Jelena Jankovic

Q. Che corso di laurea avevi scelto quando stavi quasi per commettere l’errore di tornare all’università?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Non lo so. In realtà non è una cosa a cui al momento sto pensando.
All’inizio non sapevo cosa volevo studiare. Sono solo al secondo anno, e dal terzo dovrei realmente scegliere l’indirizzo. Ma adesso sono concentrata sul tennis. A poco a poco.

Q. Qual è stata la differenza oggi, rispetto ai precedenti tentativi di superare l’ostacolo della semifinale?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Ad essere onesta questo è stato il mio primo slam senza infortuni, senza problemi a disturbarmi.
Davvero distoglie – non pensavo al tennis. Pensavo, oddio, questo mi duole. Questo mi disturba. Quindi faticavo a giocare il mio tennis, non riuscivo a pensare al gioco.
Adesso per la prima volta quest’anno sono sana in uno slam, e voglio fare davvero bene. Sono molto concentrata, credo in me stessa e prendo i match uno alla volta.
Sto facendo del mio meglio, e sono motivata. Quindi sono felice di essere in finale per la prima volta.

Q. Paradossalmente i tuoi problemi fisici ti hanno aiutato a rafforzarti mentalmente, nel senso che sapendo di poter affrontare quelli puoi anche affrontare il resto...
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, ma nel corso dell’anno ho avuto tutti quei vari tipi d’infortunio perché non mi sono preparata a sufficienza ad inizio anno. In realtà prima della stagione non mi sono preparata affatto.
Così ho iniziato con molti infortuni. E’ stata come una catena, da un problema all’altro. Ho avuto delle specie di batteri per tre o quattro mesi in cui dovevo continuamente soffiarmi il naso e non riuscivo a respirare bene.
Ovviamente quando hai problemi simili è difficile essere al massimo e giocare il tuo miglior tennis. Fatichi sotto molti aspetti.
Ora, toccando ferro, è un miracolo per me essere qui, sana, a godermi il mio tennis.
Come potete vedere, sto lottando molto là fuori. Non mollo mai, sono presente fino all’ultimo punto. Indipendentemente dalle circostanze, intendo stare là fino all’ultimo e fare del mio meglio.
Questo è ciò che mi ha spinto attraverso il torneo e che mi ha consentito di arrivare in finale.

Q. Sicuramente avrai sentito della possibilità di piogge torrenziali per domani. Preferiresti avere il giorno extra e giocare domenica?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Per me non fa differenza. Qualsiasi sia il giorno, giocherò. Sarò lì e darò il meglio, e questa è l’unica cosa che conta, che sia domani o il giorno dopo o una settimana dopo. Scenderò in campo e competerò.

Q. Se incontrerai Serena Williams, vi siete spartite i sei precedenti e siete in parità anche nei due match di quest’anno...
JELENA JANKOVIC: Quest’anno siamo 1 1. L’ho battuta all’Australian Open; mi ha battuta a Miami in tre set. Quindi sarà un match difficile. E’ una giocatrice potente. Ama giocare qui all’Open, ma la cosa vale anche per me. Amo essere qui, l’atmosfera che c’è.
Dovesse vincere sarebbe un incontro interessante, ma non so cosa sta facendo ora con la Safina. Anche lei è in gran forma e sta andando benissimo negli ultimi mesi. Quindi chiunque sia, sarà un’avversaria difficile.
Ma andrò la fuori e darò il meglio.

Q. Quando hai vinto o quando hai perso, quale è stata la differenza?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Complessivamente penso che sia la giocatrice più potente del circuito, assieme a sua sorella. Nessuna ha la loro potenza.
Non siamo paragonabili. Perlomeno non posso paragonarmi a loro quanto a forza. Sono davvero grandi atlete. Io sono una piccola atleta. Si muovono benissimo e colpiscono la palla così forte.
Quindi se vuoi batterle quando sono in forma devi assolutamente essere al massimo, tirare i colpi al limite e correre molto.
Sarà difficile, ma è fattibile.

Q. Avendo passato così tanto tempo da Nick (Bollettieri, ndr), consideri gli Stati Uniti una sorta di seconda patria?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sì, ho una casa qui in America, e mi piace passarci del tempo. Quando ci sono i tornei americani sto qui, e quando invece si gioca in Europa torno in Serbia. Quindi è come una seconda casa.

