June 10, 2014
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
D. HANTUCHOVA/B. Bencic
6‑1, 6‑4
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Well done today.
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Thank you.
Q. Did it feel like you have never been away?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It did. Yeah, yeah, I love that court. Like I said, for me it's the most exciting time of the year to be on the grass.
I was really looking forward just to be out there and play a match finally.
Q. What were you pleased with about your game most? It all seemed to be working very well.
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I think just being really aggressive on my shots, moving well, returning extremely well when I need to.
Yeah, I thought it was a very good performance. She's a very talented player, and I knew it was going to be a tough match. But for set and a half, I felt like I was doing all the right things.
Q. Are you slightly irritated to lose your serve when you were serving at the end of the match?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, it's normal. First match on grass you're always going to have little dips and downs. It's important just to accept them and work on your game every single game and try to improve it with the matches.
Q. When you talk about a court that you like, that you come back to, and you have good positive, feelings, is that kind of a commentary of how important confidence is‑‑
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It is.
Q. ‑‑ when you play tennis? Is that what it is, you feel confident on that centre court and you produce that kind of tennis?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, I think all the top sports, at the top level, confidence makes the biggest difference. It's always nice to come back to places where you feel good and you know your game most of time is going to work.
Yeah, it's just I just always feel great coming back here. Every time the grass court season comes, I just naturally feel a little bit more confident.
Q. With the grass obviously the ball bounces lower. Has that been something that ‑ you're pretty tall that ‑ you've really had to adjust to, or is it just the way that you produce your shots, the low ball is in your strike zone? Why can you play so well on this surface?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I think definitely movement is the part that I have to adjust and work on quite a bit. But as far as strokes, I think that's where grass fits my game, because they are not as spinny and they're quite flat.
I think also growing up in indoors, winter, we always had to play on fast courts. So I think we got used to that speed since we were very little.
I think that's my reason why it feels so nice. Like I said, the movement, that's something I always have to work hard on.
Q. So do you see it as a positive thing that next year the grass season will be a little bit longer?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, finally. I never thought I would still be around but, hey, here I am. It's nice to hopefully still be part of that and have an extra week on grass.
Q. Is that because you like the surface and you're good at playing on it, or does it also give the players a little bit more time to maybe not feel as much pressure? With two weeks, sometimes you overplay and get injuries.
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah.
Q. If we protract it out, is it just a little bit calmer period?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, sometimes when you're rushing that's the highest risk to get injured and do something you don't want to do.
Also emotionally, mentally, after a Grand Slam it's always like you're going to have a little down time. It's nice to have those extra days to just be calm and work on your game and come, let's say, here very well‑prepared.
Q. Just few words about Belinda. In your opinion, what does she lack to be a champion?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I mean, she's still very young and she's got all here future in front of her. She's got a great game, a very good head, and you can just see the touch of Martina's game in her game.
It's nice to see somebody like this that actually uses her brain on the court, like I always said like Martina used to.
I think she just needs time and a little bit more experience. I'm sure we going to see a lot of her.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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