News & Photos / Interviews / Interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova

S. KUZNETSOVA/S. Stosur

6‑4, 6‑7, 6‑3

An interview with:

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. You're the only person to beat Dinara on clay this season. What did you do right in that match, and isit something you can execute on a stage like this again?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Well, now it's hard for meto think about Dinara, because the match was tough and I just thinking aboutrecovery.

She's looking to thisfinal. She's going to be favorite towin. She's No. 1. She played an unbelievable season. She beat me last time we played. It was in Rome.

But there is some points I can work on andthink positive for myself. First of all,that I beat her, as you said, in Stuttgart. It was indoor, but still, she can play verywell in indoor.

I have to move her arounddefinitely. But I have just to work mygame.

Q. Howtired are you?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I'm a little bit tired. But, you know, it's a lot of nerves andemotions. I'll be fine. Tomorrow I have day off, so it's great. You have to play two matches, so long two daysin a row. I'm all right. I'm tired for now, but I'm gonna be sleepingand gonna be good tomorrow. 4.

Q. I know you prefer to win two and one as often as you can, but you seemto have special talent for dramatic matches.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I don't know. If I look back into the match, I was 4‑2 up,serving 30‑Love, and I did double fault. Then they told me I had two or three more this game, I don't remember.

But anyway, I was justplaying the match and I lost this serve. But then in tiebreak, I think Sam just played so good rallies, youknow. She risked and she made it. I give her credit for this.

I think I stayed tough in the second set, sothen I won the third set. You know, Istill kept playing, not giving up. Itwas very tough, because I had 5‑2 or something in the second set.

Q. Doyou ever have pity for your coach watching the roller coaster go up and down?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Yeah, I thank my coach,Larisa, so much, because she stays all match positive. Doesn't matter what happens, she just stays calm. It's okay. Play, play.

To me it'simportant. I can't stand when peoplemake me nervous, say, How you do this? How you do that? I say, Guys,just go and play yourself if you want to do better (laughter.)

It's very important for me. She supports me all the way, and it's reallygreat.

Q. Haveyou been surprised by Sam's performance, especially on clay?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I seen her already thisyear. She had such a great match againstSerena in Sydney. She was just two, three match balls shehad. She been playing great, so Iexpected very tough match. She servesgreat.

I mean, I been playingball from the second floor up here. Itwas not very comfortable. I had to playtwo meters behind. After the match, inthe gym I spoke with her coach. He says,I see you play much more inside of the court than you used to play.

I said, Well, I did in indoor, but today Istill had to stay one meter behind even more, because the spin which Sam putson the ball is really difficult.

Q. Howmuch are matches like Serena yesterday and then today against Sam fun andenjoyable, and how much of it is stressful and emotional and you feel all tiedup inside?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: The most difficult is afterhaving chances, not winning them in the second set, putting everything in thethird set. This is the most difficult,because I think I had chance and I didn't finish it.

The opponent is gettingtougher and tougher, because you let them come back in the match and they startto believe in it and they start to play better. This is the hardest thing emotionally. But.

But then, I really enjoy playing thismatch. Even the crowd was not from myside. They were supporting I think Sammore. I don't know why. It was tough. I enjoy it. I enjoy having longrallies, putting lots of spin, playing different ball.

I really love doing this, and thisis a pleasure which is my job and also it's my passion.

Q. Soagainst Dinara, I think you've played her 13 times. Can you go out there against someone you knowvery well and enjoy it, or is it because it's a Grand Slam final, everything isbusiness, stress, emotions, competition?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: You know, definitely goingto be stress, definitely going to be emotion, definitely going to bebusiness. Everything. I will still try to put it away and just goout. Why should I change?

Every match should bethe same, even first round or last round, you know. This last match has got to be the same. Going to be my passion, anyway. I'm going to play. I'm not going to change for the final.

Well, I will try not to change, youknow. Just go out there and play mybest. I have nothing to lose out there.

Q. Whenyou won the US Open at 19, you could kind of say you were a little bitunconscious and you have been in Grand Slam finals after that maybe with maybemore awareness. So as you come intoanother final, what do you need to do to make sure that you perform at yourpeak level?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Just what I saidbefore: just go out there and enjoy it,you know. Maybe it's very simple to say. You say, well, it's enjoy, enjoy, whatever,you know. But lately the finals which Iplayed I was not enjoying that much. Well, except like StuttgartI won. But I was thinking too much abouteverything.

Lately here, thesematches, even semis, quarters, it still was a little bit getting to my mind,but I didn't let it in. So I was justenjoying. With Serena was such greatrallies, and today also. It's great forme even to win today.

