Vera Zvonavera interview after her lost of the
Wimbledon 2010 Final
Wimbledon 2010
By LadyDragon
WIMBLEDON, United
Kingdom --(LadyDragon.com)
03/07/10--Vera Zvonavera interview after her lost of the
Final at Wimbledon 2010
Q. You seemed
overwhelmed by emotion understandably at the end. Can you
put into perspective what it all meant to you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, I think it's great to be
in the final, and think I will realize it later. But at
the moment I think I'm still a bit disappointed with the
performance today.
I think I could have - not with the result but more the
way I played - I could have done better today. I did not
show my best today, and it's a bit disappointing because
it's the final. You know, you don't reach the Wimbledon
final every day, so...
But overall, you know, Serena played really well. She
didn't give me chances to get into the match.
Q. How difficult was it to deal with your frustrations
during the match with the unforced errors?
VERA ZVONAREVA: I was not frustrated. I was just thinking
about how to pump myself up to get out of it, to try to
make those shots in.
The errors, yeah, maybe you can call them unforced
errors. But you always take more risk against Serena
because you know she's such a great mover and she can
play a great defense.
So if you gonna take more risk, you will have to make
more errors. And, uhm, I think she was lucky on a couple
of occasions. She miss-hit the ball and I didn't time it
well. I missed it. Then I was a little bit -- I stopped
going for my shots as much, and that's where she started
playing her game.
Q. You said before the match that you had to stop her
from dominating. How do you do that, and why is she so
dominant?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, she's very powerful. She's very
quick around the court, so it's very difficult to put her
in defense right away. If you have to handle 120-miles-an-hour
serve and try to return it in a way to put her in
defense, it's very difficult; it's not easy.
So you just have to find spots around the court and try
to return the way that she -- you know, she's not in a
great position. The same with the serve. You don't want
to serve to her best shots so she cannot make her best
returns.
I think today I was able, you know, to serve okay. Just
those couple double-faults, but it's nothing. Return, I
was able to do the return. The most difficult were in the
rallies where I didn't make the right choices at the
right time. Maybe sometimes I went for too much and
sometimes I didn't attack enough.
Q. Do you think she's beatable?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Yeah, of course she's beatable. She's a
human being. She's not a machine. I mean, it's very
difficult to beat her. You have to play your best. But,
you know, if you do, you can do it.
Q. After being involved in the final today, how do you
use that as motivation to go one step further in future
slams?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, first of all I'll be
thinking about how to get to that final first and then to
go one step more. But it was definitely good experience
for me. You know, it's been a great week. Hopefully it
can help me in the future, yeah.
Q. Can you describe her serve for us, what it's like
facing her serve, what kind of spin she's using, those
sorts of things.
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, she can use different serves. She
can hit flat and she can use what is very good on the
grass, effective on the grass, is a slice serve wide
where it's very difficult to return. Then, you know, you
can cover one side, but then she can go flat very hard
the other side.
So she always changes it. And the second serve she can
put so much rotation in, so it's very difficult to attack
it, as well.
I think I made a mistake today. I stepped back, and I
should have been more aggressive on her second serve.
But, you know, it's something that I will keep in my mind
for the future.
Q. There are very few players who play both singles
and doubles. You're in both finals. To what extent has
your singles game improved by having played doubles?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, I want to think, yeah, that, you
know, a little bit extra because I didn't have enough
matches. I haven't played enough matches on the grass
before I came here. That's why I wanted to play doubles
as well.
Also here you have to be a little bit quicker in doubles
more. You have to use more volleys. You have to come into
the net. I think in this week it helped a little bit me
playing singles.
Q. What was the whole experience of being in the final
like? What was the morning like, the buildup, and how
were you?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Just as usual. I didn't feel any
pressure. I didn't feel any -- you know, I was not
nervous. I was just trying to prepare myself the best I
can.
I think today maybe would have gone to the third set with
Serena I would have done maybe better. But, you know, I
did not realize what I had to do, you know, on the court
against her. I made some, I think, bad tactical choices,
and that's why she was able to break me.
Q. Most people would be really intimidated being in
their first final. You didn't look intimidated at all.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, I was not. Maybe because I have
enough experience behind my back for so many years. Yeah,
maybe I never played in a Grand Slam final, but actually,
I did a mixed doubles and doubles, and I think maybe that
helps as well.
Yeah, for me it was just another match. But, uhm, yeah, I
think it was very difficult for me to play my best today
because she was just -- you know, she was better. I would
make I think the right choice, and then she will make a
really good get and a passing shot.
Then next time you feel like you have to go for even
more, and then you start missing.
Q. Did you have to be persuaded to parade around with
your trophy at the end? You didn't seem quite to know
what to do.
VERA ZVONAREVA: No, they were just asking me if maybe you
should go around to show your trophy. So that's what I
did because -- well, they asked Serena before.
Q. If you had to characterize this tremendous two-week
run of yours, how in a word or two would you
characterize?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Well, you know, I think I'm such a
perfectionist that I wouldn't consider it as a fabulous
result, because you know how I always want everything
perfect.
Even if I lose, you know, I feel like I could have done
better. Sometimes I can lose some matches and think that,
Well, I did everything I can today, and it was better.
But I think at the moment I'm still disappointed because
I think I could have played better tennis.
But otherwise, you know, I think I was able to come
through a lot of difficult matches for the past two
weeks. And I think it should give me more confidence, you
know, in myself, because in the beginning of the
tournament I really didn't play great tennis.
My first two rounds, I was like, Well, I better be
raising my level of my game for the third one if I want
to be in the fourth round. I just kept working and I kept
fighting for it. I really was able to do it.
The fourth round, that's where I started playing, you
know, much better tennis.
Q. Does your drive for perfection help you in your
career or is it sometimes a problem? Did you have any
health issues before going into the final?
VERA ZVONAREVA: Uhm, well, I think the perfectionism is
something that can help you and something that can
destroy you, as well. I think now I know how to handle my
perfectionism better. I know that, you know, if I haven't
done better today, I will try to do it tomorrow. I want
everything perfect, so I know I will keep working hard.
But maybe earlier in my career I wanted everything
perfect and everything perfect right now, and if it
doesn't work right now, then I will get so angry with
myself, you know.
But, yeah, health issues, not really. I just got a little
bit sick. I lost my voice. But it's something, you know,
that's not a big deal.
Q. Of all the weapons that you've seen other players
have, how would you describe Serena Williams' first serve
as a weapon?
VERA ZVONAREVA: As a weapon? Well, it's something that, I
don't know, it's hard to describe. It's just something
that's putting the opponents always in trouble. Like, you
know, she uses it the way that, you know, Okay, I'm going
to try to return; I'm going to try to stay aggressive.
But if you don't break her, it's also putting pressure on
your serve because you know that, Well, I better be
winning this game, otherwise she's gonna hold hers.
So it's not only the weapon like a shot weapon; it's also
like maybe in a way a mental weapon that she's so
confident in it that she knows that she can take more
risk and she can go more on the returns. Even if she's
not returning well, she can go for it because she can
rely on her serve the next game.
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