|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. OPENAugust 30, 2012Ana IvanovicNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK A. IVANOVIC/S. Arvidsson THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You played very, very well two matches in a row. Just talk about how pleased you are with the match today? ANA IVANOVIC: I'm very happy about today's match, because she's a tough opponent. She does retrieve a lot of balls. She likes to use a pace off opponent. I really tried to use the whole court and open up the court and sometimes go behind her. Looked for my forehand and, tried to, yeah, be more aggressive on that side. It worked really well. I'm very pleased. Q. You have had more than your share of injuries this year. Are you feeling right now 100%? ANA IVANOVIC: I still have a hand of handful of pills every morning. (Laughter.) No, but it is a little bit unfortunate. It's never a good time I guess for injury, but it's also part of our sport. We play so much and changing surfaces and, you know, continents. It's not always the best thing for the body, and mind as well. But at the moment I feel healthy. My foot has been healing. I mean, I'm still taking Voltaren, but it's been feeling fine for each match and practice session. I'm really happy. And I have physio traveling with me. Q. Anti‑inflammatories, pain medication, that kind of thing? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, yes. Q. You have had a taste of world No. 1. You had a taste of a Grand Slam victory. How hungry are you to get that back? ANA IVANOVIC: Very. Very. I'm really motivated. I want to get back to the top and, you know, back in contention to win a Grand Slams again. It's been a long process of getting my mind there and my body and game and everything together. You know, still it's going to be a lot of hard work and long process, but I'm starting to enjoy it as well. You know, I know if it doesn't happen this week, it's, you know, coming. Things are coming together. So that's what I want to focus on and give myself the best possible chance to achieve that. Q. Speaking of being at the top, at the moment the focus is probably on Serena and Maria in the draw. I just wanted to get your thoughts on what it's like, what your thoughts are on their games and what it's like to face them and if you have any kind of relationship with them as people. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I mean, they are playing really well at the moment, both of them. I think there are lots of good and dangerous opponents in the draw. It's never, you know, easy playing them. They have such a powerful game. I think that's the future of tennis and that's sort of where tennis is heading towards. They showed that. I mean, Serena hasn't lost many matches lately, so she's always dangerous, especially here in New York. She loves playing here. Q. You haven't played much on the hard courts this summer. Does that hurt your game or is that overrated? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, it definitely was a little bit disappointing, because before my first match I was a little bit more nervous not having many matches on hard court. Sort of after you play a couple of matches now and you get a few wins, kind of you forget about that. I guess the good side of it is that I'm fresh. You know, I haven't been playing so much and wearing out. Q. How worried were you after you had to pull out of Canada and you found out you had a foot injury and all that? Excuse me, Cincinnati. ANA IVANOVIC: Well, to be honest, when I pulled out, I thought I have plenty of time to heal. But it was Monday before, a week before the tournament started, and I still had pain walking. That's when I started to panic a little bit and to worry. Yeah, I just like was spending a lot of time doing rehab and icing and staying off my foot, which was as well frustrating so I couldn't do much fitness. On Wednesday I could play sort of almost without pain, so that was a big turnaround. Q. Is it muscle or bone? ANA IVANOVIC: No, it was tendon, actually. It was a little tear in tendon. Then my whole foot was inflammated. Q. So the tear really hasn't healed yet? ANA IVANOVIC: No, I think it has, because with all the work that I had it should. Because it's in a place I use so much the inflammation is till there, and that's why I'm still taking Voltaren, to keep the inflammation out. Q. Kim just stepped aside in terms of ending her singles career. We have heard many, many nice things said about her. Do you have a particular story or incident or interaction with her that expresses who she is as a person? ANA IVANOVIC: She's great girl. Every since I came on tour she was always super friendly and open. We had so many laughs in the locker room. Even now we had a good chat. It's really sad to see her leave. I think it's a loss for our tennis. She's such a great champion, and she showed that many times. She was almost coming back yesterday as well. We'll definitely miss her. Q. Do you see yourself playing to age 30, or is that just too long of a career? