ENTREVUE : Sofia Kenin (d. Svitolina) (EN)

Friday, August 9, 2019
S. KENIN/E. Svitolina
7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you played her in Indian Wells, you started off well but then the rest of the match she just had a little more stability. Today, you were able to start off, after being down 4-1, you kept being aggressive and then you were able to close it out. How you felt just about your whole form today?

SOFIA KENIN: Yeah, it was pretty tough. You know, conditions weren’t really easy.

Yeah, in Indian Wells, I kind of felt like I lost it. I just let a few opportunities go by. But here I knew if I’m going to win, she’s going to make me earn it.

So I think I did a pretty good job adjusting because, like I said, conditions weren’t easy. It was pretty windy. And I felt it was pretty more mental today.

Q. When you were down those two breaks, what was going through your mind that you were able to then turn it around and take the set in a tiebreak?

SOFIA KENIN: I guess just fighting. You know, not really much you can do against a player like her. You’re not going to — she has good hands, plays really well. So very solid.

So I just needed to stay solid and just somehow find my rhythm because, obviously, I didn’t really have my good rhythm that I wanted to. And I felt like throughout the match it just got better, but obviously it wasn’t 100%.

But, yeah, it matters how you win when you’re not feeling 100%.

Q. You looked super calm and composed the whole time during the match and even in your match point you were very low key. Are you just always this way or is this something that you just do on the tennis court to center yourself?

SOFIA KENIN: It’s good that I looked that way because inside I wasn’t feeling like that.

Yeah, I was kind of nervous, obviously, to close it out. Yeah, it started to rain a little bit. So I was like, I want to close this before it starts raining.

So, yeah, I mean, if that’s how it looked, that’s good because obviously I didn’t feel that way.

Q. Playing a player like her with how you two are supreme baseliners and move so well and play top defense. But you made an effort to stay aggressive with your forehands just like you did the first time, and that despite her defense you were going to go at her today. How you just felt with how you stayed stable out there and stayed focused on the game plan of getting as many balls against her as you can and just to close it out despite her defense.

SOFIA KENIN: Yeah, she has really great defense, so I knew I needed to be patient when I closed the points out. But, yeah, it wasn’t easy, obviously. Like I said, I didn’t have really good rhythm, which she took away even though she gave me different balls.

So, yeah, I’m just really happy with the way I was able to be patient and close it out. And, yeah, first set was obviously really tight and second set 5-4.

So, yeah, I’m just really happy to have closed it out.

Q. You were born in Moscow?

SOFIA KENIN: Yes.

Q. And you live in Florida in Pembroke Pines and you learned tennis at a very young age. But your parents came from Russia to the United States. Did they tell you, were they victims of discrimination? Because in that era, many Soviet Jews and many other immigrants felt they had to immigrate out of what was then an ironclad country. Did your parents ever express to you why they left the Soviet Union for the United States?

SOFIA KENIN: No, I didn’t really ask them that. All I know is that I was born in Russia, and, yeah, they moved when I was a baby.

And I think it’s just great that I was raised in America, which is really good. And, yeah, I’m a proud American.

Q. Can you just talk about the, I think, revenge has been sort of the theme for you this week.

SOFIA KENIN: Yes.

Q. How important is that? Because sometimes players don’t like to think about the matches that they’ve lost against someone they’re about to play, but you seem to take that as more motivation?

SOFIA KENIN: Yeah, it definitely gives me more motivation to play. I guess revenge is the key, so I’m just going to keep it going.

Yeah, it’s not easy coming back after you have played your opponent and lost. So just you got to handle it differently and figure out what you did wrong, and I think I’m doing a good job of that.

Q. With this being your first P5 semifinal, you seem to be enjoying Toronto on the court. Off the court what are some things in the city that you’ve been able to do and enjoy?

SOFIA KENIN: I haven’t done really much sightseeing. I just went, like, ten minutes from the hotel, there was some festival. It was nice. It was nice fountains and in front of the Toronto sign.

So, yeah, I guess when you’re playing, you don’t have time to do much, which is a good problem to have.

I love Toronto, I love the city and the people, so it’s — I mean, I like it.

Q. Just reflect on the season that you’re having with your two titles and now your first quarterfinal. What is really clicking together this week that you have kind of built on over the past season?

SOFIA KENIN: I think it’s the match play. Having these really good wins under my belt against these really tough players and top players, I think it’s always good and it just gives me more confidence.

And, yeah, it’s helping me to keep the rhythm going and I guess we’ll see tomorrow what’s going to happen.