STUTTGART, Germany - The Top 4 seeds at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix met the press at All Access Hour in Stuttgart to discuss the highs and lows of their year so far, and how they feel heading into the clay season.
Here's some of the best quotes of the day:
Jelena Ostapenko
...On dealing with the pressure of being French Open defending champion.
“I mean, of course there will be more pressure but already this year I started as a Top 10 and there was more pressure but I’m kind of getting used to it. And I think I’m doing better now since the Miami final and also playing some good matches at the Fed Cup. I’m just looking forward to coming back to Paris. It will be a nice tournament for me.”
“Almost every match you go on court you are as a favorite and everybody is looking to you and everybody expects you to win and other girls are playing much better against you because they almost have nothing to lose. You just have to play every match on the same level which is not easy.”
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Simona Halep
...On what qualities makes a perfect clay court player.
“We can say that [clay is a very mental surface] because you have to be strong to keep the rallies longer and to be able to run. Okay some players are running, some no, they just hit also on clay, so it depends on the player. But in my situation I have to be stronger mentally and also with my legs. So, I feel ready but we will see.
“It’s tough to explain this because with my style I played well on clay and I had great results, but if we look back Sharapova won Roland Garros as well as Muguruza and Serena. So, they hit really strong. So, I don’t know how to explain this.
“But also the clay in Paris is a little bit faster than in Rome let’s say. So, maybe there is a possibility for the big hitters to win and also for me because I like to slide, I like to run, I like to have more time to see the court and to open the angles. So, in both situations there is a possibility to win the clay court tournament.”
Garbiñe Muguruza
...On bringing that winning feeling into Stuttgart.
“Monterrey was important. Always winning a title is very important. You know, that little extra tournament after a long season in America was very good. I love it there. Latin America is very special because there is not a lot of tournaments. The crowd was fantastic there with me. I love it to play there. So, yes, it helped me. The starting of the year was a little bit up and down, also with a couple of injuries that I didn’t expect. So it was a good week for me.”
“Fed Cup was very emotional because I love to play in Spain and we were playing Paraguay which we didn’t really know as much as other teams. We were like nervous and excited to play at home. We played also at the Mediterranean coast which was very nice and we won. So, I’m happy with after a week of training hard.”
Elina Svitolina
...On taking a break from her impressive reading list.
“I’ve been reading lots of business books and psychology books but now I was a bit tired last week of all this smart stuff (laughs). So, just leaving London I bought some silly romance (laughs).”
“Sometimes you have to rest with your mind. That is very important because of course I like to learn. I am that kind of person that always tries to learn something new from anything I do. So, sometimes it’s good but sometimes you’re just tired and you emotionally just want to read some silly stuff."
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