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WIMBLEDONJuly 6, 2013Sabine LisickiLONDON, ENGLAND M. BARTOLI/S. Lisicki THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How much did nerves come into play today? You looked very much different than you did the rest of the tournament. Are you surprised at that? SABINE LISICKI: I was a little bit because I felt fine this morning. You know, but it's an occasion that you don't get every day. So it's something completely new for me. But I will learn and take away so much from it. I've done that in the past. Experience has always helped me so much. When I was in the quarters here the first time, when I was in the semis for the first time, and now in the final for the first time. I've always gained my experience here, which is good. I hope that next time it will help me to do that one step further. Q. What was it about the occasion of the final that made it sink in for you most? Getting flowers? Walking on court? SABINE LISICKI: I think everything together. Also the walk on court is different. You walk on with the flowers. You walk on together. Everything is a little bit different. You've been here for two weeks. The feeling, atmosphere, gets different. But it's still been a great tournament. It's been an amazing two weeks. I've played my best tennis here. I had to take out the champion and runner‑up from last year, so I think that's pretty big. This will help me to continue to play well and to get better. This tournament definitely made me a better player. Q. You were quite emotional in the second set. SABINE LISICKI: I wonder why. Q. And then Marion actually won the final game. Do you think that will help you when you look back on it? SABINE LISICKI: Definitely. I think the crowd also helped me a lot in that moment. Everybody, when they just got up and applause and tried to get me back into it, they actually did. They gave me the energy also to get back into it and try everything. Obviously, after those two weeks, having so many hard matches is draining in the end of the day. I think Marion was fresher today. I think that made a big difference, too. Q. In the fifth game of the second set you seemed to put your racquet to your face. There was a lot of pressure on you. You got very emotional. Can you tell us what was running through your mind at that point? SABINE LISICKI: Not pressure. For me, there was no pressure. It was just I was a bit sad that I couldn't perform the way I can. So that was basically it. Q. I felt like I wanted a bit more after it finished. You'd been playing two weeks, and it comes down to about 90 minutes. Do you think the three‑set format is showing the best of women's tennis? SABINE LISICKI: I think for us it's good. I really like that we're playing the third set out with no tiebreak. I think that's very good. I think they should keep it that way. Q. Do you think there should be a five‑set final? SABINE LISICKI: Not necessarily, no. Q. What were your thoughts when Marion put her arm on your shoulder as you were walking off? SABINE LISICKI: Well, we're good friends. We've known each other for a while. We had some tough matches. You know, it was good to play against her. She deserves it. She's been on tour for so long. I'm happy for her.  I'm disappointed, but I'm happy for her, as well. I hope that I'll get the chance to go one further one day, as well. Q. You said playing the three‑set matches was draining and Marion was fresher. Did you feel less explosive, no rhythm on your serve? Can you explain how that translates? SABINE LISICKI: If you have a tough draw like I have, Schiavone; Vesnina, who won Eastbourne; Sam Stosur. I had to take out three, four Grand Slam champions on the way, and then against Radwanska 9‑7 in the third set just two days ago. She didn't have to take any huge player out. You know, the matches are different when you play against the top players. They're heavier. They're longer. You have more draining rallies. Mentally and physically I just felt I wasn't at 100%. But then again, you know, look, I tried everything. I went out there in the second set and nearly got it back to level. I think that is definitely something that will help me for the future. Q. Moving forward, how do you translate these results onto the hard courts? SABINE LISICKI: Two years ago I did actually. Last year I was injured so that broke my rhythm. Obviously, the Olympics. I think I'll take a good rest to recover my body, to give it all the energy back and then prepare well for the hard court season, which I'm looking forward to. Q. You talked about the hard draw you had. You get easier draws if you're higher ranked. That's a reflection throughout the year. To what extent can you motivate yourself for the tournaments that aren't on the Centre Court of Wimbledon which make up a ranking because of the consistency? SABINE LISICKI: No, it's good. I'm really looking forward to playing a lot of tournaments. I'm very happy that I'm healthy. That's been a struggle in the past. But this year I've been getting much, much better, and much more consistent because I was healthy. I think that's one thing that will help me to perform better at the other tournaments. Also, you know, the part to take a physio with me more often will help, as well. Q. In the second set after you saved the match points, what did you do? You emptied your mind of all the pressure? You were a different player. SABINE LISICKI: As I said, I didn't think about any pressure. I tried to enjoy myself out there again, just as I've done in the past two weeks. I tried to convince myself to have fun, because that's what I love to do. It's still the court that I love the most. You know, I thought, Hang in there for every point. I was fighting for every point. Q. How disappointed were you that you just couldn't get it? SABINE LISICKI: Yes, it is disappointing. But, look, she played well. It's not like she played a terrible match and won it. She played very, very good. So, you know, there is not much‑‑ when you're a bit tired and someone plays that well, you know, it's tough. Q. What do you admire most about Marion? SABINE LISICKI: To keep going. She's been here in the final quite a while ago. She made it here for a second time and she won it. You know, that is a good story, I think. Q. You brought up the word 'fun'. I was curious how important that is, no matter what match. Do you think about that at all ever or does it click or... SABINE LISICKI: Well, I did think about it today because I was quite tight in the first set, and that was disappointing. I told myself, Look, you're still playing tennis and you still want to have fun. You know, in the end, I did. You know, with all the points it was getting fun again. Also the support of the crowd is something that I love so much. They really did help me today. I hope they'll be there for me in the future. Q. Can you learn from that as well for future Grand Slam finals? SABINE LISICKI: Definitely, yes. Q. During the first set, are you pleading with yourself to stop being nervous? How do you talk yourself out of being nervous? SABINE LISICKI: That's actually not so easy. If it was that easy I think it would have gone differently. Well, you try to calm yourself down as much as you can with different techniques, breathing techniques that usually help, but didn't help today (laughter). Q. Marion came back after a good number of years to win it. In your gut, do you think you can do that and emerge the champion here? SABINE LISICKI: Yes. I still believe in it. I did believe in it in the beginning of the tournament that anything is possible. I'm getting better with each tournament, with each year that I'm on tour. So that's something I think will help me for the future. As I said before, I've learned a lot from experience. I really do. From the quarter and semifinal here in the past, I've taken the one step further to get into the finals this time. I really believe that this experience this year, as hard as it was today, will help me in the future, yes. Q. Looking back on this amazing and busy two weeks, which one is the happiest moment and which one is the toughest moment? SABINE LISICKI: Well, today is the toughest one. The happiest, well, there were two. Beating Serena, obviously, because she's been nearly unbeaten in a year. Everybody was saying that it's impossible to beat her, especially on grass here at Wimbledon. So to pull that off, and the way it went also, the kind of rallies we had, you know, it was just such a good quality tennis that gives you so much. That gave me a lot of joy and confidence. But obviously also beating Radwanska, who was in the final last year. Just the journey. Those two matches were definitely the biggest ones, yes. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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