PARIS, France - They both enjoyed career years last year and have already made a breakout beginning to 2008, capturing the Australian Open doubles crown. Now the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's second-highest ranked sister act, coming from a triumphant Fed Cup weekend in their home country of Ukraine, brings us this week's player blog straight from the Open Gaz de France in Paris.
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Saturday, February 9, 2008
Hey everyone. Alona's actually asleep already, so it's Kateryna here writing today. And it's only about 9pm - the shopping we were hoping to do today was just as tiring as we thought it would be. If you're in Paris, you have to do some shopping. And especially since we had the day off from matches, after a practice session we pretty much covered the Champs-Elysées!
First we went to Morgan but just looked around, didn't buy anything... we do that quite a bit. Then we went to Zara and each bought a few t-shirts. Alona got a wallet in the next store and then we finally went to my favorite store - Louis Vuitton - and we each bought new bags. We didn't really get anything else, although when we walked by Peugeot Alona said she'd buy anything there if they made something other than cars - it's her favorite car, although she doesn't have one. Anyway I don't even remember anywhere else we went. It was really fun but really tiring at the same time, as you can probably tell from Alona already being asleep this early. And I'm probably about to fall asleep too! We were so hungry when we came back we ordered room service and just couldn't move...
Kateryna
What is your favorite Valentine's Day gift to receive? - Maria, Russia
You know, I was just talking about Valentine's Day yesterday and didn't even get anything today. But that's okay, I have next week also. But the gift I'd like to receive most would probably be flowers... I'd say chocolate, but I'm trying not to eat that, because I don't think I'd be able to stop. Alona got a ring for Valentine's Day once and then the next year the same ex-boyfriend got her a ring and some earrings... I think those were her favorite gifts.
What is your favorite song? - Anya, Ukraine
I have lots of favorite songs, but my top one would be a Russian one, Uletau, by a band called A Studio. In English, I love Hurt by Christina Aguilera.
Do you two look forward to facing each other? - Sean, UK
We hate playing each other! We always get really angry at each other when we play. We used to throw our racquets, say bad words... it never ends well. In tournaments we try to stay calm but in practice it's pretty bad!
My older sister and I play doubles together too, but in singles she's better than I am! Any advice? - Katie
Advice for another younger sister! I would say listen to your sister and try to follow everything she says. Even though she's not that much older than me, I can always learn things from Alona because she has more experience than me.
Unfortunately this is going to be the last blog entry as we have the doubles final and then we're travelling to Antwerp right afterwards... I wish we had some time tomorrow because it has been really fun, not only hearing from the fans but also sharing the blog with my sister :) But we'll definitely do it again soon, if not this season then next year! Thanks for all the support and I'll talk to you soon. I'm scared to wake Alona up so I'll say bye for her too!!
Until next time,
Kateryna and Alona :)
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Friday, February 8, 2008
Hi everyone, unfortunately I lost my quarterfinal match to Elena Dementieva today. I thought I was playing pretty well though - she just did everything better. She ran faster, hit harder... she was just too tough today. I had a set point at 5-4 in the first set but missed a shot into the net and that's when she just took over. I have a lot of respect for her as a player, and she has a great chance to win here.
My next match was going to be in the doubles with Alona tomorrow, but sadly Srebotnik had to pull out injured. I feel bad for her because it's not like this is a first round match, it's a semifinal, and so there's a lot more at stake. But still, I think we're playing well and had a good chance to reach the final. Now we'll have an extra day to practice and get ready for the final, which will be on Sunday.
So what will we do with our day off? Well we really want to go shopping but that may have to wait until later. We'll probably sleep in until 10 then go for breakfast, and then we'll go to the courts around 1 or 130 for our practice at 215. We can't really fit the shopping in between... when we go, we'll go for like five hours or something :) So later we'll go to Champs-Élysées, do some shopping and take some pictures... I keep forgetting to do that.
It's Valentine's Day soon so we'll be looking for some presents for our boyfriends! Alona's is more urgent, as her boyfriend will be in Antwerp next week. Mine is still in Russia, so no hurry. I met my boyfriend when we were kids. Alona says we were 10 and he says we were eight but I just don't remember anything. They can keep arguing though! We weren't going out until three years ago when we met again at the Kremlin Cup and we've been hanging out since. Alona's boyfriend played junior tennis in Ukraine also, and so we've known him for a while too. He has practiced with us before, and he practiced with us when we were getting ready for Fed Cup in Australia after Wimbledon last year. Anyway they knew each other a while before starting to go out, and when they met again I think they fell in love ;)
Well I'll get back to trying to cheer myself up from my loss, so here is Alona to answer some more of your questions! Talk to you tomorrow...
Kateryna
Why do you live in Kharkov if your family is in Kiev? - Alexander, USA
Our sponsor is in Kharkov so we try to practice and live in Kharkov as much as we can but in the end we stay in both places about the same time. I like them both the same. Both cities are beautiful and the people are very nice.
When you get angry on court what do you do to calm down? - Pinky
I usually start talking to myself... I probably shouldn't say exactly which words I use! But it helps me refocus. If I am playing doubles with Kateryna then I can turn to her and say some things, too. It always helps when she's around, but even if she's in the crowd, if I see her that helps too.
How do you spend your time when you're not at tournaments? - Anne
We like going out and doing stuff - like dancing, bowling, going to a movie, just anything like that. Hanging out with friends. We hang out together now. Until a few years ago I'd be with my friends and she'd be with hers but now we're always together with all of them. When we were younger, she would get jealous because I'd go out with my friends without her, but now we're a big happy group :)
What would you do if you weren't tennis players? - Olga, Ukraine
I think I'd like to ski. Maybe professional skiing. If my mom hadn't taught me tennis all my life, that's probably what I'd do, because I like it a lot, everything about it. I'll ask Kateryna........ like always, she agrees with me.
