Chatting at the Foro Italico
Anne talks to tennishead in Rome…
tennishead sat down with British No.1 Anne Keothavong during her stay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia at Rome’s Foro Italico…
tennishead: Now you’ve had a couple of days to digest your defeat to Carla Suarez Navarro here in Rome, what are your thoughts about that match?
Anne Keothavong: It was quite a good match overall. Obviously, it was quite a tough match to lose but considering she’s been on a good run and she’s a clay court player it was always going to be a tough one for me. Having said that, I served for the first set and I had my opportunities, it’s just a case of closing out these tight matches.
TH: When you go to Madrid for next week’s event, what positives will you take with you from your time in Rome?
AK: I feel like I’m doing the right things, it’s just that when I have the opportunities that I make sure I keep doing what I’m doing. I need to feel confident in these situations too and not doubt myself.
TH: Is an aspect of that what makes playing on clay so tough? That matches are tough to close out…
AK: Yeah, it’s not over literally until the last ball on clay. Whoever you play you’re always going to be in the match on clay – it’s very rare to be blasted off court. Compared to how I was playing this time last year, I definitely feel I’m playing better it’s just that I’m playing against better opponents too.
TH: Are you still enjoying the clay season?
AK: Yeah, I am. Once I get into it I enjoy the challenge of it. I don’t hate it! I’m never going to feel as comfortable on clay as I do on an indoor hard court but I do enjoy the challenge. It’s physically and mentally more demanding and it’s harder to win points, but it’s a good challenge for me and I’m testing myself and I’m playing good opponents too. I’m learning all the time.
TH: What do you find most challenging about preparing for and playing on clay?
AK: I’m trying to put a lot more spin on my groundstrokes to get a bit more height. I think my patience has got better, the tough thing for me is feeling comfortable with movement. That’s one of my strengths on any other surface, but on a clay court, with the sliding, you feel a bit more unbalanced. But the more I play on it the more comfortable I get.
TH: Is the movement something you consciously have to try to practice and work on? How do you do that?
AK: The two weeks I spent on clay at the NTC preparing for this European stretch – that was my main focus. But now you just have to go with it in matches – you have to use your instincts and you can’t worry about it too much. If you fall over, you fall over! Just get back up again!
TH: Will this period on clay help your game overall and make you a better player for the grass and hard court stretch this summer?
AK: Yeah, absolutely. My clay season is short and I wish I’d spent more time on the surface when I was younger – I think I’d be a better player for it. I’m looking forward to the grass court season already and I think these weeks on clay will prepare me well for it.
TH: You fly to Madrid tomorrow – what are your feelings heading there?
AK: I’m looking forward to getting there. I’m two places out of the main draw at the moment and qualies start on Friday so it looks like I won’t make the main draw, but playing qualifying will be good for me too. I’ve just got to remind myself that when I get into a good position I need to keep going for it and go after the ball. It’s hard when you haven’t had that many matches, though, and you lack that little bit of conviction when you need it.