US OPEN
Date: 2004-09-12

US OPEN

September 12, 2004

Svetlana Kuznetsova
NEW YORK CITY
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question I was just wondering if you could take us through the time you left the tennis center last night until when you returned. Did you get much sleep? What was it like?
Svetlana Kuznetsova It was tough, you know. One side you're happy about what you did, you know, and I also wanted to stay focus to the doubles match today. It just was very difficult situation. So I get to hotel really late, like at 1 o'clock or 12:30, after I did everything here. So I had to pack my bag at least. I had just to eat something. And I did it, and I still two hours, I was -- I couldn't sleep, you know. So it was tough. I just wake up this morning by myself, I didn't have an alarm. And that's it. I went here, I practice and I played the match.

Question When you couldn't sleep, were you turning on the TV and seeing replays of your match last night or...?
Svetlana Kuznetsova No, I was just chatting to my friends in the Internet. I was switching channels, but I couldn't find anything.

Question They weren't showing highlights?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I didn't find anything.

Question The doubles, how is the priority ranked when you play doubles? I'm sure you would like to win, but compared to your singles...
Svetlana Kuznetsova Definitely, I mean, normally like when I start with doubles, what is doubles, just to improve singles, you know - for me, you know. If you win, it's great. If you don't, it's not the most important thing what could happen to you. For some players that aren't doing that well in singles, it's good for them to do well in doubles, just earn money, maybe, just get satisfaction of doing well in doubles. I think I can do both really well. If I really concentrate in doubles, I can do very well in doubles. But it's not my point for doing this, you know. I'm just doing my best for singles.

Question Did you talk to your parents last night after you left us?
Svetlana Kuznetsova No, I spoke before with my mom and this morning with my dad. That's it.

Question What did they say?
Svetlana Kuznetsova My mom, she didn't watch the match. She said, "What was the score?" I said, "6-3, 7-5." She said, "Wow, two sets. That's good. I'm so happy."

Question What was she doing?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I didn't ask her. I mean, I hope she didn't watch it because she was just -- she didn't want to get so nervous, you know.

Question How was it played back in Russia, do you know? Did they say? Was it shown live?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I know it's like NTV Plus. It's a channel in Russia but like you have to pay. Definiitely you have it in cable TV So they showed it on this one. So they showed it on EuroSport in 11:30 in Spain, it should be 1:30 in Russia. I just ask my parents how it is there today. They say all day long on TV, you know, in the news. So kind of getting to know.

Question I have one question from last night. How did you originally end up choosing Spain at age 14?
Svetlana Kuznetsova Because my father, he's coach of cycling. So the place for his team, he choose Spain, so he went to the city called Tortosa between Valencia and Barcelona. It's in the middle. It's very small town. First time I get there, I was practicing in Tortosa, but it was too small city. So second time, we were thinking - because he had friends also in Los Angeles - so we were thinking move somewhere. We knew we have to move, you know, not maybe to America or maybe to Europe, you know. So it was like America or Europe - or Spain probably. So we decided just to go to Spain because it's closer for Europe, and you have so many tournaments around. You can go back home more times, and he spended much time in Spain, you know.

Question Was it hard courts? Valencia, we know, has hard courts. Were they soft courts or hard courts there?
Svetlana Kuznetsova In Spain?

Question Yeah.
Svetlana Kuznetsova Our club has 27 courts. It's two grass court and 15 of clay and 12 of hard.

Question What is it, the "Sanchez Academy"?
Svetlana Kuznetsova Yeah, Sanchez-Casal Academy.

Question There's no name of the club.
Svetlana Kuznetsova No, it's academy. It's just this.

Question Will you stay for the men's final? Will you watch it?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I would love to. I mean, I just love watching Hewitt to fight. I mean, if you see the book and you read about me, I think it says my favorite player's Hewitt, you know. I mean, I just like the people who is like fighting, you know, and who does like everything to win, you know. Doesn't matter - maybe you didn't have conditions, you know. I mean, if they are not that big or strong or... And it's just beautiful, you know. And Federer, he's just such amazing player. He has such a great talent. I hope this match will be beautiful. If I have chance, I gonna make for it. Any way, I have to leave club at 8:30 p.m. to go to my flight, so I'm here.

