China Open 2011 Interviews – Wozniacki, Tsonga, Ferrero

Written by: Staff on 6th October 2011

China Open 2011 Interviews - Wozniacki, Tsonga, Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain hits a return against opponent Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil during their match at the China Open in Beijing, China, 04 October 2011. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL |

2011 CHINA OPEN INTERVIEWS (Oct. 6, 2011)

[Wozniacki, Tsonga, Ferrero respectively found below]

C. WOZNIACKI/K. Kanepi

6 3, 7 6

An interview with:

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. (Through translation.) We heard that you had a big cake the China Open organizing committee specially prepared for to you to celebrate the one year anniversary of you becoming world No. 1. How did you feel about it?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, the cake was very nice. (Smiling.) It was really nice of the WTA and the tournament to make that cake for me. I mean, one year anniversary, it’s a big deal to me. It’s have fun to be back and great to be playing on this stadium.

Q. The match was really intense, especially in the second set. Are you happy with the way you played tonight?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Yeah, I’m happy about the way I played. I think it was high level, and Kaia is a good player as well. You know, she’s been I think 15 or 16 in the world, so I knew it was going to be a tough match also after losing again her last week.

I was really happy to get this win and to get my revenge.

Q. You’re the only top 10 player left in the competition now. Does that fill you with an added bit of confidence? How does that help your psychology?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: To be honest, I don’t really think about it. I mean, there are so many good players on the tour nowadays, and you need to play well every time to win. I’m just taking one match at a time. Flavia I think it’s Flavia I am playing, I was told she’s a tough opponent and it’s not going to be easy.

Just taking one match at a time.

Q. Stacey Allaster said yesterday that any player from top 40 can beat world No. 1 on any given day. Considering how your opponent played in the second set, do you think it is the case, that it could be go other way if your opponent won second set?

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Well, I think what she meant with that comment is there are so many good players out there. You know, you have to play well every match to win. It’s not like you go out on court and it’s a walkover because you’re No. 1 or No. 5 or No. 10 in the world.

Maybe, I don’t know, 20, 30 years ago you knew that the top 10 were going to be in the quarterfinals every single time; it’s not like that anymore.

You know, it’s great to be out there. You know that you’ve worked hard. I just fight for every point, and I’m happy that I am where I am.

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J. TSONGA/Z. Zhang

6 3, 6 4

An interview with:

JO WILFRIED TSONGA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It’s not a surprise that you beat Ze Zhang, but would you like to say something more about this match?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: What can I say? Of course on the paper I was better than him; but on the court it’s all the time different. It was not easy today, and I’m happy to win, of course, even if I was supposed to win.

Q. Your opponent said the biggest difference between you and him is the serve and the return of serve. Do you think so?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, I think when you reach the top 100 you can see the difference with the serve and with the returns.

Yeah, I think the best difference between each player, it’s really the serve and the returns.

Q. Is Yao Ming the tallest guy you have ever met?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: For sure. (Smiling.) The guy, Yao was really big just in front of me. Was impressive.

Q. I’m just wondering, where do you stand on the controversy about the ATP schedule at the moment? Andy Murray of course has came out talking about how it’s too full. What do you think?

JO WILFRIED TSONGA: I’m stand here. (Smiling.) You know, I’m agree we play a lot, and maybe we can do better and have a better schedule. But it’s not easy, and I think we need find the solution all together.

Anyway, of course best player will lead this movement, but they need to take in consideration every player. Yeah, that’s it.

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J. FERRERO/M. Granollers

6 4, 6 4

An interview with:

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. This is the fifth time you beat Marcel. Would you like to comment on the match and your opponent as well?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Marcel is very good friend of mine, so always is not nice to beat him or another player.

His style to me is good. I mean, I like to play against him so every time that I played a match against him, I felt very well on the court. So maybe that’s why I beat him all the times.

Q. We see several Spanish national flags in the stadium, and most of them are your fans. What would you say to your Chinese fans?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I’m feeling very great every time I come to Asia. I know that I have a lot fans here supporting me all the time, so for me it’s amazing to come here very far, far away from home and feel like at home.

I went out on the court and I saw all the flags and all the people say my name, supporting me, so I’m very thankful for that. Of course keep like that.

Q. Next round should be or could be against Tsonga. What do you think of his game? He’s also in the competition for the end of year tournament. Comment on that. You’ve been in the position to compete for that tournament.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I think he’s a great player. He’s in a good shape. He’s been playing very well tennis most of the season on the hard courts, and of course he’s one of the favorites to win the tournament.

He’s No. 1 seeded, so if I play against him going to be very tough for me because hard court is his favorite surface maybe. His serve is big, forehand is big, so Tsonga is always a very tough player to beat.

But it’s going to be a nice match for me. It’s long time that I didn’t play against him. Last time it was Monte Carlo I think. He beat me on hard court and I beat him on clay court. It will be another challenge for me.

Q. (Through translation.) You are a very great player on the ATP Tour, and nowadays on the court there are so many Spanish young players. What sort of suggestion would you like to give to those young Spanish players? Second question: Next week will you go to Shanghai to play the Shanghai Masters?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Advice to them, it’s keep working very hard. I mean, if they are young, they have to fight for to be in the top 10 or top 20.

I mean, tennis is very complicated, and there is no other solution than work very hard. No more things.

And about Shanghai, yeah, of course I’ll go to Shanghai to play next week.

Q. Third question: The tennis academy, how is that working?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: It’s working very well. I mean, we have it since long time ago, and we have a very good group over there working very well. We have also a lot of guys most of the summer.

But, you know, it’s very nice to practice there, yeah.

Q. There was a part of the question regarding the end of the year tournament, the ATP Tour World Finals. You’ve been in this situation when the guys are counting points and everything. How do you think these guys are feeling now, the ones that are still fighting for it?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: The same as you think: excited, nervous. They want to win points to make maybe the most important tournament on the year.

So they will fight with everything for it, yeah.

Q. Can it be damaging to their game or mind?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, sometimes. I mean, Simon, he didn’t play very well here and maybe he needs to play. But sometimes it’s very damage, but sometimes it helps to get you very motivated.

Q. (Through translation.) In this year’s China Open, after first round the seeds have all gone out. How would you comment on such a situation?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Can you repeat?

Q. After the first round, the top seeds were almost all gone. How would you comment on that situation?

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I mean, can happen. Tennis is very difficult, and it’s not for sure that the top seed, they going to win. The other players are good, too. The only difference is ranking. So they have to play and they have to win.

As I said, it’s not always the principal thing that they going to win.