Q. Vedendo Novak lottare contro folle ostili, e chiaramente è stato il caso dell’altra sera, quanto è importante per te essere amata in campo?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Non so quanto sia importante essere amati, ma sono me stessa. Dico tutto ciò che mi sento di dire, e la cosa mi viene naturale.
Ogni giocatore ha la sua personalità. Alcuni possono apprezzare, altri no. Chiaramente quando incontri uno dei beniamini del pubblico, ad esempio un americano qui all’Open, la maggioranza della folla sarà contro di te, il che è normale, è comprensibile.
Se giocassi in Serbia ovviamente il pubblico sarebbe dalla mia parte. Quindi, nel caso di Djokovic contro Roddick, è comprensibile che il 90% della gente fosse per Roddick.
Però riguardo al loro problema, per via degli infortuni e via dicendo, non posso commentare perché non è affar mio.
Non mi piace commentare i fatti che riguardano altre persone.

Q. Hai visto l’intervista in campo?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sì, e ho visto che l’hanno fischiato. Non hanno affatto apprezzato ciò che ha detto.
Però, dal mio punto di vista, si è solo difeso, perché quando Roddick ha parlato dei suoi timeout e sui suoi infortuni – in un certo senso penso che non sia stato gentile da parte sua dire tutte quelle cose, anche se magari era infortunato.
Qualsiasi cosa fosse, non penso sia carino parlare così, perché non sai con certezza quali problemi abbia l’altro. Ma alla fine, a mio avviso, la cosa più importante è vincere. Questo è ciò che conta, chi avanza al turno successivo.
Chi è andato in semifinale è stato Djokovic. Che abbia fatto o meno quelle cose, non importa. E’ il vincitore che conta.

Q. Quando oggi lei ha spinto, hai risposto bene, nessun nervosismo. Sei stata aggressiva quando dovevi. A livello difensivo, hai superato l’ostacolo. Non sei mai stata in una finale di Slam, quindi parlaci di come pensi di reggere all’occasione.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sì, sarà come un altro incontro. Per me non fa differenza, semifinale o finale.
Voglio scendere in campo come ho fatto negli ultimi due incontri, concentrata fin dal primo punto.
Avere una tattica e sapere cosa fare per vincere, e lottare. Devo credere in me stessa. So di potercela fare, ed è ciò che conta.

Q. Ti sei mai preoccupata oggi quando lei ha iniziato in modo così aggressivo?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sì, voglio dire, il match non è finito fino all’ultimo punto. Fino alla fine sei là fuori a combattere, a giocare ogni punto. Quindi finché non è finita non sai mai cosa può accadere.

Q. A proposito delle condizioni meteorologiche, hanno condizionato in qualche modo il tuo gioco quest’oggi?
JELENA JANKOVIC: E’ stato difficile per entrambe, soprattutto da un lato il vento era molto forte. Così continui a colpire più forte che puoi ma la palla non va da nessuna parte. Dall’altro lato, colpisci appena e la palla vola. E’ stato difficile, ma era lo stesso per tutte e due.

Q. Sei preoccupata che le condizioni siano le stesse per domani o per il giorno seguente?
JELENA JANKOVIC: E’ okay. Ci stiamo abituando, perché nel corso delle due settimane il tempo è stato così. Bisogna davvero impegnarsi al massimo. La cosa più importante è muovere i piedi ed essere su ogni palla
 

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Q. What were you going to get a degree in when you almost made a mistake by going back to university?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. I'm not really thinking about that at the moment, you know.
I didn't actually know what I wanted to study in the beginning. I'm only in the second year, and in the third year I would really choose what I want to study. But now I am focused on tennis. Little by little.

Q. Of course you are. What do you think it would have been?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. Off the court, I really love acting.

Q. You're pretty good at that.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Sure. I don't know. (laughter.)
I don't know. We'll see.

