Q&A with Flavia Pennetta

Flavia Pennetta talks about her battling 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over 2012 finalist Julia Goerges in the first round of the 2015 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday.

Flavia Pennetta had to reach back for a little more to finally defeat Julia Goerges 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 during the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday. Karim Sahib / AFP

QUESTION: You were facing match points and then everything changed. How did you turn it around?

ANSWER: “How? I don’t know. I just was playing until the last point and believe until the last point. I was almost crying on the court today because I was feeling so bad.

But I know sometimes you don’t feel really good in the beginning of the year. Last year I was really good in the beginning and this year I tried to find my time, and my good tennis. But it’s not coming. I have to play with what I have now. It’s not too much, but I like to fight, so this is important. I think when you start fighting and lose or win matches like this, you get closer to a good level. For the moment I just accept it.”

How did you keep yourself from crying and back to fighting mode?

“My coach says I’m really tough in this way. I mean, it’s always not easy to confirm what do you do here before. It’s everyone waiting for result and, also, I mean, you’re working hard, you want to do good things. I was working really good in off-season, feeling good, but then when you go on the court, it’s completely different, everything. I was just thinking to put ball on court, don’t do too many things, don’t do difficult things, play easily and try to play every point.”

Did you see her do something different when all those match points went away? Could you feel her go away, as well?

“I mean, she’s starting to think my level is coming a little bit up and she is going a little bit down. So in that moment I was trying to just push a little bit more. In the third set, I was up 4-1 and I started to feel the pressure and it’s coming in the opposite way. I think I played the best game of the match, the last one, with two good backhands. After two hours and 10 minutes, it’s a little bit of good tennis.”

Now that you have had a match of more than two hours on court, do you think this will give you a bit of an advantage going into the next match?

“Of course. I think playing is the most important; it doesn’t matter how many hours you work and you practice. What we need in the beginning of the season is matches – playing singles, doubles, mixed, whatever, you have to play. It’s the only way to get through or to find good rhythm.”

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