00:00Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
00:30I wanted to play.
00:32I feel like it was a good match.
00:35And, yeah, very happy that I could play a really solid game today to beat her.
00:49Hey, Lina, well done.
00:50Just talking about the quarterfinal, obviously a big matchup against Marta.
00:54Both of you guys come on with huge winning streaks.
00:56Just what do you think of the matchup and just your perspective on her run?
01:00That she's on right now.
01:01Yeah, it's exciting.
01:03Definitely she's been playing really well.
01:06And, yeah, I feel like it's going to be an exciting battle for Ukraine as well.
01:12You know, there will be one Ukrainian in the same east.
01:15And, yeah, I think it's really cool, to be fair.
01:20I think it never really happened before.
01:23So, yeah, it's exciting.
01:26Congratulations.
01:27When somebody looks at your body language and your attitude, it's like you're so calm, so like it's normal what
01:36you're doing.
01:36And you're writing history and doing the best performance, some of the best of your career.
01:42What changed in the last two years, maybe, to have this moment now that you're performing so quiet, enjoying, and
01:50it looks like nothing disturbs you?
01:53Well, thank you.
01:56Well, of course, lots of work, lots of mental work, physical work, tennis work, all of that.
02:05I feel like I'm in a good place right now, mentally, physically as well, you know, whatever the outcome will
02:15be from the match in the quarters.
02:18I feel like I'm really proud of the effort that I've been able to put, and from the beginning of
02:24the season as well.
02:26I feel that I've picked up a really good level that I could sustain as well, which is really important
02:35in tennis.
02:36And, yeah, you have to be at your best and to challenge, you know, the big players to be able
02:43to, yeah, to win big titles, to have the opportunity to challenge big players.
02:50This was a battle of two mothers on Mother's Day.
02:55To what extent, in what ways are you a better player since you came back from your maternity leave?
03:05I don't know if it's actually a correct question to ask, because I think Melinda is an extremely great player,
03:12and also her comeback is really inspiring, the way that she also came back so quick to top 20 and
03:23played semis at Wimbledon last year.
03:27And, yeah, she continues to play really, really great tennis throughout the year.
03:34So, I feel that we always have big battles, three-setters also played in Dubai.
03:42So, it's difficult to pick one thing, but today, for example, I was really happy with the fighting spirit.
03:48I could come back after losing that first set.
03:51And, yeah, just keep pushing myself to find a good game.
03:58Okay, do you want to start?
04:07Tomorrow, there's going to be a women's match in the night session for the first time in three years.
04:11I just wondered how important do you think that is as a kind of stage for women's tennis?
04:16Yeah, I think it's great, the match, the match-up as well.
04:20I think it's exciting for the tournament, for the people to witness the women's match.
04:27Yeah, I think, of course, it's an important step, I think, for women's tennis.
04:36And, yeah, it's, I think, a good move forward.
04:40Hey, Alina, you had the lead in the second set, you dropped the serve, and then you broke back to
04:46win the set and ran to a bagel.
04:48I mean, how do you do that switch when something kind of goes not, like, your way, and then immediately
04:55you turned it completely around and took the entire match by storm?
04:59I try to just keep fighting and play one point at a time, one game at a time, to not
05:05rush too much.
05:06Of course, sometimes you need to give credit to your opponents, and Belinda came back really strong after it was
05:155-2 to me, so I tried to be just mentally there, mentally still locked in, and bring the fight.
05:25And, yeah, I found my opportunity to close that set, 6-4, on the return.
05:30But, yeah, I feel, you know, when you are playing in the late stages of the tournament, you have to
05:39be, you know, just giving yourself a good opportunity to play, to compete.
05:43And I was, yeah, today very happy with the way I was just, yeah, a good competitor.
05:49And I think it really put me through that not easy and tricky second set where she was almost, you
05:58know, coming back in it.
06:02Alina, congratulations on the win.
06:03When you were younger and first starting out on tour and everything like that, I think most young players, and
06:09particularly on the WTA tour, wins, matches, feel like life or death.
06:15The way that the younger players and older players, I suppose, can treat it.
06:19Now you're talking about perspective and having a broader, I guess, a healthier way that you see things.
06:25How difficult is it to go from having that type of thing that might have been the fire that kind
06:31of helps you get that early success to kind of learning how to manage it, to have a healthier perspective
06:36and, in a way, a more successful perspective?
06:39Yeah, I think it's a very difficult transition.
06:42Well, for me it was because, you know, I'm coming from Ukraine and coming from, you know, so my family
06:49kind of, you know, was forcing me a lot and pushing me a lot.
06:54I think it's like Eastern European mentality to really go through hell, kind of, to win matches and everyone is
07:02raised differently, but in my case it's been like that.
07:05And I think it's good and bad in the same way because good is because when you are young, you
07:16want to do many things, you want to hang out with your friends, you know, you just want to chill
07:21and, you know, enjoy your life.
07:23But in a way, like, for example, for me, my mom was really pushing me and really, you know, putting
07:32me back on track where I had to train a lot and be focused on my goals.
07:39But then later, you know, when you are becoming a woman, I think you need to kind of, you know,
07:51leave that attachment on the side to your parents or to somebody who's been, like, pushing you that much and
07:57really be yourself and find your own way that's going to work for you to have this balance.
08:06For me, it took me years and years to really find it and find my way and, you know, beat
08:15this kind of demons in a way.
08:17I'm still beating them every single match that I play and I feel, yeah, it's when you're pushing your limits,
08:24when you are, you know, going through these moments, you are growing and you're learning and it's the process of
08:31that.
08:31So, it's important that it doesn't break you mentally and that's always been the goal for me to always, you
08:39know, stay strong and, okay, you can have bad days, but then, you know, the life is still good.
08:48Elina, congratulations. We saw you in today's match and a couple of other matches talking to your coach when you
08:54had the opportunity to at the end of a set.
08:56What are you looking for when you do that? He seems very positive and calm, but are you looking for
09:00tactics or positivity, energy? What is it you're after?
09:05It's just the reset. For me, it's just the reset of the game plan, the reset on maybe a few
09:11things that I have to adjust.
09:12I think it's great that we have this opportunity to sometimes talk to your coach to maybe, you know, because
09:22the match is very long and sometimes you get stuck and like sucked in and in something that you don't
09:28see probably.
09:29And, yeah, just a quick chat, you know, can put you back on track and I think this is the
09:36case for me.
09:39In Chatelier, the box is like on the moon, kind of. So, yeah, it's, yeah, I don't even know why
09:49it's that far, to be fair.
09:52Yeah, but sometimes you need like, you know, a little push, a little support. So, it's nice.
10:00Thanks.
10:01Thanks.
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