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Transcript - Nadia Petrova, Dmitry Tursunov
6/01/2007

Nadia Petrova
Dmitry Tursunov

Well done, congratulations.

(Petrova) Thank you.

That’s the 3rd time that you have been the top seeds but it’s the first time you have won.

(Petrova) It wasn’t me and it wasn’t him. It was a hard beginning for us to face Australia especially when Alicia was playing really well. It was difficult especially for me. I’m sure it was difficult for Dmitry to play on the first day of the tournament.

Dmitry did you think on Saturday that you would be a chance to play in the Final?

(Tursunov) To be honest I knew that you are able to lose one and still win. The way Australia was playing I thought it was very difficult for us to get in the final because there is no way that they would have lost to the other teams. You can’t play good tennis all the time. The way they were playing well it was unfortunate that Mark got injured. The important thing for us was to keep plugging along to keep playing well because you never know when things can happen. After we played the US is when I really felt like I wasn’t playing my best tennis.

This is a different form to what you normally play. How does it place you for the Australian Summer?

(Petrova) What’s good about it is that we get to play matches. Not only in singles and doubles but I’m sure we had plenty of practice as well. Other players haven’t had the chances as we had. Besides that we had lots of pleasure and lots of fun.

(Tursunov) No pressure.

(Petrova) I can’t say no pressure, but we did enjoy our time here.

Dmitry how do you feel your game is?

(Tursunov) I think that my game is much better than not playing the tournament. I think there are a few little differences from Melbourne or from Sydney where I’m going to be playing an extra couple of days. The surface and the balls are the same. I think aside from being in Adelaide, this is the best preparation you can get really. Australia is sort of on the same time zone. I think it is good preparation.

Nadia you won 5 titles last year. With Henin-Hardenn out, do you think you are a good chance in the Australian Open?

(Tursunov) No pressure.

(Petrova) I will be glad to just to be part of that tournament. I don’t have any expectations. I will definitely concentrate on my health and try to stay injury free for those 2 weeks. If I can play like I did today and be strong I feel like I might have a good chance.

Do you feel that your game is on a level to challenge for the Grand Slams?

(Petrova) Yes. Tennis wise and mentally as well, especially because I did well last year. That helps my strength and confidence. I now have more experience. I know how to perform in the difficult situations on the court

Do you go to Sydney now?

(Petrova) Yes I’m going to Sydney.

How do you feel physically? You had some troubles yesterday.

(Petrova) I still have some problems but I must say that it is usual for me and that’s why my body is reacting. The court is quite sticky which puts more pressure on my body. Besides that I’m getting taken care of. I have a physio travelling with me this trip. He’s really good so I’ll be 100 percent in Melbourne.

Dmitry is it special for you to win both Davis Cup and Hopman Cup, both ITF events?

(Tursunov) I think it is always nice to win. It doesn’t matter if it is Davis Cup, or Hopman Cup. I think any win that you get under your belt builds confidence. It’s funny in that way because if I beat you I still get confidence.

Not many people would.

I think from that point of view. It’s always nice to win and it’s nice to win for your country. It’s nice to win with somebody else. Nadia in this case and Nicolay in the Davis Cup. It is always nice to play with a team and have a common goal and reaching that goal with somebody. I’m very happy.

Nadia you were in the losing team in the Fed Cup. Are you looking forward to trying to win it next year?

(Petrova) My dream is to win the Cup and be part of a team. Unfortunately Russia did win a couple of times but I wasn’t there. I am looking forward to this year so we create a good atmosphere in the team and by the end of the year we can also hold the Cup with 3 or 4 other players.

What did you know about the Hopman Cup before you came here this year?

(Tursunov) I knew that it was in Australia. I knew that it was dedicated to Mr Hopman. He was arguably the best Coach in tennis, he has been. I knew that it was a team event. I had never actually watched it on TV. I didn’t know that it was a man and a women. I have never played with a girl before.

(Petrova) I watched a lot of Hopman Cup on TV.

(Tursunov) Liar.

(Petrova) No I’m not a liar. I am usually at another tournament in Australia. Every single match is televised so I kept an eye on it. I knew it to be popular.

Dmitry you just beat Tommy who is 7 in the world and you are 22. Does that give you confidence to move up the rankings?

(Tursunov) We actually played earlier and we have similar matches. I didn’t win that. I’ve been getting more and more wins over the guys in the top 10. I’m beating the seeds but they are playing more consistent tennis. That’s something to work on because you saw in the second match was very different to the match you saw today. They were two different matches. If you get up higher in the rankings you have to be much better in the Grand Slams which is two weeks of tennis. There are very good odds of not playing well over the whole two weeks so I need to be able to win matches when I’m not playing my best tennis like the top guys do.

Would you two play mixed doubles in Grand Slam?

(Tursunov) In Sydney we are playing mixed doubles. Is there a mixed doubles?