I have not played on Philippe Chatrier yet,so it was very important match for me today to win it. I still try to have fun and enjoy. Some rallies were great. The same for the final.

Q. Thekey to controlling your nerves is just enjoying it, like you're enjoying thematch?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Yeah, you're like teasingme. You know, like you enjoy. You're stupid. You enjoy. (laughter.)

I mean, I really wantto go out there and do my best and just play. Well, to control my nerves, I have to loose up and just play mygame. In the end of day, just a game,right?

Q. On French television, Tatiana Golovin said that the key to Saturday'sfinal was going to be your ability to recover physically. Your foot maybe. What do you intend to do about that?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I don't think I'm that tiredto recover two days. I'm tough onmyself, you know. Today my feet wasnot ‑‑ the one I twisted yesterday, it was not bothering me at all. My problem was the blister.

It was hugeblister. After they put me the tape, Ihad since third game I started to feel it. When I start to feel it, it was huge, so I had to retape it.

And I'm fine, you know. It's more mentally going to be ‑‑ it'sgoing to be tough, but, you know, let's go out and have fun and see whathappens.

Q. Whatdo you think about when you think back to when you first came on the tour andyou were playing doubles with Martina? When you think back to the young woman you were then, what do you thinkabout?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I would think how come shecould handle me? I was sodifficult. I was so ‑‑ maybe ‑‑no, I would not ‑‑ if you tell me to go back and do all over the same, Idon't want to do this. You know, I'vedone it as I've done it, and I'm fine with that.

But I was so late allthe time. I was not organized thatmuch. I was flying out in my headsomewhere. It was so new. When you come first on the tour, you're like,Oh, wow. It's a tournament. It'sgreat. I don't know. It's one small city and first time you're somotivated.

Then you come over one year, two, three,four, and the fifth you start, hmm, I'm bored already, you know, because it allcomes the same. I enjoyed playing a lotwith Martina.

Q. Youas a person then?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I don't know. The same. The same as I am now.

Q. It's plenty of players from this part of the world, from Russia. In the beginning of the draw, there wasplenty of players in there. Did youexpect a final step would be between two Russians?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Well, when I ‑‑ Idon't ‑‑ when draw came out, I didn't see the draw. I never ‑‑ I asked everybody around me,never tell me the draw, because I don't want to know this. I don't want to care about the finals,semifinals, quarterfinals. I just wantto care about the match I'm playing at the moment.

But some people havealways to show off and tell me, Well, you have a good draw. I don't care what draw I have. I just have to fight and play.

But then I found out that Dinara plays oneday and I play another day, it was small in my head that we can make it. We have a have a chance to make it to the finals. I think we both played one of the best claycourt seasons.

Q. Myquestion is not an original one, but can you talk about secrets, about so manyplayers from...

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: This question is driving menuts. You want me to go here for an hourexplaining what I think all over again.

Q. No, just one word.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Well, I believe it's justtough mentality and hard situation we went through after we grown up in Russia,because we didn't have possibilities to play. Not sponsors, nothing.

I remember myselfhitting in the balloon, you know, balloon on clay without hitting, youknow. It was 0 degrees and you had topractice, because you had no other chance because you cannot afford it.

Sometimes you travel and you share bedroomwith people you don't even know. Thesethings make you work harder, you know. You go to the juniors tournaments, you go from America and they have unbelievableNike deals. You beat them maybe easy,and you still don't have anything.

The same now, you know. Russian players, we don't get such good dealsas other players, because they say we don't have marketing in Russia. But anyway, you know, we're tough and we'remaking it, you know.

Every time there is Russian intournaments, they say, Oh, Russian final again. We need somebody else. We needsome American. We need somebodyelse. They try to bring, but we still goand we still fight and the girls that win Olympics, we go all the time forward.

Doesn't matter what they say. We just try to do our best.

Q. Youtalked yesterday in a moving way about the role of the war, and yet Russiantennis didn't really emerge, if I have it correct, until the fall of the Soviet Union and Anna coming out and so forth. Could you talk about that aspect, please?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Yeah, it was not that manyRussian players playing well. As yousaid, it was Soviet Union, and they would notlet us out ‑‑ not me, but like Olga Morozova. She was my coach at the start of the season,and I been hearing stories about this.

They would not let out Soviet Union. Theywould control the deals they have. Theywould take all the money. It's a bitcommunism, like in China. So the tennis still was big, but first ofall, they didn't let them go out of the Russiaand USSRback then.

It was tough to show something, to competewith players when other players compete and they grow up in the level, and theycould not. So after, they were stilltough. They were still trying, and itwas high level they were playing tennis.

