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CHINA OPEN

October 9, 2015

Timea Bacsinszky

BEIJING, CHINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A rough first set, but you were able to turn that match around. Talk about the unique challenges with playing Sara and how you were able to get that win today.
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Actually when I stepped on the court, I was feeling really well. My warmup went well. First game I was feeling my shots. I did like some winners as well. I had a game plan. I was sticking to it. So it was fine.
Actually in the stadium, you have so much wind because you have those holes around. It's not a constant wind which goes one way. It goes away, it comes. I don't know how you say that.

Q. Swirling.
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: In French it's 'courant d'aire', like when you leave two doors open. I was feeling that. All in a sudden, like she was putting many, many balls in. She was kind of waiting all my weapons like to get there.
She played quite well. I mean, she didn't do something brilliant but she was efficient. She was putting a lot of balls in, making me run around, make me hit a lot of balls. Obviously I was missing a lot.
At a certain point, I just wanted to keep on rallying, and it wasn't even working. I wasn't even able to rally.
Then I looked at my coach and I told him, Yeah, well, maybe it's going to be the first day when I'm going to get double bagel. I was ready for that. Well, I would be maybe sitting here and saying, Wow, today it just didn't work out.
Then, you know, sometimes you don't need much, but just one or two points can, like, change a little bit. She was like 2‑Love up, then 40‑15, she was serving. I returned quite well. Then I was like, Okay, well, let's not go for the early returns, let's wait.
Then I started, like, to have a little plan coming up. I'm the kind of player which tries all the time to find a solution if solution A is not working. I think today I took quite a lot of time to find the B solution.
But I'm happy it worked. It shows that it's never too late for anything in life, not only on the tennis match but for anything. Sometimes you need to be patient.
I'm really happy that I was able to maintain my concentration level, my focus level so long because she's a great player because she makes you play really well at the important moments.
Even if I was 3‑Love up, then in 10 minutes she's back at 3‑All. I lost like eight points in a row or even more. Because she's, like, making you work more and more and more, you have to find a new solution. You cannot say, Okay, let's attack everything, because she's going to be ready. You have to do something else.
Well, I'm really, really happy that I bothered her at the end of the match and I was able to win it.

Q. You've been performing really well this season. Why do you think you have improved so much this season?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Well, I think it's been a long process. Even last year I played really well. It has been a long year for me last year. But I was already on the right track.
I'm patient. Like I don't expect for myself to win everything right away. I just want to improve every match I'm playing. I'm not playing especially for the win, I'm playing to improve, I'm playing to be better for the next day. I try not to make the same mistakes as I did the day before and to learn what I did not that well months before.
So this year I wasn't expecting some great results from myself, such a great results. When the results were coming, I was just ready for it. I wasn't really seeking for something. I was really, yeah, well, I know I'm well‑prepared, I know I'm doing a great job with practicing, with my physical coach, with all my team, and I let them guide me. I trust them. We speak a lot together.
Yeah, just enjoy really what I'm doing. I just love my job. I'm happy for every new opportunity. Even if today, if I would lose the match, I would have definitely learned something from it. That's my philosophy. Yeah, I'm not someone who just really wants something. I'm really looking forward in a long‑term career. I think maybe that's why it worked out for me.
But it's different for everyone.

Q. In your homepage, you updated a picture of you visiting some of the valleys in Beijing. What is your understanding of Chinese culture? What is your impression of Chinese people?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: We went to Hutong, to the famous ones, where the lakes are. The tournament told me, like, we can go there, it's quite nice.
I love to discover new things. I think it's interesting. We're so many people on this earth, and it's so interesting to see different things.
Many people think that tennis players, because they travel, they get to see everything. Actually it's not true. We usually see the tennis courts, we see the hotel, the airport, and the restaurant of the hotel.
We had a day off. We said, Okay, let's go somewhere. I don't know how long I'm going to live. I don't know what's going to happen with me next year or in five years. Hopefully long.
This is good. Like in Europe, you touch wood. Did you know that? I don't know if it's the same. This is interesting because I would love. That's why I'm speaking so many languages, I'm trying to discover new stuff. Sorry, Chinese is so difficult, but I try with some words. I know (speaking Chinese words). Not much though. I know some signs as well.
But I'm interested because it's something different. We're human beings. We need all to try to live together and try to understand each other because we're a little different, but in the end we're the same. We have one head, two hands, two feet. I think it's interesting. It can only bring good stuff to people to learn about other people.

Q. At the beginning of this year you entered the final in Shenzhen, and you are in the quarterfinal of Beijing.
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Semifinal.

Q. Do you think Beijing is a place of luck for you?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Well, I will say maybe China in general because last year in Guangzhou I played a semifinal, then in Wuhan I qualified, did my biggest win so far against Maria Sharapova, then I lost in the quarterfinals. I think overall I'm playing quite well in China.
I don't know why. If you say it's lucky for me, I'm super happy. I know for you the number eight is really a lucky number. I was born number eight. I know Federer as well. Federer is eight of the eight of 81. I'm 8 of June, so at least I have an eight. I love this number as well. Hopefully it brings me luck.
I love all your food. To be honest, I'm feeling super comfortable with it. I even eat sometimes soup for breakfast. This is kind of weird, but I like it.
Yeah, well, I'm feeling great here. I love the Olympics. When I played here, it was my first Olympics. I was a teenager. I was 19 years old, the youngest of the Swiss team with big eyes like that. I'm like, Wow, I'm going to the Olympic Games. I have great memories even if I lost first round against Venus here. Yeah, all the time quite nice memories here.
The only bad memory for me in China was in Suzhou. It was a tournament over there. Really over there it was the first time they did the tournament over there, and it was really, really, really difficult for me. But all of the other times it was quite interesting. All the time taking the train and stuff like that.
At the end we're the same, we just speak another language and write in a different way. For us 'okay' is like that and for you 'okay' is like this. Yeah, I just like being here.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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