Zheng Saisai: I was focusing only on what I was doing
China's Zheng Saisai won her first WTA title at the Mudabala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose upsetting No.2 seed at the event Aryna Sabalenka, beating her in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(3).
"I played every match on Stadium Court, and from the first match, I heard so many people cheering for me, and I was surprised because I felt like I was far from home, playing in the States. It turns out there are a lot of Chinese fans and even the local people started to support me after my second match. I really appreciated that,” Zheng said.
Speaking further spoke about the match, saying, "You don't always want to play too fast, because Sabalenka is one of the best at this," she explained after the match. "The tactic was to put the ball deep, and whenever I saw space, to let her run, and then change with a slice or high ball. Had I given the same pace, she would hit winners from any corner, so I was trying to mix it up."
She then further assessed, "I was focusing only on what I was doing. If she hit a winner, I felt like it was okay, and more about playing the next shot.
"I was really in the match and wasn't over-thinking anything. I told myself that this was a normal match and not a final, and so I was able to enjoy it."
Addressing her problems during her break, she said, “After Wimbledon, I was in China and my best friend from Hong Kong told me, 'When you are calm, and not so emotional, you can use your brain and play your best tennis, but you haven't felt that the last few months.' I started to feel like I was dealing with too much pressure and expectation, and so I was trying just to play, in practice and matches, and not think about results. So, I really want to thank her, how she spoke to me after I'd been losing so much.”
"It was a problem I fixed this week with a good result here."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YnDnwy
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