Question You'll go back now?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I have to go to tournament, so...

Question You are going to Bali now. Is it special for you because it was your first title?
Svetlana Kuznetsova No, my first title was in Helsinki. It was my second title. I mean, to me, it is special to remember all the tournaments. I've spoke to director of tournaments, my agent spoke. So I told him I gonna come. So if I said my word, I gonna do this. I mean, if I sign to play doubles, I not gonna pull out of it. I just gonna go to the end, doesn't matter what's gonna happen. I'm just looking forward to do it because it was -- we had great time. It was difficult week to win for me in Bali two years ago. We also played doubles with Aranxta there. Now we are playing again doubles there. She come there for me, she gonna be coaching me there. So is not gonna be any coaches there. So me and Aranxta, is nobody else. So we gonna -- definitely we gonna have fun. I'm not really thinking about, like, making really good result on this tournament. Definitely, I gonna play my good game, you know, and try to do what I can, you know. But still it's not that important.

Question So Aranxta will play doubles with you also in Bali?
Svetlana Kuznetsova For the moment.

Question It seems like you haven't had a lot of time to enjoy last night's win. You played doubles today, you're on a flight tonight. Do you feel like part of you wants to savor this?
Svetlana Kuznetsova Of course, you know, you want to celebrate this moment because later it's all be a little bit different. But still later I hope I have chance to celebrate it, you know. But still what I won, what I did, you know, what I achieve, nobody can take away of me. I am going to stay with it. I am having great year. I am looking forward for next tournaments. I am start to enjoy more and more every day, no, because I did well and it's just great feeling.

Question Can you talk a little bit about Martina. I remember when you started to play together you were very nervous. Can you take us back to the day that she asked you to play doubles with her.
Svetlana Kuznetsova The thing was like when I did my speech yesterday, I said, "Thanks," first Aranxta. Because she's the really player who believed in me, who started to play doubles with me. We were playing, we played like three, four tournaments. We went to play Tokyo. It was half million tournament. I saw the draw. We won two tournaments before.

Question When was this?
Svetlana Kuznetsova Two years ago maybe.

Question I saw the draw. We were winning like tournaments, we won Helsinki, we won Sopot. It was good events. It was the biggest one.
So I saw the draw and I saw that I would play next round against Martina and Serena, you know. I said, "Aranxta, I am not gonna go out there. My knees are shaking." She said, "No, no, it's fine. We gonna be fine." So we just get out there. We were down 5-3 and we won 7-5, 6-3, I guess, or something. After this match I think Martina, she ask Aranxta when she's gonna quit, she want to play with me doubles, you know. And like this happened. Aranxta quit. One day I went to Emilio's office, Aranxta's brother, who is the main person in the club. He gave me the phone, said, "Martina wants to talk to you." I said, "I'm not going to talk to her. I'm not. I'm not here." He goes like, "Okay, take the phone and talk." I said, "Okay." I was just so nervous even talking to her on the phone, you know. We forgot to enter to the tournament, send the entry for the first tournaments before Australian. And it was Gold Coast, Sydney. It was (inaudible), Hobart, Canberra. I need to play something, because Australian Open, only going there after (inaudible), you know. So I need matches. We ask for wildcard in Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, nobody gave me wildcard. Martina, she asked Gold Coast. So I was going to play doubles there, and I was having a wildcard into singles. I was so nervous. I just was like, "Okay, I just gonna do my thing. Whatever is gonna happen, I just gonna play doubles whatever I can." We just won our first title there.

Question And what's the most important thing that she has taught you?
Svetlana Kuznetsova I mean, it's many really good things. She has great heart. She's unbelievable person, you know. I'm very happy to have such a great people around me, you know. I'm just so lucky; I realize this. You know, and also I realize if they believe in me, it should be something. So it helps me to believe myself. What she told me, maybe to do something, some tactical things, like going more forward, you know, and just mentally strength, stay more focused. Because I was a kid. I mean, now I am still, I think, half of it, you know (smiling). But I was just like frustrating half of the day thinking about, I don't know, like games or whatever, you know. So now I'm getting more serious I think.

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