MEDIBANK INTERNATIONAL
Date: 2007-01-08

MEDIBANK INTERNATIONAL

January 8, 2007

Jelena Jankovic
SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES
Question Is it exhaustion or elation?
Jelena Jankovic: I'm so tired to be honest because especially from coming from Auckland, I didn't have much time to recover after winning the title there, and obviously I had a tough match today. I think it was a great match. Martina played really well. She was so solid. She's really an experienced player and she doesn't give me any free points, so I have to earn them all. It was a very tough match, and I'm just happy that I won today.

Question Where does that rank in your tennis career? How high is that match for you? Is that one of your best wins, or where does that rank for you?
Jelena Jankovic: No, I think I've had better wins than this, but obviously it's a great win for me. It gives me more confidence. Martina, it's also good to win against Martina because she's won so many Grand Slams and she's a well-known player.

Question You've had a lot of very, very long matches and you've actually won most of them. You must feel you can wear most people down?
Jelena Jankovic: No, I was feeling really tired today. After the second set, I thought maybe I cannot keep up, but I managed to do it. I was telling to myself, I can do it, I have to fight, and even though I'm really tired and sometimes I felt quite dizzy on the court, but I managed to win the match.

Question Was that the problem you had with the blood pressure, dizziness?
Jelena Jankovic: Yeah, I think I was really tired. I was drinking, I had some sugar and everything, and I was trying not to think how I feel, I was just trying to fight out there and be strong, and I did it.

Question How does it place you now for the Australian Open with your preparation?
Jelena Jankovic: Yes, my main goal was to have as many matches as possible under my belt, and I think I'm doing well. I won the tournament in Auckland, I won here one match, and I'm looking forward to my next one. It's good to have as many matches as possible to feel confident before the Australian Open.

Question Do you feel like you've picked up from the second half of '06 to this?
Jelena Jankovic: Yeah, I think like I'm one of the top players because I've been doing really well. In five months I became No. 12 in the world. Until May I don't have almost anything to defend. So if I keep going like this, I can really improve in the rankings, and I showed that I can beat any player and just enjoy my tennis and keep going.

Question Did you also have a back injury or something in the first set?
Jelena Jankovic: Yeah, I was getting quite stiff, and I thought, oh, not again, because I had something like that in the US Open just before my semifinals, and I know the back injury is one of the worst. If something happens there, if I get stuck or -- you can't do anything, and I was really scared. But it was not -- it was just getting a little bit tight, but then after I got warm and playing, it was not so bad.

Question Is there a fear that you're maybe having too much work, too many niggles and injuries now before the Open?
Jelena Jankovic: I just hope that I will stay healthy. You know, I don't have anything right now that's going to be -- I have blisters and these kind of things, but nothing serious, and I hope it will stay like that.

Question You play Sam Stosur next round. You had your own supporters, though, today?
Jelena Jankovic: Yes, I'm really glad that I have a lot of fans supporting me. It always means a lot to me. But I think tomorrow will be tough. My fans are not going to be as loud as the whole stadium full of Australians.

Question Have you played her before?
Jelena Jankovic: I'm not sure. I think I played here in Juniors in the Australian Open when I won the Junior Australian, but that was like five, six, seven years ago, I don't remember, but not lately. Only in the doubles we've played against each other.