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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN


February 23, 2012


Ana Ivanovic


DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

C. WOZNIACKI/A. Ivanovic
6‑3, 7‑5


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  How would you cap this performance here?
ANA IVANOVIC:  The performance here?

Q.  Yeah.
ANA IVANOVIC:  I mean, I had couple of great matches, you know.  Today was good at times, but not consistent enough.
It's a bit disappointing for sure.

Q.  Do you see any improvements?  What sort of aspects have you improved upon?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Yeah, I feel I'm more consistent.  Today I was just lacking a bit more patience at times.  I was going for too much too soon.
When I was going for it, I wasn't going for it at the right times.  That's a little bit disappointing.

Q.  If you were to judge, how far are you from your best, let's say, French Open 2008?
ANA IVANOVIC:  I mean, it's hard to tell.  I think you can't really compare it.  Maybe the way I was playing at that time is not going to be good enough at this time the way tennis and the game is developing.

Q.  Jelena has a house here.  Would you think or have you thought about moving here maybe?
ANA IVANOVIC:  I struggle to find time to go to Belgrade as it is, you know, and to have a place here I think would be hard.  But it would be very nice.

Q.  Would you think about it?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Not at the moment.  Like I said, I don't have enough time‑‑ as much time to go to Belgrade as I would like.

Q.  What made the difference between you two tonight?
ANA IVANOVIC:  I think inconsistency from my side, you know, and too many double faults also.

Q.  Were you going for too much?
ANA IVANOVIC:  At times, yeah, the wrong shots, you know.  I tried to put pressure on her, but I felt like on my serve I wasn't as explosive as I was and I was lacking a little bit of that intensity.
When you play against top players, you have to be prepared to work hard for every point.  I was, but sometimes I wanted it too soon.  That cost me today.

Q.  Still, there wasn't very much in it, was there?  One hold of serve here and another one there and it would have been a different match.
ANA IVANOVIC:  It was very, very close.  Even despite the things I didn't do right I still had lots of opportunities, and that's definitely a positive thing.
But, you know, it's very disappointing after having couple of good matches just that I wasn't as consistent today.
Still, a lot to learn from.  Overall I'm pretty happy with my week.  I had couple of really tough matches.  You know, like I said it's a process.  Sometimes you have little setbacks.  Today I lost against a really good player.

Q.  The toss on the serve, was that part of the problem?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Well, today it was.  It was just a little bit because I was unsettled and I tried to rush and go for it too much.
But then at times I served really nicely when I sort of relaxed and tried to play within a little bit more.  Rather than think about what I'm going to do to hurt her, concentrate on my own serve.  It's something that I have to be aware of in the future.

Q.  You were saying the other day that you still need to work on your backhand.  Caroline seemingly tonight made a point of keeping it away from your forehand quite a bit.  She was working you on the backhand wing.  Is it nice have to that practice?  And also, the fact that Wozniacki didn't want to go into your forehand side?
ANA IVANOVIC:  I mean, the sore left side of my back tells how many backhands I've hit this week.  Yeah, you know, that's something that everyone is going to go, and I know it and I think it improved.  It's something that I still want to get better at, but you still have to be complete player in order to win slams.
I think backhand is still a solid shot.  I missed few today that I was a little bit too close, but it was just a footwork matter.  That's what I felt I was lacking at times.
But, you know, I think my backhand is as good as forehand when I need it.

Q.  Where do you go from who are?  America presumably.
ANA IVANOVIC:  Yeah, probably.  America probably and try to prepare for Indian Wells and, you know, try to keep playing outdoor and try to do the right thing by body and mind.

Q.  What would be a good year for you this year?  Getting back into the top 10?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Yeah, definitely getting back to top 10.  And playing in Istanbul, the Championships, that would be my ultimate goal for this year.

Q.  That would be your main target this year?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Yes.

Q.  Talk a little bit about coaching.  We've been talking to some of the players about on‑court coaching, yes, no.  Sam Stosur doesn't want to do it; Jelena now says she doesn't want to do it.  You would like have to Nigel come on and talk to you quite a lot, would you?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Well, it depends.  It really depends.  I mean, sometimes I call him out of superstition; sometimes I call him because I feel like I want to chat if player is having physio timeout.
So sometimes I call him if I really feel like he can step up and help.  But it's tough, because at the Grand Slams we don't have that, you know, and that's when it matters the most.
So, you know, it's nice to have that help, and sometimes one trigger can make a difference.  But, yeah, I think it's fine.  You know, I think it's fun that players have that opportunity.

Q.  Will you go away feeling encouraged from what's happened here, do you think?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Well, disappointed definitely.  I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight.  But, you know, definitely motivated as well, because I feel like I achieved a fair bit this week.
You know, I overcame and beat some good players, and that's a positive thing.  I did a few good things out there.  I'm going to try and build on that and try to keep getting fitter and better and stronger.

Q.  Do you often sleep badly after losses?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Yeah, yeah.  But also after late‑night matches it's quite hard to go to sleep.  You can just imagine how much adrenaline you have.  It's kind of hard to calm down.

Q.  What do you do, read?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Sometimes just stare at the ceiling.  (Laughter.)  Yeah, sometimes it's impossible to read.  That's one thing that I can't do after, you know, a quite exhausting match.
You probably just end up listening to music and watching something on TV, or, yeah, staring at the ceiling.

Q.  Do you want to talk to people or be on your own?
ANA IVANOVIC:  Most of the time I want to be on my own.  Most of the times that's good advice I can give to others, to not talk to me.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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