Twenty questions with Anne Keothavong
British No.1 stars in the brand new free Tennishead ezine…
Anne Keothavong is hard as nails. We asked her to meet us at 7.30am on a dark December morning – no problem, she said. Then we told her to stand on a windy London bridge when it was minus one. She happily obliged. The least we could do was to buy her a large mug of tea to help her warm up and while she thawed out we fired 20 questions at her. Incredibly, she still had a smile on her face when she jumped on a Tube back to her beloved north London. Here’s what the 25-year-old had to say about TV chefs, bouldering and making Venus Williams’ ear bleed… among other things.
The last 12 months…
It’s been a year when I’ve gained a lot of confidence in my game and in myself. It’s been a breakthrough year for me and I want to improve on it in 2009. My most memorable moment was definitely playing Venus Williams at Wimbledon on Centre Court. If there’s one thing that sticks in my mind it’s probably walking out on Centre – the handshake after the match certainly wasn’t the best since I hit her on the ear during the match.
Weirdest moment…
Serena Williams came up to me on a practice court at the US Open and said, ‘I used to think you were a really nice girl.’ I was like, ‘What?’ She said, ‘Did you know you made Venus’ ear bleed at Wimbledon? She had to see the doctor afterwards.’ I said, ‘It couldn’t have been that bad – she won the tournament!’ I didn’t know whether she was being serious or winding me up. She was nice enough for the rest of the week though.
I’ve always been superstitious. My weirdest superstition? No, I can’t tell you!
Highs and lows…
My best set of tennis in 2008 was probably my last set of the year against Monica Niculescu to win the $100,000 ITF event in Krakow. My worst set was the first set against Vania King in the first round at Wimbledon. I won the match though! If I could re-wind to a specific match and play it again it’d be when I played Elena Dementieva in the third round at the US Open. I tried to do too much and was way too erratic. Looking back, I realise now I didn’t have to play like that.
Centre Court…
It’s like no other court in the world. It’s more intimate than Court No.1, which I’d played on before. I was in my own world walking out but I was still aware of where my support group and friends were. I could hear Sarah Borwell shouting ‘Go 1-4s’. I’ll explain what that means another day! I had to try not to giggle when I heard that. I thought I handled the situation better than other people thought I might. Because I’d been so nervous against Vania King in the first round, some people wondered whether I’d be able to handle playing Venus on Centre Court. But I know that when I relax and things come together for me I can challenge the better players.
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour…
Miami is probably the most glamorous place I’ve been to this year – unfortunately I wasn’t there long enough to enjoy it though! The tour isn’t an unfriendly place and I haven’t experienced any nastiness. I get on best with the Aussie and American girls. The English-speaking girls tend to spend time together. You’ll have the Russians together and the Asians together and the French girls together. It’d be really nice if Mel South gets her ranking up just a bit higher so I have another Brit to hang out with at events.
Life on tour…
The nicest place I stayed this year wasn’t actually a hotel – it was with a family in Miami during the Sony Ericsson Open. The house was on the beachfront and it was unbelievably glamorous. My best restaurant of 2008 has to be Gordon Ramsay’s place in New York. My cousin’s friend is the head chef so we had the best of everything on the house!
Laura Robson…
If she carries on doing what she’s doing she’ll be top ten in the world for sure. She’s only 14 and she’s the same size as me already so she’s very strong, but very talented too. She has a great team around her. As long as she doesn’t go off the rails she’ll reach the very top of the game.
Worst journey…
That’s an easy one – leaving Lebanon after winning a $50,000 ITF in May. Fighting had been going on nearby during the event – 40 people were killed – and the airport was closed. We got out of the country in a minibus which was escorted by Spanish security who got us to the border with Syria and onto Damascus where we caught a flight. It was very eerie seeing bullet holes and buildings that had been blown up and guards with huge machine guns at every checkpoint.
Bank balance…
Earning more money in 2008 has made travelling easier, but apart from that my life hasn’t changed. When I’m on the match court I never ever think about how much money I might earn by winning that match, that’s the furthest thing from my mind. Sometimes afterwards it might cross my mind – you always want to make more money! I haven’t treated myself to anything yet although I’m house hunting at the moment.
