On Wednesday at the Kremlin Cup, the most important tennis sensation of the year almost happened. After the start victory over the German Anna-Lena Grenefeld with a score of 6: 2, 6: 2, the Russian woman Nadezhda Petrova amazed the journalists with the answer to the simple question "Who trains you?" The tennis player said: "I now have two mentors, this is Tatyana Matokhnyuk and Roger ... Federer."
There was silence in the press conference room for a second, and then Nadezhda laughed. After a couple of minutes, recovering, Petrova announced that her Roger surname was not Federer, but Anderson. Then she answered questions from the newspaper's correspondent Vladas Tashev.
- Is it difficult to start the tournament just a couple of days after the victory in Stuttgart?
- I can’t say that it’s difficult to play, because any victory is quickly forgotten when you come to other competitions. You are already trying to concentrate on the next fights. Of course, the matches held last week help, there is self-confidence, a good sense of the ball, games. All this is still fresh in memory. The only thing that bothers is the physical state. After so many meetings in a row, the body gets tired, there are some small sores, something bothers somewhere, and it is very difficult not to get a new injury. You saw it yourself, today I went to the court all bandaged. ( Smiles. )
- Plaster bandage on the foot does not interfere with the game?
- No, they do not interfere, on the contrary, it protects against a more complex injury. Tennis players are already accustomed to all these attributes, besides, bandages help psychologically - thanks to them, you forget about your sores.
- It seemed that Grenefeld was feeling at ease ...
- The conditions are not simple - a very bright color of the court was chosen and some kind of strange light. It seems that the ball is just lost. Well, the coating is complex, not everyone can immediately adapt and get used to it. It seems to me that my rival really felt very uncomfortable.
- Ahead is a duel with compatriot Elena Likhovtseva ...
- Yes, it will be a very difficult match - after all, two Russians are playing in Moscow, and we both want to win. I think it will be necessary to just go out, concentrate from the very beginning of the meeting, forget about everything around and show your game.
- Can you highlight the strong qualities of the opponent?
- She is a stable player, moves well on the court and always fights to the end.
- This week you are keeping an online diary from the Moscow tournament for the official WTA website. How is a blog created?
- Every day I get a call from the WTA office in Los Angeles, about twenty minutes I discuss questions and answers with them. WTA employees record all this and then they upload it to the site themselves.
- Do you do it with pleasure?
- Of course, it is interesting to open to the fans, because I want fans and tennis fans to not only see the players on the court, but also to recognize them better as people.