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ROLAND GARROSMay 31, 2014Andrea PetkovicPARIS, FRANCE A. PETKOVIC/K. Mladenovic THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. First time in the second week of a slam since 2011. How does it feel? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Ah, okay. Umm, yeah, I'm pretty happy I got through. It was a really tough match. That's all I can say (smiling). Q. How did you feel physically? Because the doctor went. How do you feel? ANDREA PETKOVIC: I feel very bad, I have to say. I feel awful. But I just tried to hang in there, you know. It's a Grand Slam. I just tried to ‑‑I just told myself, Listen, just shut up and play and try your best. Maybe you're gonna be the winner. I don't know, but just try your best. That's all I could do. Maybe it was a good thing, because I didn't realize the public. I didn't realize anything. I was just sort of, yeah, occupied with myself and my body. Yeah, now, I think I need some time to just settle in, because it was a lot of stuff going on. Q. What was bothering you? ANDREA PETKOVIC: I'm having a virus since yesterday, a stomach virus. So I have made great friends with the bathroom the past day and night and today. So, yeah, I was just drained. My energy level, it was below zero, I think. Q. Obviously you're feeling terrible. Do you feel more pride surviving, given those circumstances? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, sometimes I think it helps also because I had no emotions whatsoever. Normally, you know, I'm a very emotional player. I just didn't realize what was going on at all. I was just sort of playing. The only thing I realized was that I was playing terrible and that I was moving awful. But I just, as I said, I just tried to focus. The thing was when I needed to, I raised my level kind of, and I just played a little better at the important moments. Yeah, and, you know, sometimes you need to be lucky as well. Q. Is that why your celebration was a little bit muted in the end? It wasn't big. Was it because you weren't feeling great? Are you good friends? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, also, because I respect all the players, but I really like Kiki, we have been friends for years. You know, as I said, I just didn't have any emotions. I was just drained energy‑wise, emotions‑wise. I just ‑‑I was just surviving. I wasn't playing. I was just surviving. So I didn't even realize I won. Really, it was so weird. So I'm really sorry. It was the weirdest match for me I have ever played. Q. You said at one point you said to yourself, Oh, just shut up. Tennis players are out there for hours just with themselves. Must have an incredible inner dialogue just going on. Talk about your own inner dialogue. Sometimes does it get way out of hand where there are some funny moments with that? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, today the thing was that was always coming up, Why do I feel so bad? Why am I not moving better? Try it. Then I was trying and then after long rallies I felt bad again. So that was the only thing that kept going through my mind, Why do I have to feel bad now? You're playing on Philippe Chatrier, it's such a nice atmosphere, the crowd is really into it. Just try and get into this match already. Just try to get some emotions going. And I just couldn't. That was the thing that actually annoyed me most, that I couldn't get into the match emotionally. Because it was a beautiful atmosphere, and I was just sort of like a zombie there. Then when I realized I didn't have a lot of energy, I just told myself, Okay, as I said, just shut up, don't think and try the best you can with all that you have today. Just run for each ball as good as you can. Hit the balls as good as you can and try to jump on your serve. That's all I could do. As I said, in the important moments I was able to raise my level by pure willpower, I guess. I was really lucky I got through in the end. Q. Is it because you had so many injuries that you said, Okay, that's not your problem today for me? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Well, you know, I have learned to listen to my body more, obviously. I knew, you know, it's a virus, it's going to be gone tomorrow, it's two days, and it's nothing that's going to end my career. But it could have ended my tournament today. So I was pissed at it, you know. Because I wanted to play well and I wanted to play better first time on Chatrier. And I just wasn't able to physically. So I was just annoyed by all the circumstances. And then, you know what helped also? I just told myself, I sort of pushed back that it could have gone for three hours more, because there is no tiebreak. I just sort of said, Listen, you just have to survive. Just 15 minutes more, just 15 minutes more, and then just 10 minutes more, 10 minutes more. And, yeah, as I said, I just survived the match. That's all. Q. You get Kiki Bertens next as a qualifier. Being in the second week obviously is a big opportunity. I know every player who has gotten there is playing well. But probably as a seed against a qualifier you feel more pressure. ANDREA PETKOVIC: Pressure? I don't feel any pressure. I haven't ever played her. I don't know anything about her. I have never even practiced with her. So I really don't know anything. So I really have to do some catching up now maybe with some videos and just get to know her as a player. Obviously she has nothing to lose. She played some tremendous matches to have come so far. So I'm well aware that I have to be on my top and the first thing I have to get physically ready again. I think this tournament and other tournaments as well, but this tournament especially showed that if you're not on top, even if you are a Grand Slam champion or the No. 1 in the world, those girls are going to beat you nowadays. You just have to be on your toes all the time. Everyone is playing super well. I don't feel any pressure. The only pressure I feel is try to play well and do my best and get the best out of it. Q. Despite your physical condition, obviously you have been coming back, having some better and better results. Is this kind of a confirmation to get this far at a major tournament like this that you are really back? ANDREA PETKOVIC: Yeah, yeah, it's been really nice. As I said, I have been having good results after my comebacks, but I was lacking the results at the Grand Slams. I was playing bad at the Grand Slams. So now it's nice to be back at the big stages again. It's just what we all dream about and what we all work for. So it's just, you know, it's just also a confirmation for having stuck to my comeback and sort of pushing through the hard times. And actually, one year ago I wanted to stop with tennis because I was awful. I'm here in the fourth round, which is kind of nice. I'm just happy I stuck with my comeback, and I kept trying. Yeah. Q. This is a place of highs and lows for you. ANDREA PETKOVIC: Always the Grand Slams are a place of highs and lows for me. That's the nice thing about it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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