Transcript: Sofia Kenin defeats Anna Kalinskaya, 6-4, 6-3
Sofia Kenin defeats Anna Kalinskaya, 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinals
You’ve got to be feeling good after that. Just talk a little bit about the match.
SOFIA KENIN: Yeah. I mean, I played well. I’m really happy with the level, and I feel like these matches give me a lot of confidence. And, yeah, I’m able to play some great tennis, and very happy with how everything has started on the clay for me.
Just talk about these opportunities. As you know, they don’t come every week. And just sort of like being in the semis here, just talk about what’s in front of you now.
SOFIA KENIN: Yeah. I mean, I took one match at a time, and like you said, I was in the quarterfinals, I was like, okay, it’s one step closer. It’s not that easy to get to the quarterfinals in a tournament, so try to make the best out of it, win or lose. Obviously I hope I win. And, yeah, it’s just another great opportunity tomorrow, and just do my best, and I have the momentum. I’m very confident for tomorrow.
You don’t know who you’re going to face yet, obviously. But I just wondered if you could look ahead to both players and maybe just talk about what you think you might be in for in both cases.
SOFIA KENIN: I mean, in both cases, very tough players. They’re having a great year and they’ve been playing some really good tennis, so it’s an exciting matchup. And one American will be in the finals, so that’s also good. I mean, I hope I’ll be the one in the finals. But, yeah, we’ll see how everything goes, but I feel like with the way I’m playing, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s match.
What do you see in their games particularly? If you could just talk about either of them.
SOFIA KENIN: I mean, yeah, I played Emma a few years ago in San Diego. She’s more of a crafty player, I feel like, mixes up some hard shots, some slices, has more of a variety to her game. And Amanda, she’s obviously a big hitter. Obviously she added more variety and more drop shots, coming in. It’s two different players, so we’ll see what happens. I mean, I have doubles in like I don’t know how long, so right now my focus is on doubles. So, yeah, we’ll just see. And whoever it is going to be they are obviously playing well this week. They also have confidence. So we’ll just see what happens.
If you could just, last one, obviously you had huge success in 2020. Do you feel like there’s part of you had to sort of prove yourself again these last couple of years or do you feel like people know what you’re capable of?
SOFIA KENIN: I mean, I think everyone around me, of course, knew what I’m capable of, but it’s obviously not easy to sometimes produce, especially last year for me in terms of singles was not the most ideal year. But I was able to save it at the end of the year. So that’s something, and I think that kind of transitioned to this year. And, yeah, I had a good preseason and used that for this year. I’ve been playing some good tennis. So only positive things ahead for me, I hope.
End of Interview
