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MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAUApril 5, 2015Martina HingisSania MirzaMIAMI, FLORIDA MIRZA‑HINGIS/Makarova‑Vesnina THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Congratulations. SANIA MIRZA: Thank you. MARINA HINGIS: Thank you. Q. Must have been a very exhilarating victory today. Close to losing the first set. Talk about that and the turning point in the first set. MARTINA HINGIS: I think it's the most important thing that we never stop believing that we are a great team. It's just like they played a really good set to get us to that position. I think the 5‑2 or 2‑5 score was a little bit lucky shank here, a shank there; Makarova played really well. She was definitely the leader of that team. We tried to stay in there and get our chances. What happened like we just build on every point and just like really what we did last week well. They started off really well, and I think we just had to get our rhythm and start hitting. We were like almost in the beginning thinking, Okay, they were going to hand it over to us. But they're not, because they have nothing to lose from last week of we have to prove it again. We started playing our game, and I think after 5‑2 down we won like seven consecutive games. SANIA MIRZA: A lot of games. MARTINA HINGIS: Our games came back together I think, yeah. Q. Just Martina, this is your second year in a row winning the doubles title here with two different partners. What does that mean to you? MARTINA HINGIS: Well, obviously I'm not going to cry about it. (Laughter.) I think I love the courts here. It's just always been a great place here for me to play, whether it's singles or doubles. Especially last year winning my first big tournament with Sabine and like proving to myself that I can actually still play with the elite out there today. Now it's almost easier from last week that we teamed up winning Indian Wells. Sania played a great tournament. We are in this group and coming back to a tournament that you already won last year, so it was like, Oh, it's nice. You feel like you belong here. At least for me it feels like this, yeah. Q. You obviously had a lot of success, singles‑wise, but I believe with today's tournament title you have as many doubles titles as singles in your career. MARTINA HINGIS: That was my goal, at least reach the same titles. No, now we're working on getting Sania to No. 1. That's the main goal for me, to get her to No. 1. SANIA MIRZA: Wow. Q. What are your feelings in terms of satisfaction winning a doubles title? MARTINA HINGIS: It's a different situation. It's a different situation in my career right now. I know my singles days are over like long time ago when I decided not to play anymore. Now it's just everything that I always say that I achieve now is a bonus. I really enjoy every minute, every moment of it. Now playing with Sania, we haven't dropped a set since we played together. You have to think like that. Today like you get tired and down a little bit, but still we managed to find a solution and to win. Q. What makes you all such a good team, Sania? SANIA MIRZA: There are a bunch of things, I think, but mostly the fact that we complement each other's games, she at the net and me at the back. I think that's our biggest strength. When I'm hitting the ball big at the back and she's at the net, it's tough for the other team to finds space. I think that's one of the biggest strengths. The second thing is she knows how to win. I've won a lot in the last couple of years, and we both try to find a way always. Today down 5‑3, set point, deuce, I took a chance and went for a big T and we made it. From there was it a different story. I think that was a huge turning point, because they got a little down on themselves. So I feel we believe in each other, yes, and even in ourselves and abilities very well, and we complement each other in those two departments as well. Q. Just from the sheer fun standpoint, what's more fun, singles or doubles? MARTINA HINGIS: If you ask me, it's different when I was 17 or I'm like 34. It's twice the age. It's not the same. This is not the right question to probably‑‑ I couldn't have an answer because I enjoy. Really like today I can live through it more. Okay, we fly to Charleston tomorrow, the tournament starts all over, keeps going. But when I was 16, 17, I was so young. You're like you have to keep going, keep rolling, because the Williams sisters, the Davenports, the Capriatis were in my back and trying to beat me every single day, every single week. Now we have more time to enjoy like later in the career. Q. Sania, both of you have pretty vibrant personalities. At the change of ends sitting courtside, what are you all talking about? SANIA MIRZA: Well, most of the time tennis; sometimes not. MARTINA HINGIS: Today the coaching really turned it around. Your dad came on court. SANIA MIRZA: To be very honest, yeah, we try and enjoy it. Even there was a couple rounds ago we were down set point as well in