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WUHAN OPEN

September 24, 2018

Angelique Kerber

Wuhan, Hubei, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling about your game and mentally entering this stretch of the season?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I'm feeling good so far. I mean, after New York, I took a little bit of time and a little bit rest. Yeah, I start practicing after to getting ready for the last few weeks in the season.

So far I'm feeling good. Yeah, I'm trying to taking the rest of my energy to trying to take it out and trying to give my best the next three tournaments.

Q. Simona Halep was saying after the French Open, Wimbledon was just too fast, that she was just not ready to step back on court and play a Grand Slam. Does that feel like a familiar thing when it came to winning Wimbledon, then playing the US Open? I know during the summer you were talking about it was hard to transition from grass to hard. Did it feel too fast?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I think between Paris and Wimbledon, it's like just to go on grass. From Wimbledon to New York, you have a little bit more time. But for sure, I mean, if you win such a big tournament, you are trying to taking also little bit time for yourself.

Actually on the other side, you have to step on court, practicing, getting ready, because it will not be easier, even tougher for the next tournaments. For sure the time is flying between such a, yeah, tournaments when you win it.

So for sure, I know the feeling. Maybe also for me, New York came a little bit too early. But this is the schedule, and it's nothing new. You have to get used maybe also to it. But, of course, it's not so easy.

Q. First time you won the majors, you had Australia, then a while, New York, then you have a while. When you got home from New York, did you get a little bit more of an opportunity to I guess play catch-up with respect savoring Wimbledon so you can kind of put it behind you?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: Yeah, because you have then a little bit more time, especially after New York where you had, like, a little bit more like the time after Wimbledon, after then the next Grand Slam you can settle down a little bit and getting ready for the next one.

So for sure, the time is I think the most important thing. The time is flying. You have to really, yeah, plan it. But sometimes it's impossible to really make the best schedule because, yeah, there are also emotions. We are not like, yeah, robots. It is for sure not so easy.

Q. What are the conversations like between you and Wim heading into this season, when you got back together, started practicing? What are the goals? What do you need to do to reach those goals for the rest of the year?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: You know, now I was trying to practicing as good as I can the last few days, the last week. Now it's just to going out there, trying, you know, to play the best I can still play and focusing on every single match, not looking too far.

I know in my mind there are not so many weeks right now. But, yeah, just trying to staying here, staying in the moment, and just trying to do the best in every single tournament now.

Yeah, I mean, it's the last few weeks, it's the end of the season. For sure it's not getting easier, but I think everybody's feeling the same.

Q. When you say after the US Open you were able to let it sink in, how much cooler does three-time Grand Slam champion sound to you than one-time or two-time? Do you get even hungrier you want to win so many more?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: Yeah, it sounds better than one or two, for sure. For me it's great that they are three different, that I really won three different ones.

Yeah, I mean, of course I'm looking forward to the next ones. We will see how many I can win when I stop my career sometime.

Yeah, but three times so far, it sounds not that bad (smiling).

Q. You've won three slams. Obviously the one missing now is Roland Garros. What do you have to do to win there? It's not the easiest surface for you.
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I don't know. I think I have to put a lot of work for the clay court season. But right now I really not thinking about clay, about Paris. I'm thinking to being now here in China, trying here to do my best. Then if I have the time and the preparation for clay, I will thinking about that.

Q. On a scale of 1 to 10, how important or how much do you want to finish the year at No. 1?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: No. 1? You know, like when I start the year, as well, I mean, I was 21 or something. Last year I was 1. I really not thinking about rankings. I mean, of course, if you play and you really want to go back to be No. 1, to reaching back to top 10, whatever.

For me it's the most important thing that I go on court, play my best, having fun out there, enjoying every single moment at the end of the season. If you play good, win your match, yeah, we will see what's happening at the end of the year. For me, I'm really not thinking about this.

Q. You mentioned it's the end of the year, last few weeks of the season. Before you go into the end-of-the-season review, is there something in your game physically that you want to work on? You talked about enjoying yourself out there, but there must be some short-term targets technically or physically you want to achieve.
ANGELIQUE KERBER: I think technically it's not really a lot of things that we can change right now in the last few weeks. I think this you can focusing on the off-season when you prepare for the next year.

Right now I try to stay fit, trying to do a lot of, like when I was home, staying physically strong. I think this is really important, especially because, yeah, you feel that you are a little bit tired from the year.

This is where I try to focusing in. Yeah, I take my treatments, I take my time off, going on court and trying to do my best. I think more on the physically.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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