Things went so well for him in Miami that he opted to skip Charleston and rest for a few days at home. This was what we all thought when we saw the absence of Anastasia Potapova this week, but we were missing information. The Russian had to find a moment to return home and renew her life, something essential to continue traveling, the primary reason for her to have woven these last steps. What she has had time for is to sit quietly with the portal Championship and talk about all the current issues that surround you.
Absence in Charleston
“After such a long tour it is necessary to take a good break, especially in the middle of the transition from cement to clay. If I hadn’t done so well at the Miami tournament, it probably would have made sense to have played in Charleston, because I would have had time to adjust to a new surface. Unfortunately, I can’t risk my ankle, my injury is like that. It’s very dangerous, I always need a little more time to start playing well without problems due to the change in surface”.
Requirements to play Wimbledon
“I read a lot about this in the media, but nobody in the WTA approached me to say anything, to give me a piece of paper to sign. If necessary, I will sign, but what will be easier with that signature? Nothing will end, nothing will change. I have repeatedly expressed my opinion about everything that happens, I am against the war like any reasonable person. If it is necessary to sign to go to Wimbledon, we will all do it, in the end we are athletes and we want to play as much as possible, especially in Grand Slam tournaments.
Distancing with Kostyuk
“We were quite friends, we all got along very well with Marta, but unfortunately, this person decided to change her mind, but not just with me. It was something for no reason, but it’s not for me to judge her, it’s her choice and I respect her, nothing more. If it’s easier for her that way, then I accept her, she doesn’t mean cold or hot to me”.
face ukrainians
“It doesn’t affect me at all, no chapter has ever happened to me on the court where I have not respected my opponent, I always treat my rivals with great respect, I never had a conflict or dispute with anyone on the court. Once we go off the court, for me it becomes a normal match, if the other one wins it is because they have been better, not because they were afraid of playing with a girl from a certain country. I have my attitude very clear about this, it doesn’t really bother me, to be honest.
No tournaments in Russia
“I miss the Kremlin Cup and St. Petersburg, I didn’t have time to compete in these tournaments as much as I would like, I only got to go once. With the Kremlin Cup I did not have a comfortable environment, there were problems with the light, it was either too bright or too dark. St. Petersburg is different, it was one of my favorite weeks of the year, everything there was top notch. It had been chosen as the best tournament of the year for a reason in five different seasons, so it is a shame that we are not losing this tournament”.
His best victory?
“One of the most important was against Gauff, especially because I was able to keep going, I wanted to continue winning rounds, it was the result that I had been waiting for so long in big tournaments. Fortunately, everything went well, but I was in good physical and mental shape. Even in some rounds I was able to win easier than what happened later, but I managed to overcome those barriers, I never gave up. I am sure that this victory will be very important for the future”.
Relationship with his coach, Igor Andreev
“During matches, I often look at Igor when there is little support in the stands, he is my only support, so what I look for is to get some energy in return. I know that Igor supports me a lot, he cares about me, but sometimes he gets angry and doesn’t show anything, that’s when he tried to get an emotion out of him. Every once in a while I need some ‘Let’s go’ or ‘Go ahead’, some gesture to tell me that everything is fine. We got to talk about it in Miami and the next day we had a change.”
Alexander Shevchenko, from friendship to love
“I have known him since he was 9 years old, everything arose from friendship, since we started talking. We traveled a lot, together with Varvara Gracheva, especially in Tennis Europe tournaments when we were 12, 14 or 16 years old. We’ve always been good friends until, sometime after the Australian Open, we realized that there was probably more to it than just friendship. That’s how we started developing it.”
Controversy over the Spartak shirt
“Nobody said anything to me, only one of the WTA supervisors, with whom I have a good relationship, wrote to me and asked what was the message of that exit. I told them the truth, that I support the club, it was a support for the football club, so they understood it, although there was something I didn’t know. Unfortunately, the WTA rules state that you can’t advertise another sport during matches, so it wouldn’t be possible to go out in a basketball jersey either. In ATP, for example, these rules do not exist. Formally there was a violation of the regulation, I was warned and there was no sanction.
Ranking growth
“I can’t talk about a specific number, what is really important is to be seeded in tournaments, to be close to the top20 or top25, I want to stand as high as possible. At this stage I don’t give much importance to this, I try to focus more on the victories and the game, that will be what leads me to another classification. In the Grand Slams I don’t have great results, so I’ll need this to continue growing, maybe I can finish one season being the best Russian in the world”.
Nothing bigger than tennis
“Tennis is my life, I don’t understand my life without tennis. Right now, at this stage, it would be very difficult to turn him down, for one reason or another, I would miss him terribly, so I don’t want to. Definitely, I am not ready to stop, I really want to continue”.
