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APIA INTERNATIONAL SYDNEYJanuary 7, 2014Bethanie Mattek-SandsSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES B. MATTEK‑SANDS/A. Radwanska THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Congratulations. What do you think of the result today? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Very happy with it. I've played her a couple times and I've never beaten her, so it's probably one of the best wins of my career. But I'm really happy to be competing right now. I had gotten injured at the end of last year, so I'm really happy to be out there right now. Q. You have quite an injury history. What is it that keeps you coming back, because you've had to show quite a bit of resilience? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Good question. I may be a little crazy. No, you know what? I love playing tennis. I feel that's just where I've been blessed with talent. It's something I've done since I've been young. I just always feel that when I've gotten hurt, I just haven't accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. It's kind of always having that goal in mind. That's kind of what brings you back. I love playing tennis. I love competing. I want to say that's what keeps me motivated. Q. What was the key today? It's not always easy to play your style against someone like that. Kind of winds players up and a lot of variety and a big thinking player. What worked for you? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Yeah, she's a tricky player. I think sometimes she likes playing aggressive players because she controls the ball so well, she can change directions so well, and she's so good at reading you. Even if you feel like you're holding a shot and trying to fake her out a little bit like you're going one way, she reads the ball so early. You almost have to be a little bit more patient. For me, I didn't want to get lulled into not playing aggressive either. I stuck to my game. I wanted to attack return of serves. I wanted to set up points with my serve. You know, d of my game plan against anyone. But against her I wanted to keep to the same. You have to be ready for her to get another ball back. That was the key: Just always ready for it to come back one more time. Q. Is it possible given the length of your career you've returned a better player now? You're saying it's your third match of the year, but one of the biggest win of your career. You came off a good win yesterday, too. BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Definitely. You know what? I think I've only gotten better. I really had a great off‑season. Since last year my goal, like I said to you yesterday, was to improve every single day. You know, if you do that, you know, if I do that, I'm happy with myself. I think that's allowed me to actually really see things in a different light, see my game in a different light, and really improve on things I want to improve on, and really stay with my strengths. I've just gotten more specific I think as I've gotten older. You know what? Again, I'm improving every day, so I'm excited for this year. Q. I noticed a couple of rallies you kind of outfoxed her. That's hard to do. You played a lot of dropshots and you came out on top of a lot of those cat and mouse rallies. Was that something you were looking to change up, get away from the aggressive game and throw in something a bit different as well? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Well, I'll take that as a compliment, because it's tough to outfox Aga I know sometimes with some of my big shots she'll get behind the baseline, so the dropshots have worked in the past; worked in the last match I played against her. But, again, you don't want to get caught in doing too much of that. You almost get out of your own game. I tried to keep a good balance of making it up and playing aggressive, and I think I did that. Q. Aside from that, your outfits have been eyecatching this tournament. Can you tell us about them? Are they your own designs? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: I wish. I'm basically kind of wearing whatever I want right now. I'm a pretty colorful person, if that's hard to believe. It's just things I've found that I like. It's something what I enjoy. I enjoy fashion off the court, so I like it on the court as well. Q. How much do you know about Keys? I can't remember if you guys have played. BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: We've played a few times. I think we're 2‑2 right bow. We were just talking in the locker room. She's a great upcoming player. Plays aggressive shots, big serve. You know, we've had some battles in the past, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I know she's been playing great and she did well here last year, too. You kind of get comfortable with the tournament, but I think it'll be a really good match. Q. Is she one of the teens that impresses you the most? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Definitely. I think her game is great. She's aggressive.  She goes for her shots. She's not afraid. Even if she misses a few here and there, she keeps going for it. It seems like she doesn't get intimidated by the moment of rankings or things like that.  She's had some great wins. Her serve is great. She places it well. I think she has a really bright future. Q. She might come to you and ask for advice. Has she done that in the past? If she does, how do you put that aside sort of big sister role and go out there and try to kick her butt? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: I think there a few girls coming up that have got a really good friendship in the locker room, and they go in the court and compete, and when you're off, you're friends again. I think that's a great way rot di it. You can't carry your wins and losses everywhere with you. I think a lot of the girls that are coming up right now have great attitudes on and off the court, whether they win or lose. That's probably something I learned later in my career. I think I took some of my losses too seriously when I was younger. It's great to see what they all have really good attitudes. Q. Can you tell us about the Goggle Glass, and is there a tennis application you've found for it yet? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: The way I used it was I actually wore it when I was hitting for a little bit. So you get to see basically the perspective of the player, what they're really seeing. You can see when you're split stepping, recognizing the ball, things like that. Then I had my hitting partner wearing them as well so you can see yourself from your opponents's viewpoint. It is pretty interesting. It's not something I would play a match in, but I definitely think there is a future for it in all sports. You can just get a different perspective that you couldn't really get before. Q. Just leading up to today, I followed your qualification matches. It was very hot in the sun here. Wanted to know how you felt going into today physically and whether you felt it was a help or hindrance that you played so many games in the harsh conditions? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: Coming to Australia you expect the heat and the sun. You know, I was ready for it. Coming down here I wanted to get a lot of matches. I think that'll be No. 6 today. That was the goal for me, was to get matches. I hadn't played a match since last September, so this has worked out great for me. You can't control the elements. So whether it's good or bad, you got to get through it. Today definitely was a lot cooler and it was nice. A little overcast. I thankfully didn't get burnt today. I put enough sun screen on anyway just in case the sun came out for a little bit. But, yeah, I think it's been really good. Q. You probably been through this before, but Radwanska played a lot of matches last week and came in here and there is a slam next week. Jankovic played a lot of matches last week; lost a marathon to Victoria. Coming into here and knowing there is slam next week, are you thinking in the back of your head, Uh‑Oh, if I play two full weeks and I go into Melbourne, I may not be able to physically hold up? BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: You know, I think you're always trying to the the best you can to rest and recover. That's why I was the in ice bath before this. That's why I'm not playing doubles now, too. It's a lot to ask of your body. Some of the girls this week are playing twice a day. As much as I love doubles, I don't know that my body would be able to do that. Right now I'm feeling good. I'm getting matches in. I'm not going to complain about a win and going far in a tournament. It's a good problem to have and figure out. It's a long year. There are lots of tournaments to go. Obviously you want to do well at the big ones; at the same time, you want to treat every match the same. So that's my mentality. Q. You have a longer list of hobbies than most players I reckon. Is that because you've spent so much time out of the game? The hunting thing is interesting for us, because it's very unusual for athletes here. BETHANIE MATTEK‑SANDS: That's something my husband has done since he's been a little kid. I think he's done it since he was five with his dad. So that's only something more recent that I've gotten into. We go to the ranges a lot. I actually shoot a bow as well. So it's just something new to try. I like trying new things. To me, it's exciting. When I go home, you can only do so much in the off‑seasons, but I try to do a lot of different things. It's fun for me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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