Q. In all your tries to get past the semifinal, what was the difference today?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, actually, to be honest, this has been the first set Grand Slam that I don't have any injuries, that I don't have any issues bothering me.
It really takes off it really took me you know, I wasn't thinking about, you know, tennis. I was thinking, Oh, my God, this is hurting. This is bothering me. So I was really struggling and really not playing my tennis and not thinking about my game.
And now, first time, you know, this year, Grand Slam, I'm healthy and, you know, I really want to do well. I'm really focused, I really believe in myself, and I'm really going one match at a time.
I'm really trying my best out there, and so I'm motivated. So I'm happy to be in the final for the first time.

Q. That was a battle of mental strength today and you won it.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, mentally, I feel I'm a lot stronger, because I really believe in myself. I really want to do this, and, you know, I think it's about time for me to make that step forward to break that barrier and go a long way.
I want to win a Grand Slam, and this is why I came here. Not having injuries, not having some problems, is giving me a good opportunity to be here, so I'm really thankful for that.

Q. In a strange way, have your physical problems helped you build mental strength in the sense that you know that you can battle through that so you could also battle through...
JELENA JANKOVIC: No, but throughout the year I had all these different kinds of injuries, because due to I didn't prepare well enough in the beginning of the year. Actually, in the preseason I didn't prepare.
So I started with a lot of injuries. It was like a chain, going from one injury to another. I had some kind of bacteria for like three or four months where I was blowing my nose the whole time and I couldn't breathe and all these problems.
So of course when you're having some things like that it's tough to be at the top of your level and really play your tennis. You're really struggling with many things.
And now, you know, to knock on wood, you know, it's a miracle, for me to be here and to be healthy and to enjoy my tennis.
As you could see, I'm really fighting out there. I'm really never giving up. I'm really there until the last point. No matter what, I'm going to really, until I until the last point I'm going to be there and I'm going to try my best.
This is what has helped me propel through this tournament and helped me until now to come into the final.

Q. Can you take us through the injuries from the very beginning?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's a long story. It's going to be a long story.

Q. Abbreviated version.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Oh, my God. Actually, it all started in exhibition in Hopman Cup. I injured my glut muscle. I don't know how you call that.

Q. Back side.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, in the back. Yeah.
Then I had a back pain in Australian Open. Then I had I don't know what I played afterwards. Then I got sick in Indian Wells really bad and was sick for three or four months. I had some bacteria that they couldn't they didn't know how to get rid of it, and so my nose was running the whole time. It was really bad in my throat and it was hard for me to breathe.
Then French Open I had problem with my arm, you know. My arm was like swollen, and since the second round of the tournament I was struggling.
In Wimbledon, I made some movement and I had a tear in my meniscus where they told me I went to have surgery and I'm not going to play for a while. I recovered in three weeks, but it really took me a long time, you know, to come back.
It was amazing how my knee got weaker. Through Olympics and LA and Montreal I was really out of shape. I couldn't move. I was not fast enough. I was just it was hard for me.
And then finally now I'm really working hard, you know, with my coach, with my fitness coach, really, you know, taking care of every little detail. Even the food I'm eating, I'm really taking care of everything, because all these little things are going to make a big difference, especially for me.
So these things are starting to pay off, and I'm really being disciplined in the moment. I'm really listening to everything. I'm really eager, you know. I'm really motivated to do the right things and to win a Grand Slam.
I'm really happy to be in the final, and tomorrow is another day. Hopefully I can give my best in the last match with her.

Q. I'm sure you heard about the possibility of a lot of rain tomorrow. Would you rather have the extra day if you push it back to Sunday?
JELENA JANKOVIC: For me it doesn't matter. Just whenever I play, I'm going to play. I'm going to be there. I'm going to try my best, and that's all I care about, even if it's tomorrow or next day or in a week. I'm going to go out there and compete.

Q. If you play Serena Williams, how does your history against her where you've split six matches, you've split the two matches this year, all the...
JELENA JANKOVIC: This year we are 1 1. I beat her at the Australian Open; she beat me in Miami in three sets. So it will be a tough match. She's a powerful player. She loves to play here at the Open, but so do I. I love being here. I love the atmosphere.
It's going to be an interesting match if she wins, but I don't know what is happening now with Safina. She's also in great form and doing really well the last couple of months. So whoever it will be, it will be a difficult opponent.
But I will go out there and do my best.

Q. What has been the difference when you've played Serena since you've split those matches? What has been the key when you've played against her?
JELENA JANKOVIC: What do you mean? When I have won?