After they were allowed to travel,then some guys like Chesnokova, they went to the States and signed some firstcontracts. It was very difficultsituation back then, but they were still pushing and they pull it throughbecause maybe it would be the same till today.

Q. Justbriefly, is it an incredible accomplishment by Sharapova that she's both a starin Russia and the U.S.?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I give credit to Maria. It's great. You know, but I think if you turn back and you see about tennispopularity in Russia,it would be first by Yeltsin, because he put a lot. He was big in politics, and he pushed a lottennis in Russia.

He got all diplomaticpeople and around people, people around president to play tennis. So people came. They put money into tennis, some money. Then Kournikova made it big. Doesn't matter people don't like her. Doesn't matter that they say she never won atournament. I still think she didamazing effort.

They made such a big deal about her notwinning a tournament. For me, she wastop 10 player. She played semis I thinkof Wimbledon. She was very tough. She was No.1, I think, in doubles. She had anunbelievable achievement.

She was very popular and she coulddo the same thing on court and off the court. It's a lot credit for her for doing this for Russian tennis.

And then it's became Maria,Kafelnikov, these old guys that they were big, Safin. This all pulled tennis forward andforward. Maria, she has great creditbecause she very popular and she was No. 1.

So everybody did something for Russia. So we're pulling it forward.

Q. Isthe toughness that you talk about why hip hop with its toughness appeals toyou?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Excuse me?

Q. Hip hop music.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Hip hop? (laughter.)

Well, I don'tknow. If I start to talk about Africanculture, it's very tough for those guys. But I cannot come from USSRnow to Africa. We're going to talk too much politics, and I'm not political. I'm trying to just hit this yellow ball overthe net. (laughter.)

Yes, well, for me, it hasnothing actually, hip hop withtoughness.

Q. Well,it's kind of a raw, tough sound, and there's often a lot of very tough issues.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Yeah, some lyricsunbelievable, yeah.

Q. What is your preferred warmup song at the moment?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: I don't listen to toughstuff. I listen to some happy stuff,because I'm not going to court to die. I'm just going to have fun.

Sometimes ‑‑ I tryto listen something hard, you know, this and that, and I go on the court, andI'm like ‑‑ I want to be happy. I wantto have fun. (laughter.) I want to make another people watching mehave fun.

So I'm just trying to have some beats, somenice songs. But if you want to listenfor some tough lyrics and never give up, you listen to No Matter What of TI,and this is unbelievable song.

Q. Youhad a rather long bathroom break. Canyou tell us why that took so long?

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: No, everybody tell me that Itake so long, but I swear I just go into the locker room, I take my shoes, mysocks, my skirt, my top, my shirt off, and I put all another, the same again ontop.

This is it, and I comeback. This is all I do. I'm not spending time sitting there andthinking about something. Not rushing,but this is what I've done.

Q. Just you and Dinara go back a long way. Can you just talk about when you first met her? You're the same age.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: Oh, yeah. This story goes way back. I was like 12 or 13, and Dinara wasunbelievable girl. She's one yearyounger than me. I had no chance playingagainst her. I remember I lose to her 6‑1,6‑Love or something, but it was no chance.

I used to be girl from St. Petersburg, she was Moscow and her mom is huge coach who beencoaching her. I mean, she was No. 1, No.2, always great. I don't even know whatnumber I had.

But then I talk to her. I said, Dinara, do you remembersomething? She goes ‑‑ or whatever. We talk about it. She says, Yeah, I remember you coming withrock shirt, because I was big fan of the rock band and with big bottle of Coketo the match.

It's fun, you know. She tells me back then this is what sheremembers. She was very good then, andthen her brother was huge. I was comingto Marat, Hey, I know your sister Dinara. Can you give me autograph? Youknow, it was funny.

Then when we wanted to move to Spain. My parents decided that they want to movesomewhere, so we called mom of Dinara and asked her to help us to go maybe to Valencia,because it was the only people we knew.

She goes, Yeah, well, this is thenumber. But we call and it was closed,so we went to another academy. But it'salways been rivalry even she was good, but then I started to playbetter. So it was always ups anddowns. Yeah, it's huge. It's in the back, back, back.

Q. Youplayed with Dinara the final at Rome. She won.

SVETLANAKUZNETSOVA: And you're Italian. (laughter.)

Q. I want to know if it will affect the way to play...

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: I'm not German, but I won in Stuttgart, also. (laughter.)

Well, it's 1‑1. It's even on clay, right? So I try to think about it. I think it's a new match. It's completely different day. Doesn't even matter if I won 15 times beforeor she won 15 times before. It's acompletely new day. Everything could bedifferent.