ROGERS CUP PRESENTED BY NATIONAL BANK
Date: 2008-07-31

ROGERS CUP PRESENTED BY NATIONAL BANK

July 31, 2008

Jelena Jankovic
MONTREAL, QUEBEC
J. JANKOVIC/S. Dubois
6-3, 6-2

The Moderator Questions, please.

Question You said yesterday Canadians would start to hate you if you beat Stephanie. Is it the case now?
Jelena Jankovic: I don't know. I took out two Canadians. Maybe the people will start to hate me now (laughter).
In those two matches, the crowd was obviously against me. Playing a Canadian, a home-crowd favorite, it's not too easy to be in this kind of atmosphere.
But I tried my best. I really went out on the court, I wanted to be focused on myself, on my game, on what I have to do in order to win. I'm pleased, you know, how I handled the whole situation. Happy to get through this match.

Question Can you compare the two Canadians, how they're the same and how they differ as players?
Jelena Jankovic: I think they have totally different games. Wozniak has a little more aggressive game. From what I see, from my experience, I played them this week, so I don't know how they play on a regular basis.
Wozniak goes for it a little bit more and tends to make a lot more unforced errors. Dubois is more of a consistent player. She moves really well. It's hard to make a point on her. You really have to earn it.
But, you know, it's two different styles of games. But they're both really good players, young and up-and-coming.

Question You didn't seem during the whole match at a hundred percent. How was your conditioning and how were you able to play after such a short rest?
Jelena Jankovic: I was doing fine. You know, I didn't want to get involved and start thinking, Oh, my God, I didn't have enough hours of sleep and I'm really tired. If I put all this negative thoughts in my head, in my mind, it's not so good. So I really tried to be positive. I go out there to play the match.
I was really out there. I didn't want to really let my opponent into the match and really fight out there really hard. So I was really out there, I wanted to play my game, I wanted to play aggressive. And when it was the important times, I really raised my level of game and won it in two sets.

Question Were you bothered by your knee?
Jelena Jankovic: No, not at all. Sometimes I just -- somehow it just collapses a little bit here and there. Other than that, I don't have pain, which is the most important thing for me.
I mean, if I have pain, it would be not a great thing. You know, I wouldn't be able to play. I wouldn't like to risk my injury. But I'm fine. I have no pain. I'm just trying to get stronger on this knee. Little by little I'm getting better and moving better.

Question This is from Wimbledon?
Jelena Jankovic: This is from the Wimbledon. I'm still recovering that. But it's getting better and better. I'm doing a lot of exercises for rehabilitation to get it stronger, get that knee in order again.

Question Do you have any regrets about playing on the Monday? You hurt it on Saturday and went and played the other match after.
Jelena Jankovic: You know, I probably wouldn't have. It wouldn't make much of a difference. When you have a tear in your meniscus, there's not much you can do. A few hours maybe would make a little bit of a difference, but not really much.
I was only upset that, you know, I was first match at 12:00. You know, I didn't have time to do other therapy, to put something, you know, so at least that I can play the match. I couldn't do the therapy. The doctor was arriving around that time, which was not really good for me.
But it's okay. The Wimbledon is now past. We are here in Montréal playing in a tournament. I don't really want to think about that.

Question Can you talk to us a bit about Cibulkova, your next opponent. She took out Dementieva. Today she took out Petrova.
Jelena Jankovic: I played against her in Roland Garros. She's a really tough opponent. She moves really well. She's defending well. She hits a lot of balls and really makes you play every point. She doesn't give you many presents. You really have to earn every point.
I think I know how to play against her. But I really have to be out there and really have to, you know, play a hundred percent if I want to win. It will be a tough match.

Question Dubois made you think out there today.
Jelena Jankovic: Yeah, obviously when you play an opponent which you didn't play before, you don't really know her patterns that well, you know, the way she plays, what are her best shots. I watched her against Kirilenko. I saw some of the things she liked to do.
But it's, you know, different players. You have different tactics against different players. So it's hard to see what she does best, what she doesn't do best.
But I really found, you know, my way around the court and was able to do it in a good way.

Question She seemed really cool under pressure.
Jelena Jankovic: No, she has done really great. She has had a great tournament. She beat two good players. You know, it's unlucky that I had to play against her. It's not so nice for me to beat two Canadians. What can I do? The crowd will hate me, but that's just the luck of the draw.
But I think they're both really great players. They have done quite well, so I think they have a good potential, a good future in front of them.

Question What do you think about Sharapova today pulling out of the Olympics?
Jelena Jankovic: She pulled out of the Olympics, as well? It's really unfortunate because when it comes to injuries, it's very hard to deal with the things. When you're not ready, when you're having pain and you're suffering on the court, it's really hard for you to enjoy your tennis and go out there and really suffer the whole time, which is not a pleasant feeling.
The best thing to do is to, you know, try to recover. It's very disappointing probably for her that she's not participating in Olympics, especially that Olympics are every four years and we have an opportunity to compete this year. So it's hard.
But what can she do or somebody else who has a problem? Like me in Wimbledon, I wasn't able to continue in my tournament. I was suffering with my knee. This is bad luck. You just have to try to recover and get back on court soon.

Question Playing with a torn meniscus, isn't that in your head?
Jelena Jankovic: It was in my head when I was playing in L.A. That's why I played a tournament before Montréal, before this big tournament, so that I kind of get a few matches in and kind of get the feel of how I'm doing, how I'm moving, get my confidence little by little.
To be honest, when I was playing my first matches in L.A., I didn't feel confident at all in my movement. I was really afraid to run for some shots. I wasn't really out there. It was very hard for me.
You know, little by little, every match I feel I'm improving, I'm gaining my confidence and I'm starting to move a lot better. I feel that I'm more faster on the court. The most important thing is, you know, make these little steps forward, keep improving, keep adding things to my game, get stronger. I'm really working hard of getting fit again. And I hope, you know, my time will come soon.

Question Do you like to finish a match like that with a winner?
Jelena Jankovic: Yeah, it's always nice to finish a match with a winner. But anyhow, you know, as long as I win the last point, that's what matters (laughter).