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, it's hard to say, no? Because many things happen in life that you sort of don't predict. There are certain times in your life when you have different priorities, I guess. But, you know, at the moment I'm really happy with how everything is going. I know I'm considered veteran, but I'm still not thinking. I'm not putting a date to it. Q. The tennis players in particular are some of the few female athletes that are consistently able to get endorsements and get money outside of tennis through brands and starting new companies. I wonder why you think tennis players are so successful at being able to do that. ANA IVANOVIC: Well, it's really hard to say, you know. I think there are also other athletes that have also endorsements outside of their sports. But, you know, woman's tennis, it's quite popular. I think we are doing great job to represent that girls can still be girls and yet do sports and be very athletic. It's a sport that is played worldwide, and I think that's why it's really interesting for people to invest. Q. Is there attention for you as a player between making sure you're excelling on court and your performance is there, but also trying to look for opportunities? ANA IVANOVIC: I think it's connected, because if you do well on court you're not going to get endorsements, so it is very closely connected. Q. Today you have been talking about your injuries; you did the other day. But you also said the other day that tennis is hard on the heart. How is it hard on the heart? ANA IVANOVIC: Emotionally it's very hard. (Smiling.) Well, because, you know, especially speaking from my experience because I take everything personally and I'm such a perfectionist, when you have tough matches and when you lose, it's all in the public eye. It's not easy to deal with it yourself, and yet you have to deal with it in front of so many people. Q. You might end up playing Sloane Stephens. I don't know how much contact you had with her. Do you see any of yourself in her? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I played her last year here, actually. I do know a little bit. She's improved a lot since then. I watched a little bit of the previous match. You know, it's going to be tough match no matter who I play. There are no easy opponents. Q. I'm talking more in terms of personality. ANA IVANOVIC: Personality? She's very bubbly, that's for sure. She's very happy and upbeat. I do see myself a little bit. But I think over the years I calmed a little bit. (Laughter.) Q.She might do the same. ANA IVANOVIC: Maybe, with many years on tour. Q. You say you get emotional when you lose in front of the public eye. Do you feel responsible that people, say, leave the stadium and say, Oh, Ana is my favorite player and she lost? ANA IVANOVIC: A little bit, a little bit. It's tough, because you know that people want the best in their hearts, but still you feel like you're not only letting yourself down but you're letting others down. I know it's not really what matters. It's again, you know, yourself and you know you gave your 100%. But it's never easy, really. Q. While we are comparing you to other players, in a way you can say you and Kim have some similarities: both from relatively small European countries, long‑time prime rival also from your country, and trying to be positive towards everyone. Do you see some similarities between yourself and Kim? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I do. You know, it's nice to be compared to someone like Kim. I mean, she's such a great champion. There are a lot of similarities. I also think in personality, as well. It's not bad to be compared to her. Q. Do you know that this is the second straight Grand Slam that Chris Evert has picked you as the woman sleeper? ANA IVANOVIC: The what? Q. ESPN.com, this is second straight time that Chris Evert pick you as a women's sleeper in the women's draw. Q. It means someone who could go very far. ANA IVANOVIC: Okay. Oh, that's nice. Well, thank you. That's good to know. Now I know what it means. Q. According to your opinion, this is a long process from a sleeper position to get a potential title? ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it is. That's what you work for and you want to put yourself in that position. I guess that I used to get very excited, look forward, and especially, you know, when you know you have a chance to get far. But, you know, I just have to take care of each match at a time, because each match can be dangerous if you focus on the next match or the match after that. Yeah, just taking care of each match. I know I have game to get far. I have done that in the past, but yet it's been a long time since I have reached quarterfinals in a Grand Slam. So that would be my next step. Q. Caroline and Francesca being knocked out of your quarter, do you ever look ahead to see who is still in, out? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, in a way a little bit, and you guys are there to remind me of it, too. Thank you. But, I think it's important to take it one step at a time, because sometimes, you know, it's nice to play top players because you know you have to beat everyone in order to get to the top and to get far in the Grand Slam. You know, other players who are maybe lower‑ranked, they can be more dangerous. Like for example Kerber. Last year she came as ranked as 100‑something and made the semis. Now she's top 10, 6 in the world. Any opponents can be dangerous, especially early in the tournament. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|