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BNP PARIBAS OPEN


March 12, 2013


Maria Kirilenko


INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

M. KIRILENKO/A. Radwanska
6‑1, 4‑6, 7‑5


THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Tough few matches for you, all going three sets and everything like that.  How are you doing physically?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Well, I feel okay, you know, because I'm not playing doubles now, so I have time to recover.
Well, I have been playing for three sets for the last, I don't know, couple of months.  (Smiling.)
Yeah, when I won the tournament in Pattaya, like I played so long there.  You know, every match was like two and a half hours, and still here, you know, I continue to play two and a half.
But it's okay, you know.  I mean, I feel good, you know.  Especially if you're winning these kind of long matches, you're improving as well with your physical condition.

Q.  Talk about the match today against Agnieszka.  Obviously a very good win.  You played her tough before and played her well before.  What was the difference in the match today?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Well, every time we play against each other it's so difficult.  You know, every time, like it seems like the déjà vu.  The score is the same, everything the same.
Just today I was a little bit more lucky.  I mean, I lost her for like the last like four, four times, I think.  So it was kind of similar match, you know, like previous ones.
Well, and then happy that I won.

Q.  When you play a player like that who has so much variety and then deals a lot with placement and things like that, in your head are you thinking, I need to be more aggressive; I need to take the match to her?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Well, actually, I'm also kind of player who's playing different ball.  Of course, yeah, to beat Agnieszka you need to play more aggressive somewhere.
But you need just to think, you know, every point what you have to do, and then it's helpful.

Q.  So your next match against Petra, big hitter, very different.
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Yeah, completely different, opposite.

Q.  Yeah, exactly.  She can be a little bit inconsistent sometimes.  She hits a big ball, and sometimes it goes in and sometimes it goes out of the stadium.  So when you play a player like that, how do you mentally prepare?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Ah, well, I mean, she's a good player, you know.  She just won the big tournament in Dubai.
So that's mean she's in good shape right now.  Of course everybody have, you know, up and down, you know.  You can't play like all the weeks your best performance.
Well, for the last like couple matches we play it was also tough ones and long ones, so it was really difficult.  So tomorrow gonna be another big one.

Q.  You have had a very strong last year and a half, two years.  Before you were kind of outside the top 20, outside the top 25, top 30; now you're right there kind of knocking on the door of top 10 and things.  When you look back on it, what do you think is the difference?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  I don't know.  Maybe just my time now finally.  I mean, everybody has different time, and so maybe, you know, I grew a little bit.  (Smiling.)

Q.  Do you think it's stronger mentally or physically?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Yeah, I think more mentally than physically.
So now maybe I'm a little bit more understanding, you know, understand how to play like in a different points, you know.  So now I'm more thinking what to do and maybe I'm more sure in my shots, you know.
But it's really like fun for me, you know, to play, just like to try something different, to try something different, like shots.
So I'm just enjoying, you know, to play out there.

Q.  Did the doubles help with that?  Because you play, I think, with more variety now than maybe you did, you know, two, three years ago.
MARIA KIRILENKO:  Yeah, definitely.  I think the doubles helped me a lot here because it's like extra practice.  It's extra practice for the serve, volley, return, so I have been playing many, many doubles for the last couple of like ‑‑not couple of years, like many years.
Yeah, definitely it's helped.

Q.  When you come up against a player like Petra ‑ she has a big game ‑ how do you rate her power on the tour?  Like No. 2 behind Serena, or is she right up there with Serena?  Are there other players that hit the ball bigger than she does?
MARIA KIRILENKO:  I just need to be there.  I just need to be like thinking fast.  You have to be quick there, so it's not gonna be like slow, long rallies.  Everything gonna be quick.  You just need to be there, concentrated, and so just that's it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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