Transcript - Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Transcript 20 April 2011
Post match press conference with Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
“I expected a tough match”
Stuttgart. Post match press conference with Vera Zvonareva (RUS) after her 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
win against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) in the second round of the Porsche Tennis
Grand Prix 2011.
Question: How easy was it for you to get used to the surface?
Vera Zvonareva: It was my first match on clay and of course it was a bit difficult. I think I’m
still getting used to the court. The game is a little bit different here. You should play a bit
longer rallies and put a bit more rotation on the ball. So I felt that some decisions I was making
were okay but they were more for the faster surface. Today, I had to be a little more patient.
I felt I was playing pretty good but just sometimes I made the wrong decisions for the
surface. But overall I’m happy with the way I handled the situation. I was set down and I was
trying to hang in there. In the end I’m happy with the way I played.
Question: Were you surprised at the start that it was so hard for you?
Vera Zvonareva: No, I expected a very tough match and I expected she would play well.
She’s a very good player, a tough opponent. She’s young and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more
of her in the future. So I wasn’t tough on myself because I wasn’t expecting to show my best
clay court tennis in my first match on clay here. I accepted the situation and I was just trying
to figure out what I can do better and what kind of shot selection I should have in order to win
this match.
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft
PR and Press
Porscheplatz 1
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
70435 Stuttgart Claus-Peter Andorka
Tel. +49 (0) 711 90051-117
e-mail claus-peter.andorka@
kircher-burkhardt.com

Transcript 20 April 2011
Question: What did you do to adjust your game in the second set? Was it instinct? Or
did you have to think about what shot to play?
Vera Zvonareva: Yes I was thinking. It’s too early to get instinct on the clay here. So I was
always finding myself. I was thinking about the shot I had to play from a certain position. I’d
better go for this kind of shot and, sometimes I felt I was making wrong decisions. But I was
just trying to adjust. I kept telling myself, okay, if you’re in this position next time just play
deeper and put more rotation on the ball. Don’t go for a winner because it’s impossible on the
clay court here. So I just kept talking to myself and in the end I managed to play like I should
play on the clay here. It was a bit better in the third set. But it wasn’t perfect. Overall, I was
able to change the momentum of my match and I’m really happy about that.
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft
PR and Press
Porscheplatz 1
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
70435 Stuttgart Claus-Peter Andorka
Tel. +49 (0) 711 90051-117
e-mail claus-peter.andorka@
kircher-burkhardt.com