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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSFebruary 20, 2014Jelena JankovicDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES S. WILLIAMS/J. Jankovic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How did you find playing Serena this time? JELENA JOKOVIC: No, I thought, you know, the conditions were quite different, you know, from what I played in the other courts. I felt it was kind of slow and heavy, and the ball didn't go off my racquet. It was kind of ‑‑I didn't really do anything with my ball, and, you know, I hit the balls short. So there was basically‑‑ you know, I think she took control of the match, and she was basically pretty much in control the whole time, because I just wasn't able to strike the ball the way I strike. I don't know. I just didn't play or didn't feel too good out there. So she was the better player. Q. We are a long way away from the court where we sit, but can you tell us what went on between the two of you? JELENA JOKOVIC: Nothing went on. It was just a matter of ‑‑you know, I serve and, you know, first he tells me I'm serving too fast, I'm going there in like to serve too fast like I'm playing my points. Then when I‑‑ then I took my time. It was like one minute, so then it's one minute. So you never know what to do. Usually if I go over 25 seconds with whoever I play, you know, warning, time violation. So here it's like you can do pretty much whatever. I have to follow who knows which rules. I think if it's 25 seconds, you play 25 seconds. If it goes over, someone's not ready, you should be ready. I follow when she serves no matter how fast or slow she plays. So either I'm playing too fast or too slow. But that doesn't matter, you know. It's not really a big deal, but it's ‑‑it just doesn't matter. I just played a bad match on my terms. I didn't hit the way I normally hit. I couldn't play my game, my tennis.  Q. We don't normally see players have such a long conversation. Can you tell us what that was about? JELENA JOKOVIC: Yeah. You know, when you're on the court, you want to win, of course, but when you finish the match, I think ‑‑I think it's always good to be fair and to have good sportsmanship, so when you play tennis, of course ‑‑ (phone ringing for second time.) My God, my mom is calling. (Laughter.) Q.She's telling what you to buy Duty Free on the way out. JELENA JOKOVIC: Buy me some perfume. Yeah, Mom, just leave me alone. (Laughter.) It's not a big deal. It's just the tennis match, and we both fight and we both have respect for each other. That's basically it. She was the better player tonight. Way better. All the credit to her. Q. You have been known not to respect her sportsmanship at times. JELENA JOKOVIC: I don't want to get involved all into that. I try to play my tennis and I try to focus on what I could focus on, and I didn't do that. So of course, you know, if I played the way I played, we are not going to get the result you want. So like I said, the ball wasn't coming off my racquet. I wasn't, you know, serving well or returning well, like, you know, I played in the previous matches. But I felt like the ball was kind of stuck on my racquet, like it didn't, you know, go off. I think maybe the tension was too hard, or maybe because we played in the evening and all the other matches I played during the day where the ball took off and was kind of flying and it was much faster. So that, you know, that's it. I cannot, you know, make excuses and doesn't do any good, you know. I just didn't play, you know, my best tennis. She was playing pretty good tonight and she won the match. Q. Was the court kind of sticky in one place? It's almost in exactly the same place she pulled up, looked like she had done something and clearly she hadn't, and then you in that same end caught your foot and ended up doing the splits. JELENA JOKOVIC: Yeah, I don't know. I only played one match on center court, so I don't know if it's the court or if I don't move my feet or I just, you know, get stuck or she got stuck, what it is. Maybe it's the court, maybe it's us, you know. Maybe sometimes you just don't get the fit of the ground, also. You know, it's the sport, you know. You try your best out there, and sometimes, you know, you do things like that where you get stuck where you don't move or you move so well. That's the game. Who does it better wins. Q. Says a lot for your flexibility. JELENA JOKOVIC: I'm not as flexible as I used to be. As you can see, I did one. This is probably my first one this year. I was surprised. I was like, I better get up before I tear something (laughter). You know, in the previous years when I was a little bit younger, I used to do it all the time. Now it's not the same. It's not the same case. I have to take care and be more careful. Q. We are all the same. JELENA JOKOVIC: You are the same? You don't even go to the gym (laughter). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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