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CHINA OPEN


October 4, 2013


Petra Kvitova


BEIJING, CHINA

P. KVITOVA/N. Li
4‑6, 6‑2, 6‑4


THE MODERATOR:  Questions in English, please.

Q.  You had a really hard‑fought match tonight.  You've played a lot of three‑set matches this season.  What made the difference for you tonight?
PETRA KVITOVA:  Yeah, I think it was really a great match from both of us.  It was very tight and every game was very close.  I'm just happy that I'm through.
And how you said, I played a lot of three‑setters this season.  When I lost the first set, I still was thinking that I still go to third, so I was still positive.

Q.  Congratulations.  You are in semifinal of China Open.  Li Na just said that you did better on the key points than she did, so that's key of this whole match.  Do you agree with that?
PETRA KVITOVA:  Yeah, I think so.  I mean, the important points was very tough and it was a lot.  And, I mean, I lost them in the first set and I won them in the second; the third was pretty close.
I was 3‑1 down and think I just, Okay, I need to play my game again and go for it.  I tried to play aggressive the key points, too, so probably she was right.

Q.  You haven't had this kind of success playing in the Asian season before in your career.  What do you think is the secret for this year?  You win Tokyo and semifinal here in Beijing.  These are very good results.
PETRA KVITOVA:  If it's big secret I'm not going to tell you, but I don't think that it's secret.  I start fitness preparation with my new fitness coach and I feel really good physically on the court.
That shows good tennis from me, too, what we are working with David, too.  So it's all of these are connecting.  The first round in Tokyo was pretty nervous from my side, and then I played better a better every match I played.  I feel similar this week here in Beijing.
So that's what I want to tell about.

Q.  I was told you and Li Na are very good friends.  You train all the time.  Can I say that you benefit from the training before and that makes you know her tactics more than other players?  One more.  What did you say after the game when you were at the net?
PETRA KVITOVA:  The first question, yeah, that's true, we are good friends.  Almost every week we are practicing before the tournaments, so we know each other very well.
But you can't compare practice and match.  That's totally different.  She knows me as well as I know her.  I don't think that it was really advantage for someone.
And I will not tell you what we talk about on the net.  I just wish her good luck and that we going to see each other in Istanbul.

Q.  Do you think staying and playing at this level like tonight you're going to be a serious contender in China Open and also the Championships?
PETRA KVITOVA:  Yeah.  If I stay in this condition, maybe, but it's still semifinal tomorrow.  I play Jankovic and that's not easy.  I played her two times already and it's not easy.  Big fight.
I know what I'm expecting.  She's trying to qualify Istanbul and she has a big motivation.  So I think it's going to be really tough match tomorrow, and I need to be 100% ready for tomorrow.

Q.  As you said, you played a lot of three‑setters this season and you won most of them.  Do you think you are physically a better player than when you won Wimbledon?
PETRA KVITOVA:  I don't think so.  I mean, 2011 was really incredible season for me and I was really ready for everything.  I was ready physically, mentally, and technically, too.
Now I'm feeling better than I have felt before, but I played a lot of three‑setters since the beginning of the season, too.  I don't think that I really felt better physically.
Now I feel a little bit better, but still I'm playing three‑setters.  That's all right.  Against Li Na, that's normal.  It's no big surprise.
THE MODERATOR:  Chinese questions, please.

Q.  All the spectators were cheering for Li Na.  Did you hear a group of them were cheering for you all the time?  Did you expect that you have so many fans here in China?
PETRA KVITOVA:  Yeah, I mean, I was surprised from the beginning when I came here that I have a lot of the fans in China.  It's really nice to have them for sure.  I'm really glad.  It's big thank to them.
I was expecting that they will support Li Na today.  That's normal.  Wasn't a big surprise.  But I heard some fans on my side, too, so it was so nice.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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