Q. When you've won or when you've lost, what's been the difference?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Overall, she's, I think, the strongest player on the tour, together with her sister. Nobody has the power that they have.
We cannot compare. At least I cannot compare to any of them, you know, with their strength. They're great athletes, really. I'm a little athlete. They move really well. They hit the ball so hard.
So if you want to really win when they're in form, you really have to be on the top of your level and you really have to go for every shot and really have to run a lot.
So it will be difficult, but it's doable.

Q. Having spent so much time at Nick's, do you regard the United States as sort of a second country?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I have a house here in America, and I love spending time here. You know, when the tournaments are in America I'm here, and when the tournaments are in Europe I go back home to Serbia. So it's like a second home.

Q. When Novak struggles with hostile crowds, and of course he had an issue with that last night, how important is it for you to be loved out there on court?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know how important it is to be loved, but I'm being myself. You know, I say everything that I feel to say, and, you know, it comes out naturally.
So, you know, different players, you know, they have different personalities. People may like them; some people may not like them. Of course when you play a crowd favorite, when you play an American here at the Open, the majority of people will be against you, which is normal, which is understandable.
Because if I played in Serbia, of course, the crowd would be on my side. So when you play, for example like Djokovic played against Roddick, it was, you know, very you could understand that, you know, 90% of the crowd was for Roddick.
But, you know, then with the issue between them, you know, with the injuries and the things they had, you know, I cannot comment on that because it's not my thing.
I try to I can say what I do. I don't like to comment on other people's, you know, comments or whatever they had.

Q. Did you see the on court interview?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I did, and I saw that you know, it was they booed him. They didn't really appreciate what he said.
But, you know, from my opinion, he just defended himself, because, you know, when Roddick said that he was you know, he took all these timeouts and all these injuries you know, in a way I didn't think it was nice to say all of these things, even though maybe he had injuries.
Whatever he had, I don't think it's nice to say, because you don't know for a fact what this guy has, what kind of issues. But at the end of the day, from my opinion, most important this is to win. This is what counts, and this is the one who goes forward.
The one who went into the semifinal was Djokovic. All these things that he has done or didn't do, that doesn't matter. It's the winner that counts.

Q. What were those guys in the balcony shouting? They were for you. I mean, it was sort of like a cheering squad.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Oh, the one from upstairs?

Q. Yeah, upstairs.
JELENA JANKOVIC: They kept saying, Jelena, we love you, and all these things, cheering, you know, in kind of a I don't know, like a poem, you know, rhyming.

Q. When she pushed at you today, you responded well, no nerves. You played offense when you had to. Defense, you got past this stage. Grand Slam final you've never experienced, so just talk about how you think you're going to hold up.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, it will be just like another match. I didn't make for me, at least, doesn't make a difference, semifinal or final.
I want to go out there the same like I've been doing the last, you know, couple of matches. I want to go out there and really, from the first point, be there and really be focused.
You know, come out with a game plan and know what I have to do to win and just fight. You know, I have to believe in myself. I know that I can do it, and that is what matters.

Q. If you play Serena, the winner will be No. 1 in the world as far as I understand. If you play Safina, even if you lose, you are going to be No. 1 in the world. Does it make a difference? And also, you lost to Safina three times out of four, and you are even with Serena.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I lost to her the last two times.

Q. Yes.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I didn't lose last three.

Q. Three out of four. Three out of five.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Since when? Since when I've lost to her so many times? I don't...

Q. Anyway, doesn't matter. Not so important. Would you prefer to play to Serena because you're on even...
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. It doesn't matter, because I'm improving. I lost to Safina when I was just coming back from an injury. I was really if you could watch the matches that I played in Olympics or Montreal, it was really hard for me, you know, to move, to go from one side to another.
I had no reaction. I had no I was really, my game was kind of falling apart. I was really struggling. When you're not, you know, there, it's and I lost in three sets in those circumstances.
Now that I feel much stronger, I'm still, you know, very, very far from my limit for my full potential, but I feel that I'm getting better. I feel that I'm moving faster. I feel I'm a little bit stronger. I feel I can hold my ground.
When I played against Safina, for example in the Olympics, every time she hit hard I was falling back. I couldn't stand my ground. She was overpowering me.
And now I feel that, you know, I can stand there, and I can, you know, hit back to back with whoever it is on the other side. So that is something that is giving me a lot more confidence and a lot more belief when I go into my next match.
So I hope that, you know, I can do and give really 100%, and hopefully I can do it. I don't know. We'll see.

