“Oleksandra spoke after two victories at the WTA 250 tournament in Cluj-Napocaβ, β write: sport.ua
– Oleksandr, after a great match at the Australian Open against Madison Keys and already two victories in Cluj-Napoca, can we say that your relationship with hard has improved? How did you get a feel for the game on this surface and how well do you think your style of tennis works on this surface?
– I don’t think that my relationship with hard has changed much. But I worked a lot in Kyiv to adapt my tennis to hard tennis, to solve the problems that hindered me as much as possible. I didn’t do it on my own, but with the help of coach Mykhailo Filima, with whom I currently work. He did a lot of work with me on how to change certain things… Not even to change, but just adjust them for the specifics of the hard surface. This is related to both the technical elements and the solutions on the court, which we have also worked on.
– Does it help in Cluj-Napoca that they prepared for the Australian Open on hard court? Are the conditions similar to those in Kyiv?
– I don’t know if the fact that I now show good tennis on hard is related to the hall, because in Australia I played outside. But I think that the conditions that I have in Kyiv and the team behind my training became the key to these results. It is very important for me that I now work in the most professional conditions, I now have absolutely the best logistics that have been in place for many years.
Of course, it helps me, but it is also very motivating to understand at what cost the opportunity to prepare and how much effort it is on the part of the coaches who work with me. And that’s why, I think, in addition to everything else, it’s also a certain charge, because we want to demonstrate that, despite everything, we’ve worked hard. This is probably also such a factor that training in Kyiv gives me. That is, qualified people, professional conditions, powerful logistics and great motivation.
– As you said on the eve of the match, you did not shake Bondar’s hand. Were there any dissatisfactions with this decision on the part of the WTA, Bondar herself or maybe someone else?
– Now I have a very constructive communication with the WTA, and I really want to maintain it in the future. As for Anna, I have not spoken to her, but my decision, as I have already noted, is not personal, but my position.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine – Obviously, this is your debut WTA tournament – how do you like the atmosphere, fans, organization?
– The tournament is simply incredible. I applied for this tournament last year, but then I didn’t even qualify. And I dreamed of playing it, because it is thematic, and it opens up so many opportunities for creativity, and for me it is important. For me, tennis is very much about creativity. I think it shows not only in the way I play, what is my style of tennis, but also in the way I look. And here it can be revealed, probably 100%. The public receives me very, very warmly. It helps me a lot and it’s nice. I really appreciate it and it’s just uplifting and it’s cool.
If we talk about the organization, for me, as a person who travels independently, it is very important that when the organizers go to the meeting, they help to organize the training. When all the conditions are there, and when it is very, very simple, because the staff works for you, that is, you just need to ask about something, and it will be done for you. For me, this is “game changing”, and here it is at the highest level, and I am very grateful to the organizers of the tournament for this.
– Tomorrow is your rest day – how do you plan to spend it and how do you usually switch from tennis during tournaments?
– Tomorrow I plan to train twice and go to the gym, because I train for tournaments. I like to train. Of course, I pay attention to how I feel physically, but I know that tomorrow I will, in principle, work as much as I want without any problems.
And I distract myself in different ways, actually. I can’t say that I have a specific need to distract myself tomorrow, because I’m enjoying the atmosphere of the tournament, but now for me it’s either reading a book or watching anime, or I can go for a walk with headphones on, listen to music.
And, of course, communication with friends, because they write me a lot of words of support. And this, on the one hand, distracts me from some possible tournament tension, although, again, I don’t feel it here. But probably in other cases, yes, it helps to distract. But it also inspires me, because my loved ones and friends inspire me very much.
Oliynikova beat Mayyar Sherif and Hanna Bondar in Cluj. In the quarterfinals, Oleksandra will meet either Wang Xinyu or Rebekah Masarova.
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