June 10, 2014
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
A. IVANOVIC/M. Barthel
6‑4, 6‑1
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Little bit of a slow start, but you seemed to get your grass legs under you pretty quickly. How did you feel overall?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, actually I thought it was better match than I expected. I really played well. Obviously the transition is a little bit tricky, especially she's tough opponent to play on grass with a big serve. I knew that coming into the match. I lost to her a couple times in the past.
Q. Since the French Open, I mean, how many days did you take off and how long have you been able to practice on grass?
ANA IVANOVIC: I only took like two days off. Yeah, then I practiced at home on hard court few times, and then I was in Belgrade to see my family and then I got here on Thursday night.
So I only got two days on grass. You know, it's fun transition. It's a lot different. You feel like you're stuck to the ground all of a sudden. But it takes time to adjust, I think.
Q. This tournament has gone from international level and now is a premier level. You've been here before, what are some of the changes that you've seen, upgrades? What's different?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely the organization seems to be running a lot smoother and the center court is really nice. The practice courts are‑‑ I was quite lucky to practice on the match courts, which is a lot different, I think.
But the whole organization and the gym is great.
Yeah, it's big improvement.
Q. When you changed from clay to grass, what do you have to tell yourself to do? Occasionally players get strained muscles and so forth.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's tough transition, because not only in the body and the movement, but also in the mindset, the way you see the game. You have to shorten the swings and stay low and be aggressive.
On grass court you really sometimes have to hope the that shot goes the way you want it to, because the ball can bounce either way.
In the gym you have to strengthen a lot glutes and quads just to manage to stay strong, and stomach and back as well. So strengthening is really important going on to the grass.
Q. (No microphone.)
ANA IVANOVIC: Actually I haven't had the most success on grass. You know, I had more on hard court, on clay. I really hope I manage to turn that around. Like I said, on grass courts it's a lot about mentality and also the game plan, because everything happens to fast.
My coach, it's the first time we are working together playing on grass, so hopefully he can bring some innovations that will help me make that chains.
Q. You hit a lot of winners. Is that a good sign?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. On grass you have to be aggressive and you have to take risks. Today it worked really well for me, so I was very pleased about that. Like I said, staying low and moving forward is the way to play on grass, I think.
Q. You talked to us in Stuttgart about working on your consistency, and everything else will take care of that, and also your game plan. What is your game plan now for grass?
ANA IVANOVIC: Like I said, I think it's different mentality. On clay you have longer rallies. You get to develop, sort of built points.
On grass sometimes you don't have that time. After you hit a good shot, you have to back up and go to the net, even maybe if as a player you don't feel confident at the net.
I really improve my volleys and try to come in more as well, so this is something that I try to back up.
Q. Are you going to try a bit of doubles to improve that?
ANA IVANOVIC: I think after my last doubles match in Miami I sort of retired from doubles. (Laughter.)
Q. Surely not.
ANA IVANOVIC: I officially said that.
Q. In general, what are your goals for this grass season? It's very short. It's getting longer, but how big a part of the season is this? I know that it's your maybe least favorite surface and it's such a short part of the season as well.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I think it's exciting that next year we'll have an extra event, an extra week to prepare. Definitely quick change and quick turnaround like after French Open.
The clay court is so intense. So many matches and long matches, and then all of a sudden you come here and the matches are quick. Everything happens so fast. It's not something that I've been enjoying too much in the past.
Like I said, I try not to think about past years. I try to make a new fresh start and hopefully have a different approach and see how far I can go.
I have aggressive game and I just have to embrace it. But, also on grass you have to be confident to win matches. If you doubt for a second, it's gone.
Q. You went to the cricket the other day. Are you a cricket fan? You know a lot about the game?
ANA IVANOVIC: Actually, do I know the rules. I spend some time in Australia and I watch the test matches. I never watched it live. After I've been to the grounds on, when was it, Friday, I think, Sania came up to me and she's like, Oh, my husband plays here. Didn't you know that?
Yeah, he didn't come up to say hi, but I do know him.
Q. Who was that?
ANA IVANOVIC: Sania Mirza, her husband.
Q. Have you been around Birmingham, anywhere else at all?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, yesterday I went for a walk to Bull Ring I think shopping center. Just walk around a little bit. It was nice weather and it's nice to see a lot people out and about. Seems to be a lot of graduation ending parties around, which is quite the scene.
Q. It's like that all the time in Birmingham.
ANA IVANOVIC: Oh, really? I did not know that.
Q. What's the tougher transition to make: hard court to clay? Clay to grass? Or from grass back to hard?
ANA IVANOVIC: I think clay to grass is probably the hardest, yeah. From hard court to grass it's not that hard. Even the other day when it was raining I was practicing indoor on hard and went back to grass.
Yeah, clay court.
You are sliding, and all of a sudden you're stuck in one spot.
Q. And one more question: If I say Wimbledon, what's the one memory you have, good or bad?
ANA IVANOVIC: Actually I have memory of going to the ball, because that's like a dream. When you make the finals you go to the ball. I made junior finals one year and I went there. I was actually laughing the other day with Marina Erakovic. We were bringing back the memories from that, and it was quite hilarious.
Q. Were you star struck at the ball? Did you get to meet anybody?
ANA IVANOVIC: The time that I made junior final, that was the year Sharapova won women's and Federer won men's. So it was quite impressive to see them up close, just, I don't know, a 16‑year‑old junior.
Q. Was it weird that you were a 16‑year‑old junior in the final and she was 17 years old and had won it?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely very strange.
Q. What did you think meeting her that first time?
ANA IVANOVIC: We didn't actually meet. They just passing by. They were having the front table; we were at the back.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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