Q. When you were at Bollettieri's, you were a little kid.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I'm still a little kid. (laughter.)

Q. Okay, kid.
JELENA JANKOVIC: For you. (laughter.) I didn't say anything in a bad way.

Q. When you're having those battles on the back locals with Sharapova and all those people, did you ever think, I can't do this. It's just too tough.
JELENA JANKOVIC: Tennis, you mean?

Q. Yeah, yeah.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. Tennis, in the beginning I never really took it too seriously. Tennis was, for me, I really loved the sport, I really loved to play and compete, but as a young girl I never knew that I was going to make it.
I never knew that, you know, this is something I really want to do, that I'm going to become a professional. Because how many people, especially coming from Serbia, we didn't have a tradition in tennis.
Not many people nobody made it from that country, so I didn't have anybody to look up to. I didn't know, you know, how far I can go, what is my potential, what is my limit and all this.
People were telling me I'm talented, you know, I'm going to about be this and that, but you never know. So in the beginning, for me it was most important to go to school but then, you know, to play tennis.
Then when I became No. 1 junior in the world and won Australian Open juniors, that's when I started thinking I'm going professional and really maybe trying my best. When I finished high school I started to train a little bit more, and that's when I wanted to make that transition into the professional level. You know, here I am. I came a long way.

Q. You just said you were just a little kid, and obviously you love still to joke and have fun. So many players on the circuit start as teenagers. They're happy, they're bubbly, but slowly they get more serious.
JELENA JANKOVIC: That's not the case with me.

Q. How important is it for you for you to have...
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's important to be yourself and to really have fun out there. Our life is not easy, and traveling everywhere, traveling around the world, and really being away from your country, being away from the family, from the people you love and from your friends, it's hard, you know, sometimes, to take everything.
If you don't enjoy yourself, you don't enjoy competing, you know, of course, we have a lot of pressure, we go out there, we really try our best, we really compete at our hardest. But when we step off the court, we're real people and we're human beings. We try to at least I try to enjoy myself. I try to laugh. I try to have a good time.
I'm young, so why not? When am I going to have fun? When I'm now is the time. For example, the driver, when he was driving me back home he told me, You know, you made my day. You laugh a lot. All these players, you know, they complain about traffic all the time.
And I said, you know, I don't complain about traffic. All I want is to get home. I'm really tired. We started making some jokes. He said, Thank you for making my day. You really lighten up, you know, even this car.
And I said, You know, I don't know what it is. I'm just laughing. I have a good time. And he said, Is this because you're No. 1 or No. 2 in the world?
And I said, No, I was laughing when I was 1,000 in the world, but maybe a little bit more now that I'm No. 1 or No. 2.

Q. Do you think it's too bad that Novak has stopped pretty much doing these imitations which brought so much fun to so many people?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. That's his thing to do, you know. He loves imitating. I don't know why he stopped it. Maybe some of the players were complaining they didn't like, you know, his imitations. They didn't like him, you know, maybe making fun of some other people.
In his own individual way, in a positive way, you know, it's not when you're imitating something it's just for fun. I don't think people could get offended by that. But, you know, that's his thing. I can ask him, you know, to keep doing it. Why you stopping? The people like it.

Q. Were you ever concerned today when she started the match quite aggressively?
JELENA JANKOVIC: Yeah, I mean, the match is not over until it's over. Until the end you are out there competing. You're playing every point. So until it's finished, you never know what's going to happen.

Q. What about the weather conditions? Did they affect your game at all today?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It was hard for both of us, especially from one side the wind was very strong. So you keep hitting as hard as you can and the ball doesn't go anywhere. From the other side, you hit a little bit and the ball flies. It was difficult, but it was the same condition for both players.

Q. Are you concerned that it's the same conditions for tomorrow or the day after?
JELENA JANKOVIC: It's okay, you know. We're getting used to it, because the whole two weeks the weather has been like this. You have to really try your best. The most important thing is to move your feet and be on every ball.