one of the matches to a team that's not as good as Makarova‑Vesnina probably. We just tried to keep telling each other to enjoy the struggle as well. Last week everything came very, very easily to us and we didn't lose more than four games in a set. Over here we were down and we were like 5‑All and we're panicking. Oh, my God we're not playing well. We weren't used to that. I think we actually just talk about trying to enjoy the struggle as well, if that makes any sense. Enjoy that fighting spirit as well. It's good to fight through those matches and believe and come out now and be like, Oh, 5‑3 I was gutsy to hit a big serve or she made a huge move at 5‑4. So it's good. We talk about tennis and sometimes we talk about other stuff, which we shouldn't tell you about. Q. What was the biggest challenge for you of the whole tournament? MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think it's also when you win a tournament your spirits are up, but also like to keep up the energy. Like two consecutive weeks, the tournament stretches that you stay, you know, in like‑‑ even the days off are like you have to practice; you have to push yourself over and over again. For me, it was good we had those two days off because it starts to get long and you start to like wear out. Not physically, it's more mentally. That's why sometimes the Grand Slams are tough to play. It's not a five‑, six‑day event. It was a full month now of playing every day tennis, traveling, this and that. So I think that's the biggest challenge, to find the rhythm and find like the new energy to go back on court and fight. SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, I think that and also the fact that when we came last week in Indian Wells no one really knew how we played and we were a big surprise package. Everyone was like, Oh, okay. That was a good fluke win. You don't go through a tournament without losing a set or going over four games. We came here and we're more scouted out. Like today in the first set I felt like they were playing a little different to what we expected them to play. That's only because we played them last week, two weeks ago. So it's going to keep happening. I think that's the biggest challenge now, how we cope with this and how we move forward. Of course staying focused, but most tournaments are not two weeks. They're one week thankfully. But, no, trying to stay focused, trying to really ‑‑ I mean, at some point we're going to lose. We're not going to keep winning the whole year. Just try to find our game and try to keep improving. Even though we're winning, doesn't mean we're not making mistakes. We still need to improve. We're also learning about each other and how we play as well. Sp keep improving on that and consolidating. Q. What will the next tournament be? SANIA MIRZA: Charleston. MARTINA HINGIS: Charleston tomorrow. Q. Are you guys planning on playing Grand Slams? MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah. SANIA MIRZA: We're gonna play the whole year together. Q. What about the No. 1 ranking? How much is that in your sights? MARTINA HINGIS: Well, that's why we're going to Charleston. What a question. To get that. Q. I'm talking about thinking about the mental side of it and the pressure that comes up with that. SANIA MIRZA: Let me tell you, she's been No. 1 at singles and doubles, and she can probably be a better judge or better person to tell you how it feels to get to No. 1. When we start off as kids holding a tennis racquet, you dream of being No. 1 in the world. That's a dream for every person; very few get there. I'm obviously very, very close. Not that I'm not aware. I'm human and every match that I'm playing, of course I'm thinking and hoping that it happens. That's why for me today's match was so huge. Makes me really, really close to No. 1. I think I'm a few points off. It's something that I've dreamt of all any life. We're going Charleston, and our thing was if we play final or won here we would go to Charleston. That's what we're doing. Obviously we're in the hunt for No. 1, of course. But, yeah. MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but there is no pressure really because eventually, hopefully sooner or later ‑‑ it's great if it happens next week, but I think the way we play and the chances‑‑ even if it doesn't happen next week, I think the way we play and team up together, sooner or later hopefully it's going to happen. It's just a question of time hopefully. SANIA MIRZA: But it's not like we are not thinking about it. Of course. I mean, you're human and you want to get to No. 1. When you're No. 5 it's not as close as when you're No. 3 or 2. That's where I am today. She's very close as well, right behind me. MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah. SANIA MIRZA: But hopefully we both can get there, to be very honest, as a team. I think that's very important for both of us. MARTINA HINGIS: As a team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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