TENNIS US OPEN – 31st of august 2014. B. Bencic d. J. Jankovic 7-6, 6-3. An interview with Belinda Bencic
Q. Did you feel any pressure walking out there tonight?
BELINDA BENCIC: No, I definitely didn’t feel any pressure because it was my first time on the Arthur Ashe in the night session. So I really just tried to enjoy it. I think she had all the pressure because she needed to win. Yeah, I could just enjoy. I mean, I would have many more chances if I didn’t win today, so…
Q. What did you think of the court?
BELINDA BENCIC: It was amazing. At the beginning I was too impressed. I didn’t play well. I was just, not nervous, but just overwhelmed from everything. After I got used to it and the court was little bit different. It was different to play there. And also night session is different than in the day, so I had to have some time to adapt to everything.
Q. How crazy is it that you’re now the youngest to make the quarterfinals here since Martina?
BELINDA BENCIC: Really?
Q. Yes.
BELINDA BENCIC: I mean, I don’t know. It’s amazing. I knew in the fourth round I’m the youngest since Paszek since I don’t know when. So amazing to hear it, and I’m so proud of it.
Q. You were able to break her twice when she was serving for the set. Talk through that part of the match, how you were able to turn the first set around.
BELINDA BENCIC: It was similar like against Kerber. I turned that set also completely. Here I also had nothing to lose. I was also ready to fight in the second and maybe third set, but I just fought till the last point. In the tiebreak I played really well.
Q. You have good defense and very smart tactics. Today you played really aggressive. Was that your tactic and your plan?
BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I tried to hold the rallies, not just stupidly risk all the time. But then I needed to take my chances and go forward to create some pressure on her. I think that’s when she was missing because otherwise when I would be too passive she wouldn’t miss and she would push me.
Q. You played the set points very well. Were you nervous or did you improve your concentration?
BELINDA BENCIC: No, I mean, also if I would lose the set I would fight in the next two sets maybe, so I just played the set point like it was a normal point. I didn’t really think about the score too much.
Q. Last year you were playing juniors here and lost in the quarterfinals, and now you’re playing on Arthur Ashe and into the quarterfinals of the senior tournament.
BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, it’s insane.
Q. Talk about your last 12 months.
BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, the last 12 months were really great for me. I improved my ranking always, slowly, step by step, so I think that was very good. I think in Charleston it was also a great tournament for me. I just started believing in myself, and now I — I don’t know.
Q. You seem to have a lot of endorsements just looking at your jacket. Are you a big star in Europe at this point?
BELINDA BENCIC: I don’t know. I mean, that’s the job of my dad, my manager, so…
Q. Did you get any advice from Martina before this match?
BELINDA BENCIC: Yeah, for sure, I got some advice because she also played her and knows her so well. Yeah.
Q. What did she tell you?
BELINDA BENCIC: I mean, she told me to hold the rallies. I have to be aggressive. I had to pay attention to her backhand down the line. So I really knew she was doing that a lot. Her backhand is just amazing, so I tried to push it to her forehand.
