldn't get enough spin on it or get underneath. But overall, I think I played pretty well. I was, you know, fighting well and had a good match. You know, I'm happy with the win. Flavia is a great player and she plays really good tennis, so it wasn't easy to beat her. Q. Were the conditions a bit easier today than playing at night? JELENA JANKOVIC: Today obviously we played during the day so it wasn't as cold. It was warm out there. The wind was still‑‑ the wind was there, but not as bad as in my first match. I kind of got used to it. I know what to expect, and I just tried to do the best under the conditions. Like it is for me it is for my opponent, so we have to try our best. Q. Will you talk about your next match? Sam or Lucie. Can you just say how your game matches up? JELENA JANKOVIC: I played against Sam I think here last year. I think as well in the quarterfinals, but I'm not sure. You know, obviously she has a good serve and forehand. And Safarova is a lefty player and plays pretty aggressively. I played against both of those players many times in the past. I still have to go on the court and really play well if I want to win. I have to stay on top of the baseline and try to play as aggressive as I can, but within limits. Play at a high level. Q. Vika pulled out today because of the injury she picked up in Doha. The WTA have really gone out of their way to make the season shorter. Big gap in the off‑season. Still there is a real a lot of withdrawals here. Is it just coincidence, or is it a tough time of the year? JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. But we play, you know, pretty much all year‑round. You know, I think sometimes the schedule is tough, because after Melbourne most of us had Fed Cup. The ones who played had to fly from warm Melbourne, which is 30 degrees, and you go to minus 20 somewhere in Europe, and then you go again to warm place, you know, here, Dubai, indoor, outdoor. You know, that's really not easy to do. It's tough on our bodies. Obviously we been doing this for years. I been on the tour‑‑ been professional maybe like around 12 years. It's not easy on the body. That's the truth. We try our best to stay in shape and be injury‑free. I got injured in Fed Cup. I pulled my muscle. So all the other players have some other issues, and injuries are part of the sport. But sometimes we wish we didn't have to fly from, you know, one part of the world to another and go from hot to cold. That's the way it is. You just have to try. Q. So it's the Fed Cup really that's caused a lot of problems? JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. It's not Fed Cup in particular, but like just traveling, you know. That can also play a part. You can get injured anywhere. It's not one place. But I think sometimes when you have to do certain things and go from hot to cold and change time zones and fly, it's not easy for you. You are at risk to get injured. But that's the way it is. You know, you cannot help that. I wanted to play as well for my country. We are in the semifinal for the first time, so that was very good for us. I'm happy about that. Now in the moment I'm healthy. Not 100%, but getting there. You know, that's what I can say about myself. Q. With all the big names dropping out, does that give you more confidence of going all the way here? JELENA JANKOVIC: There are still so many tough opponents here, you know. You know, no match is easy. You have to go on the court and really play your best tennis. There is so many great girls, you know, playing tennis at a high level, so every match is gonna be very difficult. I just want to stay on the top of my game and play and compete well and try my best on the court. Q. The draw does open up for almost everyone. I mean, Petra is gone from your side and Vika is gone from the top. So pretty much although you're all virtually at the same level, it's anyone's from here. JELENA JANKOVIC: Sorry, I didn't... Q. There isn't really a firm favorite. JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. It's tough to say who's is favorite. I don't really think about that. I'm in the quarterfinals and I'm looking forward my next match against whoever it will be. Just focus on that one and really not think about winning the tournament or who is the favorite. We still have to go‑‑ you know, it's not a final. It's only a quarterfinal. So there is a way to go. Q. Back to Fed Cup for a second, in the men's circuit some people were suggesting that Davis Cup would be better every two years. Do you like the fact that Fed Cup is annual? Is this a good idea? JELENA JANKOVIC: It's difficult to say, you know. I like it when we are in the semifinal or final. Obviously I like it when we have a chance to win it, and, you know, hold the trophy. That's our goal. But it's difficult to say. Playing for your country, it's an honor. You don't play for points; you don't play really for money. I'm very patriotic and I really like that. It's a team spirit, team event. You're not there alone. You're with your teammates, with my colleagues from Serbia. So it's different type of competition. Normally when you're playing, you know, these kind of tournaments, you're playing as an individual. Yes, you're representing your country, but you're playing on your own. You don't anybody sitting on your bench and supporting you. It's different. So I like that kind of competition as well. It's just sometimes it can be really hard, you know, with our individual tournaments, you know, and then flying and playing without having really any breaks, you know, competing right away and playing the Fed Cup. You know, it's hard, but what can you do for right now? I'm not the one who can make those changes or do anything about it. You have to maybe speak to somebody who's in charge of that. Q. Another idea that is regularly put forward about Davis Cup and would seem to lend itself to Fed Cup in light what you were saying, is that they truncate the whole of Fed Cup into a two‑week period in one venue. JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, maybe they could do it like that, find a period during the year which is convenient for all of us and maybe squeeze it. Because I think Fed Cup as well is coming up in April, so obviously you're in the States and we have to‑‑ we are playing against Russia. I have to fly to Russia right away from States, which that's not easy, and compete again in the cold. Q. Everyone about Davis Cup says that would make a lot more sense. JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah. If they could do that, you know, find a two‑week period during the year which is, like I said, convenient for all the players and find a gap, you know, when we are available and we have some time off, you know, if we could do that, it would be great. I don't know. That's an ITF event, and I think ITF has to make those changes. I don't think it has to the with WTA. Q. No, no. JELENA JANKOVIC: So I'm not sure. Q. The two parties talk together. JELENA JANKOVIC: I know there were some discussions about that before. I don't think anything has changed so far. We'll see what happens in the future. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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