Martina Hingis 2002 Betty Barclay Cup Quarterfinal Interview ( Sports - Women's Tennis )

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2002 Betty Barclay Cup at Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, May 3, 2002
Martina Hingis defeated Daniela Hantuchova, 7-5, 6-4

An Interview With MARTINA HINGIS:

Q: It’s tough to get on top of her, isn’t it?

MARTINA HINGIS: I think my game suits her quite a bit. So, I’m happy I won today. Compared to last time, I went into the match with being well prepared. From the beginning I was trying to be right there and I was. Both of us had a lot of chances. So I’m happy, I won the first set. In the second, I let slip away a few chances. Overall, I can be happy.

Q: You say, you were better prepared this time. What do you mean?

MARTINA HINGIS: She hit many balls down the line, so sometimes I tried to already go there and push her, and she’d miss some of them, which she didn’t last time we played. I always tried to make her play that extra shot and she had to take a high risk. She had like 51 unforced errors, that was the key.

Q: Were the conditions more suitable for you than the last time when you lost? It was cold and the ground was softer.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yes, but they weren’t brilliant conditions for my game either, because I prefer it to be a bit faster. Also, because of the closed roof, the balls are heavier then. It’s hard to hit a winner then. But of course you can get more balls as well, but they were a bit too short so she could get them. I just tried to concentrate.

Q: Does it feel good to have had a good test, a little struggle?

MARTINA HINGIS: I’m happy to have won today. From the first match you couldn’t really tell that much how well I was playing, because Torrens Valero is not the same level as Hantuchova is; she’s one of the top girls. So, it felt as if the result was a little fake, because I didn’t think that I played that well, but I always made the points. I’m definitely happy, it was a tough match. I didn’t play my best.

Q: If you were to come to it would you look forward to a match with Venus?

MARTINA HINGIS: She just asked for the trainer. Definitely, she’s the No. 1 right now and you always look forward to play the No. 1 player and see where you are standing. I haven’t played her in a long time now, too, so I would definitely be looking forward to that one tomorrow.

Q: On clay, is it any different than on faster surfaces the way you would play her?

MARTINA HINGIS: I think today, I had a little preparation because Daniela she serves very well and has great groundstrokes from both sides and Venus is very similar. But from what I just saw right now, you just have to be patient. She hits one awesome shot and the next one is a mistake. Even Arantxa was surprised, because you don’t get any rhythm and it is very difficult to play.

Q: Do you have any special recipe how to get back to the top of the ranking or is it more of a slow process?

MARTINA HINGIS: Now the year has started more or less and for me it went well after the injury break. I’m quite content. The clay court season is something different again. I’m preparing for the French Open, and with this tournament you can get some respect and see how you stand and how you play against the other players on court. That always gives you a good idea about yourself.

Q: In the last years there were more and more players who played a real power tennis, like Serena, Venus and Capriati. Is it more difficult to be the number 1 now than it was two years ago?

MARTINA HINGIS: Yes, definitely. One can say that it got more difficult in any kind of sports to get to the top and stay on top. I’ve made my experiences and nobody can take that away from me. If you want to stay on top, you always have to get better and work hard day after day. And then you’ll see. Of course these players have an advantage on faster surfaces, but there are just human; on slower surfaces, Patty beat both of them, Serena and also Capriati and in Australia I wasn’t far from it either. If you don’t see the chances you should better stop. You always need to think positive.

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