PORTOROZ, Slovenia - As the three-tournament weeks begin, the stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour head to a plethora of picturesque locations around the world. One of those is Portoroz, which lies on the stunning Adriatic coast and is home to this week's Banka Koper Slovenia Open. It will also be home to this week's Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blog, as the nation's No.1, Katarina Srebotnik, shares her experiences.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
Hello again everybody!
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to win today. It was a very close match, but Tatiana won in the end, 26 64 64. She was making mistakes in the opening set and I was playing pretty well, but in the second and third set she was just too tough.
I definitely take lots of positives away from this week though. Because I didn't show my best tennis the first two years I played in Portoroz, I'm happy to show the fans I can play at this high level. I'm glad I could show them my qualities.
I actually got a little bit of an injury towards the end of the first set. My left glute was hurting, and it was painful mostly when I was running or serving. Our points weren't so long in the first set so that was great for my body, but in the next two sets she made me work so hard and it was not a good situation for the injury. I was still fighting and hoping to come back in the match and I didn't want her to know I had that weakness, so I chose not to get a trainer to come out. But at the end of the second set I couldn't take it anymore so I called them - and that was a good thing, because they helped, giving me some painkillers and such.
I have to say, a lot of the reason I almost came back in the third was because of the people cheering me on. I was down 5-2 but I felt their support, and I got it back to 5-4. It would have been a nice comeback; I always try to fight no matter what the score is, but today I fought even harder. I want to thank the crowd not just for my match today but also the whole week. They made a huge difference.
On the other hand, I congratulate Tatiana on her play. It wasn't easy for her, because while the crowd was mostly cheering for me, it must have been hard on her. I know how it feels and it's not a nice feeling to be out there when the crowd is rooting for your opponent. But she handled it really well. I admire what she showed today. She showed she was very, very tough.
Everything seemed to click this week. I was playing well and had a lot of fun with the blog! I think it's probably better I made it pretty far because if I lost my first match this wouldn't have been a very long blog :P But it was a pleasure for me. Hopefully all of you enjoyed reading it. The media actually printed it off every day and they'd ask me questions about it in my press. I think blogs are a great way of letting fans in and giving them an idea of who you are off the court.
To finish, I want to say this was a very emotional week for me - I was proud to reach the final, but I'm sad I wasn't able to win. It's a very special tournament for me and I enjoyed every second of it. Unlike the first two years I played here, I really took in the support and let it lift my game, as opposed to before, when it seemed more like pressure. Even though I lost today, I feel like I gained a lot.
I want to thank everybody involved with the tournament - from housekeepers to the tournament director - as well as all the fans! I felt so special the entire week, like I was a queen. You all treated me so well and I appreciate it all so much.
Talk to you all soon,
Kata :)
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Saturday, September 22, 2007
The semifinals of a tournament are never easy; everyone already has three wins under their belts, and whoever you play is playing really well. But I think I played the perfect match against Dulko today. I started pretty flawlessly, and got to 3-0 making very few mistakes. I knew it would be tough to keep that level up for three sets and I knew she would start pressing, but I was ready for that, and I'm really pleased with how I handled it. She had just beaten Bammer, too, so I knew I had to be at my best. I have a lot of respect for her and am very happy to win.
Tomorrow I'm playing Tatiana Golovin for the title. I saw a little bit of her match against Dushevina, and she looked solid. She's the top seed this week too, so on paper she's the one that should win tomorrow. But we're both in great shape and playing well here. I think it will be a good match. Whoever plays better will win. I have so much respect for her - she's a great player. I just hope I can keep up the level of play I've had so far this week, and if I win I'll be jumping in the sea...
Okay, so it's not like the sea is that far from the tournament - it's like 20 meters away. But it's still pretty exciting :) Two years ago when this tournament began, my coach and I said that if I won the title we'd jump in the sea right afterwards, with all of my tennis clothes on and everything. But I lost, and we never did it. In that match I was up 2-0 in the third set and began thinking about it, so this year I will make sure not to. This is the only tournament I know of that has the sea so close by, so you've got to take your opportunity here!
Same routine for today - I've been winning so of course I'm not going to change anything! I hit with my fellow Slovenian Klepac today around 11am then did some brief interviews, went back to the apartment, Biljana made a nice lunch, then I warmed up with her for 15 minutes before the match, then played. I've also been using the same shower. I am not normally too superstitious, and I know these things don't really affect anything, but for some reason I still do it. Dulko has kept the same corner in the locker room all week too, and I've been telling her I know exactly how she feels! I'm just happy to see I'm not the only one...
After the match I did interviews, stretched, did my cool down, then before the shower, actually, I swam in the sea for just a few minutes. My coach said I've been following my routines so well all week that I deserve a bit of a swim! When we got there they were taking some photos of the doubles champions, so the photographer looked at me and said 'Perfect timing!' He took some pictures of me and Biljana, it was funny. But I had to go to press so it was just a quick dip.
Of course, there was more champagne tonight. I didn't have a whole glass, just a sip! I'll try to get them 100 more glasses tomorrow :) The girl who gave me those clovers must have known something, because why would I need two of them? So I'm going to use the second one's good luck in the final! Also my sister is here - she said if I made the semifinals she would come and watch me, because she had to work all week, so she couldn't come on the weekdays. She's here with her husband. They're watching me play the final tomorrow too, which is just great. I hadn't seen her in a few months.
It's about 10pm right now and I'm just going to get some things ready then go to bed. I've got all day tomorrow to get ready so I'll just follow the same routines...
I'll talk to you all after the final!!
Kata :)
