home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN


February 22, 2012


Sabine Lisicki


DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

S. LISICKI/I. Benesova
6‑3, 6‑3


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  You must have enjoyed that out there.
SABINE LISICKI:  Yes.  You know, it's great to get a revenge after the way I lost to her at Fed Cup.
So I really wanted to get the win, and very pleased the way I did it.

Q.  Good to get the revenge so quickly, isn't it?
SABINE LISICKI:  It is.  Well, I haven't played a right‑hander since January, since I played Sharapova.  It's the, I think, fourth in a row, would have been fifth if I would have a played Paris.
So, um, yeah, getting used to that.  Good training.  (Laughter.)

Q.  Are you happy with your season so far?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, my last couple of matches were not that good; didn't play well.  Even better the way I played now.
So I think I started the year very good.  Played amazing in Australia.  Didn't play a couple‑‑ played a couple of bad matches, so, you know, good way to turn it around here.

Q.  Have you had time to do anything away from the courts here this week?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, actually, yes.  I went to one of the big malls and to the spice market.  Do it always when I come here and enjoy it a lot.
So I need to post that on Facebook as well.

Q.  Did you buy anything interesting?
SABINE LISICKI:  Spices, lots of spices.  I really like to cook, so I have to go and get some good spices.

Q.  What's your speciality then?
SABINE LISICKI:  Oh, I like the variety really.  You know, with spices you can really change the food a lot, and here we have spices that you cannot buy the same way in Germany.
So it's nice.

Q.  How did you learn to use them, the spices?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, we go to lots of different restaurants.  I am curious how you make it, so I go to the Internet and take a look at the recipes and then try it out myself.

Q.  You don't ask to talk to the chef?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, they won't tell me anyway, I don't think so.  (Laughter.)
So, no, I haven't done that.

Q.  Offer them a signed shirt or something for their secret.
SABINE LISICKI:  Yeah, exactly.  So that's why I don't ask.
But I like to try around as well.

Q.  Do you get much chance to cook these days?
SABINE LISICKI:  No, not that much.  Once I'm home I always cook.  Always.  So, you know, sometimes it doesn't work out well, but that's very rare, thanks God.

Q.  Last year you climbed I think 150 places in the world rankings.  What can you do this year, do you think?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, I still want to go step by step.  The most important thing is to improve for me, just have to fun on the court.
That's why I played so well last year, because I really enjoyed it with all my heart.  So that's the main goal.
And stay healthy.  I think I work hard anyway, but staying healthy is the most important thing, I think.

Q.  You have fun of the court as well.
SABINE LISICKI:  Yes.

Q.  You think some players maybe focus too much around the tennis and should enjoy where they're going and what they're doing?
SABINE LISICKI:  That's what I did before I had the big injury.  I was very focused only on tennis and wasn't doing anything at all besides, you know, training.
But then I realized, you know, it's hard to only‑ it's impossible actually ‑ to only be on tennis.  But I think it's a very fine line between doing things off the court and having fun, but still having the energy to go all the way on the court.
So that's what I learned last year as well through the Xperia Hot Shots, so what helped me a lot.  It's a good way to find yourself.

Q.  Did being injured give you chance to do lots of cooking?
SABINE LISICKI:  Actually not because I was on crutches.  So I was not allowed to stand.  Mom was the one doing the cooking back then.

Q.  You're obviously artistic in all kinds of ways:  Cooking, the pottery, the Hot Shots as well.
SABINE LISICKI:  Yeah.

Q.  What can you imagine doing after you finish playing?  Anything creative?
SABINE LISICKI:  I don't know.  There are many things that I'm interested in.  I like art a lot.  I like design.
But I'm also interested in the human body.  Through the sport we go through so many injuries and health issues, and I learn a lot by talk to the doctors as well.
When I was injured, it was actually funny.  Towards the end when I went to the last appointment with the doctor to specialist, he was asking, Did you learn this?
So, you know, because I'm interested in the human body.  So lots of things.  I don't know what I'm going to do afterwards, but probably ‑‑ I would love to do ten things, but I probably have to pick one.

Q.  What age did you leave school?
SABINE LISICKI:  When I was 17, I believe.  Yeah, the year before my first Australian Open, so 17.  I turned 18...

Q.  Was it always going to be tennis, or were you thinking about other avenues?
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, I always wanted to become a professional tennis player, but I was very, very good at school as well.  So that was actually the main part of why I couldn't come up earlier.
When I had exams at school I was not practicing as much because I wanted have to my straight A's.
So then I said, Okay, I'll finish the tenth grade.  That's the mandatory part in Germany.  Then you can making a holiday.  That's how we say it.  I don't know how you say it in English.  You can come back after year or two max and just go on from where you stopped.
So that seemed like a good option, because I was ranked 350 in the world.  You never know what's going to happen.  Then within one and a half year I was in the top 50 or 30.
So from there on I didn't go back, but I for sure want to finish.

Q.  You will do that one day?
SABINE LISICKI:  I want to, yes.  I miss it.

Q.  What subjects were your good ones?  English?
SABINE LISICKI:  English was easy.  Math, physics, biology, those were my favorite ones.

Q.  Are you saying you imagine you could be a doctor, for example?
SABINE LISICKI:  Maybe, yeah.

Q.  Be a lot of studies to do that.
SABINE LISICKI:  Yeah, but I love it.  I love the human body, so I'm very interested in it.  That's one thing I can imagine myself doing.

Q.  Talking about the human body and talking about tennis, and I mean, there have been cutbacks on the tour, but at the moment Vika had to pull out today...
SABINE LISICKI:  Oh, she did?  I didn't know.  Okay.

Q.  Yeah.  Kvitova is not here.  There is still a lot of injuries.  Now, knowing what you know...
SABINE LISICKI:  Uh‑oh.  I should never have said it.  (Laughing.)

Q.  Do you think it's still a little bit too demanding?
SABINE LISICKI:  I think the problem is that the season is from January until November.  You still want to improve so you're practicing a lot and pushing your body.
I think it's also a very fine line to see how much you can do off the court, still be fit, and not to do too much to get injured.
You have to find yourself.  Also you have to schedule your tournaments very well.  You have to know your body to know when you have to take a rest.
So, you know, you have to have experience for that.  I learned a lot through all my injuries.  I'm definitely getting better at that.
Maybe the other girls have to learn it as well.

Q.  Because it just occurred to me that, yes, the WTA have done a sterling job in giving a longer off‑season.  But then during the off‑season you read about players playing exhibitions in far‑flung places like Barbados...
SABINE LISICKI:  They're fun.  Who doesn't want to go there?  (Laughter.)
Q.But everyone moans about all the travel they have to do during the course of the working year.
SABINE LISICKI:  You still have the choice if you do them or not.  So if you like it and you want to go there, you can go.
I did one of them as well.  Had fun.  Went early to Australia.  I think you can always choose.  So you're the one who says yes or no in the end of the day.

Q.  Agnieszka Radwanska said today she thinks the players sometimes work too hard in the off‑season and that's maybe why they get injured now.
SABINE LISICKI:  Well, that's what I said before.  You have to know how much you can do to still be fit and healthy, how much breaks you have to do.
You know, even when you go through a bad period of time, you don't win so many matches, you try to push, push, push.  At some point, your body breaks down.  You know, you want to get better, but you still need to let your body rest and recover.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297