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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA


May 9, 2016


Petra Kvitova


Rome, Italy

An interview with:

PETRA KVITOVA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Welcome to Rome.
PETRA KVITOVA: Thank you.

Q. So talk about the transition from Madrid to here. When did you get here? How often have you been able to practice?
PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I came yesterday. I didn't really practice. I have been with my doctor and checking the stomach muscle, and he said it's almost okay. I didn't really practice and I practiced yesterday for half an hour for the first time and today again. So that's good.

Q. How is it feeling? Do you still feel pain when you're hitting, or...
PETRA KVITOVA: No, I don't feel really pain. I'm just a little bit scared about. But I think it's in the good way up. So that's important.

I'm just trying to hit as many balls as I can but still with a good balance, not really too much.

Q. What's the biggest difference for you or the biggest difficulty when you transition from Madrid to Rome? Is it the conditions, the weather, the balls?
PETRA KVITOVA: The weather is fine, I think. The conditions differently, of course. The balls are a little bit heavier than in Madrid. I felt like in Madrid it was really flying but not really here.

The courts are pretty good, I think. I didn't really practice on the big ones, but the practice courts are good. I hope the main courts will be the same. I think that we are kind of used to have different conditions every week. And it's no jet lag, which is good (smiling).

Q. That is very good. So when you come to Rome, and obviously the French Open is not so far away, so with the injury and everything, what is your expectation here? What is your goal for this week?
PETRA KVITOVA: Well, my goal is not to hurt myself. Not really to be injured again. That's the main thing.

I know I'm missing the practices, but I'm here to do my best again and we'll see how everything will handle it. Of course Paris is coming, and it's still week between, which is good. We'll see how everything is going but no expectations really here.

Q. So obviously everybody has come here. Everybody is taking pictures of food and dinner. Rome offers a lot of incredible options. But you're also a professional athlete. So you can't, I presume, eat everything. When you're in Rome, what do you look for specifically to eat?
PETRA KVITOVA: Well, I hope that one day I have time to go to city to have a little bit, I think. And I will look for some gelato.

Q. What's your favorite flavor?
PETRA KVITOVA: I like almost everything: vanilla, strawberry.

Q. Who are the favorite of the tournament, in your opinion?
PETRA KVITOVA: I know that Simona is playing very well, which she showed in Madrid. So I think that she can play really good here. Serena is back. Of course she didn't really play on the clay, but she's still one of the best players. Then I think it's very open.

Q. In Madrid, many seeded girls went down early. Do you expect a similar pattern here?
PETRA KVITOVA: I don't know. I never look to the draw, but of course we see many seeded players lost, but it's how it is and it's sport. I don't really think that it's any problem or anything.

Everybody is just looking for the specific player. We will see. I never really know. I'm not a visionary.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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