Eastbourne AEGON International. June 18 2011 Daniela Hantuchova

P. KVITOVA/D. Hantuchova

           

7‑6, 4‑2, Ret.

        

        

DANIELA HANTUCHOVA

        

            THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

            Q.  How bad is it?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  It's not great; that's for sure.  It happened at 3‑Love in the first set.  I was running for a wide backhand and kind of felt a sharp pain and just was getting worse and worse from then.

            Q.  What are your plans between now and maybe your first match?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  I don't know.  Hope for some magic and get as much treatment as I can.  Seeing the doctor now, and as soon as I come to Wimbledon I will try to work with the physios and try to do something to be able to be ready for Monday.

            Q.  What do you feel the odds are to be able to play?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  I don't know.  It's hard to say right now.  I'm hoping every day, every hour will help.  But unfortunately it's quite frustrating knowing the way I played.

            Yeah, just have to take it one day at a time.  We will see.

            Q.  Would you say the windy conditions would have had anything to do with it?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  Yeah, for sure.  Because I was kind of like reaching for the backhand, and then the wind took it even farther away.  That's where it happened.

            But probably I irritated it already before, trying to, you know, find the ball on my serve, not with the shoulder being great.  So I'm sure I was kind of overcompensating and trying to figure out how to hit the shots without any pain with my shoulder, and probably that's why the abdominal happened.

            Q.  It makes it extra frustrating, because you were playing so well.

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  Yeah, it is.  I mean, I feel like I have been having such a great two weeks.  Yeah, even today ‑‑ I mean, the conditions were just, I think, 10 times worse than with Venus.  Obviously already that was quite frustrating; plus with the injury.  Yeah, it was not an easy day in the office.

            But I still got a lot of positives to take with me, and I feel so confident for Wimbledon.  I just somehow have to take care of this, and I will give it every single effort I've got to be able to play and  hopefully do well.

            Q.  It's hard because of the mental ‑‑ I mean, the physical side you can hopefully get right, but it's the mental effects of it.

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  Well, I'm trying kind of to forget it now and really already be looking forward to Wimbledon.  Obviously that's the highlight of my year, and, you know, in whatever shape I will be, I will take that and give it my best shot, whatever happens.

            Q.  Do you feel you made it worse by playing on after it happened?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  Probably, yeah.  But I'm the kind of player, I will not give up until I know it's impossible.

            Yeah, probably was not the smartest thing, but I just kept trying, kept fighting, because I felt like I was playing so well and really wanted to win another title here.

            Q.  Is it an injury you've had before?

            DANIELA HANTUCHOVA:  No, first time.

Roland Garros. May 2011 - Daniela Hantucova

D. HANTUCHOVA/C. Wozniacki

6 1, 6 3

DANIELA HANTUCHOVA

Q. How did you feel in your game today? What are you thinking about possible quarterfinal against Marion Bartoli?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, obviously I felt really good on the court today. I felt like I stick to my game plan and did exactly what I had to do, what I discussed with my coach before the match.
Yeah, I was just really pleased to play my game all the way through the match except a few points. Obviously very, very pleased with the result today.
You know, to play against Marion, I still have to win one more match, so I'm not looking that far ahead of myself. I just take it one match at a time, and that's it.

Q. You're the 28th seed, and now you have as good a chance as anyone else of winning the championship. What does that say about the standard of women's tennis at the moment?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, obviously if you've been No. 1 in the world you gonna have a good draw, because that's why they always have easier draws in the tournaments, because they're No. 1s.
I think it just shows how strong women's tennis is at the moment. It's very open. Any tournament basically can win anybody.
I like to consider myself as one of those players to have a good chance. But, like I said, I don't look that much ahead of myself. I just try to focus on my next match, and we'll see.

Q. What did you do differently today or try to do differently against her than in your earlier matches against Wozniacki?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Well, I think I was playing much better since Miami that I played her last time, and I knew what I did wrong there, and I tried to learn from that match.
I have to say the last few weeks I have been playing very well. And I was a little bit unfortunate with the draws in a couple of these tournaments, but I felt like my game was right there. Today it just all paid off.

Q. What specifically in terms of strategy or how you wanted to do things differently against her specifically?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It was not really against her. It was just really focusing on my game, trying to be aggressive and trying to stick into my weapons, and nothing too much who was on the other side of the court.

