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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS


February 19, 2015


Lucie Safarova


DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

K. PLISKOVA/L. Safarova
3‑6, 7‑6, 6‑1


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  She's tough to play, isn't she?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  Yeah, she was playing really well.  First set I pulled it out.  It was really close, but I made it at the end to manage to break her and hold the serve.
But second set I had early break which she played really well the one game with the wind and started to play really aggressive and serving amazing.  So it was really tough.
In the third set I was struggling with my energy, so I was a little bit late.  She was just playing better and better.  She deserved to win.

Q.  What is it about Dubai?  This is your seventh time.  Round 1, Round 2 I think four times, Round 2?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  I think I'm in quarters here, so that's good.  And I beat Venus who didn't lose 16 matches here.  So I'm happy about my performance.
Karo was just playing better today, and, yeah, I keep working on myself and looking forward to playing Doha.

Q.  What would be goals for this year?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  Obviously to keep my ranking, which is 15.  So it's not easy always to perform every year great, so I'm going to try to do my best.  The dream is to be once top 10.  I'm working towards that.

Q.  Is it positive, moving on from here?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  Yeah, I mean, I won three matches.  I think I played well here, so I will move with confidence to the next tournament.

Q.  You had a very good year last year.  Do you feel any pressure at all to try and at least match that or improve on it?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  I think it's just that once you have such a good year, you're suddenly in the different position where the players have nothing to lose against you and they just perform on their best.  So it's not easy to keep the high level, because you have to play always 100%.  It's not easy to keep the position.

Q.  Will going into Wimbledon this year be a burden on what you did last year?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  I enjoy Wimbledon a lot.  It's nice to play on grass, so I'm going to be excited to be there again.  Of course it's not easy to reach again semifinals, but I will take it step by step and each match.

Q.  You say that you are a great admirer of Angelina Jolie?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  It was a few years ago already.  I have different favorite actor since then.

Q.  You have played here now several times.  What do you like about being in Dubai?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  It's always fun.  Obviously we don't get to see much, because working or playing every day, but I have been here for holidays twice.  I like the water parks.  I like the beaches and shopping obviously. So it's a fun city.

Q.  Does having a hotel so close make it more special than other tournaments?
LUCIE SAFAROVA:  It's very convenient for us players, because it's the best when you don't have to lose your time with traveling towards the hotel and back, and you can just right away go and relax.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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