People’s perceptions…
I hope my success in 2008 changed the way people see me. The team I’m working with definitely expect better things from me just as I do of myself, so we’re working well together. Some of the people that I’ve worked with in the past have doubted my abilities so it’s been nice to prove them wrong. Hopefully the better I do on court the more people will get behind me.
Unwinding…
I find it quite tiring being in London actually because I always feel like I should catch up with more friends while I’m around. I’ve just been getting into rock climbing and bouldering – rock climbing without ropes! I prefer the bouldering, although I’ve fallen off a few times.
Motors…
I do have a driving licence, but I don’t have a car at the moment – it’s not practical keeping one when I’m out of the country so often. There’s nowhere to park in London and it’d be sitting around waiting for the windows to get smashed! I used to have a Vauxhall Corsa, but I drive my mum’s car now – it’s a Toyota. Otherwise I get around on public transport, which is much more practical. I love the Tube.
Five albums on her iPod…
‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ by the Arctic Monkeys, ‘Only by the Night’ by Kings of Leon, ‘The Circus’ by Take That, ‘Spirit’ by Leona Lewis and ‘The Seldom Seen Kid’ by Elbow. They’re the first five that came up – not in any particular order!
TV shows…
I tried to watch I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! I couldn’t stand that guy David Van Day. Who is he? Martina Navratilova did well – she was the last female left on the show. I thought she’d be the last person to want to do something like that. I’m more of a Strictly Come Dancing person than X Factor – I didn’t think they were that good on X Factor last year. My favourite on Strictly was Austin Healy. Well, it was Mark Foster until he got booted off and I love Brucie too. There’s an ongoing joke at home about me watching cookery programmes but not being able to cook. If there’s nothing worth watching I switch to the food channel. I love all the TV chefs – Nigela, Jamie, Gordon, Delia. I’d love to do a cookery course because I’m clueless in the kitchen.
Guilty pleasures…
Easy – chocolate, although I haven’t gone near it in the last couple of weeks. I always try to eat dark chocolate because supposedly it’s meant to be slightly more healthy than milk chocolate. It makes me feel slightly better about myself after indulging! I have a thing about desserts too. If I had to choose one it’d be ice cream – Haagen-Dazs Pralines and Cream.
Three things we didn’t know…
Bit weird, but I always iron when I’m bored – the girls always take the mick out of me for that. I don’t like cats or dogs and I never answer my phone if I don’t recognise the number!
Superstitions…
I’ve always been superstitious, even as a junior, but I never talked about it because I was quite embarrassed about some of the things I used to do. My superstitions vary from week to week. In Krakow I had to do four chin-ups after every match – not three, not five, just four. I like to have the same routines. My weirdest… no, I can’t tell you. The strangest superstition I’ve seen on tour is a girl who had to step on just about every line on her side of the court before each serve. I played doubles with her once and it felt like I spent the whole time standing at the net just waiting for her to serve.
Being star struck…
I haven’t been star struck by any tennis players but I was when the US Olympic swimming team were staying at our hotel in California last summer. They were training there before they went to Beijing and Michael Phelps was pretty intimidating! I get more star struck by people from other sports.
London…
I definitely consider myself a Londoner – I grew up in Hackney so tend to favour north of the river. My favourite thing about the city is probably the Tube – I love it! If I’m going shopping I head to Oxford Street and would recommend Selfridges to the uninitiated – you can get everything under one roof. Having said that, I tend to spend a lot of time in Islington, near to where I live, as Upper Street has pretty much everything you can ask for. There’s a Mexican restaurant called Desperados which I love, and another aspect of Islington that’s close to my heart is Highbury Fields – I used to play on the courts there as a kid.
What happens next…
I know that when I play my best tennis I can compete with anyone, but I need to do it more consistently. I need to be mentally and physically stronger to keep my levels up. The thing that’s hit me is that the players on the WTA Tour are very intense – on the match court and on practice courts.
This interview was taken from the brand new FREE Tennishead ezine! Click the link below to launch issue one.