Q. Just how confident were you before the match? I mean, a lot of people probably didn't think you had that good of a chance. But, in your mind, did you think you had a really good shot?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, definitely I was very confident before the match. Because, like I said, the last few weeks I think I was playing a great tennis. And I was a little bit unlucky in a few matches. I played great I think against Francesca in Rome and as well against Sam in couple of the other tournaments.
So I really had a tough draw, so I just knew it was a matter of time. I felt great coming here from Strasbourg, so I had good preparation and just did it on the court.

Q. When she came back to 4 3 in the second set, did you get a little bit concerned?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Not really. I mean, I just knew I had to stick to what was working for me during the match, and just tried to focus on my service games to make sure I was serving well and keep being aggressive. I think that was the key.

Q. You said the last few weeks you've been playing good stuff, possibly even suggests it even goes a bit further back than that, a few months. Some people are saying you're playing your best tennis of your career right now. Would you go along with that?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I have to say today was probably one of the best matches, for sure. It's more about how I feel in the practice, and that, I have to say, I have been feeling very good in the last few weeks, maybe few months, like you said. I've been working hard and it seems like it's been paying off.

Q. The results you have had mainly in Grand Slam tournaments, maybe they haven't been up to the level of what your tennis really is or what your tennis really deserves. Can we say that maybe you're coming to a level of maturity in yourself and in your game to make it where you deserve?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, definitely. I feel like the experience is starting to pay off. I mean, I have been around for quite some time. I know what to expect in the big tournaments and I think I'm much more calmer than I was before.
Yeah, it's just about putting it all together and mentally being really strong on the court.
I think I improve there a lot. Like you said, the results in the last few years, I have to say, sometimes I was really unlucky playing the Williams sisters most of the time in the slams. I mean, the only semifinals I ever made was finally when I did not have to face one of them in the quarters or whatever.
So I always had to face them. And we know how they are in the slams, you know, when it really matters. That's been pretty tough.
But other than that, yeah, I definitely feel like I'm actually enjoying it more than ever before. That's a good sign, and, you know, it's just we will just see what results it's going to bring me.

__________________

Roland Garros. May 2011 - Daniela Hantuchova

D. HANTUCHOVA/S. Zhang

6 3, 6 3

DANIELA HANTUCHOVA

Q. You're playing with Agnieszka Radwanska doubles this year. You are a good team. What you can do in Grand Slam this year?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Um, yeah, like you said, we are having so much fun. It's really great to play with her. Not only on the court, but off the court also I think we are very good friends.
We don't know what we can do in slam. I mean, we just started beginning of the year and really didn't expect anything, and suddenly there we are winning Miami. It was quite amazing.
Of course we try to do well in the slams as well, but it's more important just having fun and really enjoying the tennis.

Q. How would describe that match?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: It was okay. I for sure know I could have played much better. At the same time, I just did what I needed to do today. It was a good test for me today.
I'm feeling very good, especially in the practice, and also last week I was playing some good tennis. Hopefully my form can just go higher.

Q. Some of the players have been talking about balls and how hard they are and what effect they're having on the game. What do you think about it?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yeah, I got used to them last week because they were the same. It took me a few days to adjust my shots. Yeah, they do fly a little more, but I like that. The faster the better, so I can't complain.

Q. Are they kicking more on the serve?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Yes, they are, especially when there is a ball change. There is a huge difference.

Q. You've been working a lot on your fitness and physical training. You did work with Gill Reyes; is that correct?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: I did go to Vegas for two weeks a year ago, a year and a half ago, but for the last three years I've been working with Pat Etcheberry.

Q. Can you talk about how that's affected your game and maybe also if it's affected your attitude or the mental aspect of the game?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Definitely being physically prepared helps you mentally as well. I think I did a great job the last few months. We worked very, very hard with Pat. Seems like it's paying off in the practice for the moment, and hopefully it will come in the results as well. I feel like we have put the work in, it's just a matter of time to put it all together.

Q. What exactly did you work on?
DANIELA HANTUCHOVA: Mainly the weights and the power, because that's what I need in today's tennis because it's becoming so much more physical. I never had problems with endurance, because I feel like I can stay on the court for as long as I need to.
But, yeah, just tried to bring the power up. Yeah, we did a lot of hours in the gym.