Jelena's and Serena's thought on the Miami Open Final 2008:Jelena: 'The first couple games in the third set were the crucial games, which I let them go, and I had game points in the first game, third set and the second. You know, I had easy balls, you know, to go up 15‑40, and I missed that shot. There was a lady who was little bit screaming during the point, and I lost, somehow, my focus on that shot'.
Jelena: 'Because, you know, when you're playing you're so focused. All of a sudden somebody screams from the crowd, and you ‑‑ in that split second you kind of ‑‑ I don't know what happens. I just made that mistake and I lost those games, and then I tried to come back. I tried to fight. I thought that Serena really had trouble closing out the match'.
Jelena: 'She looked so nervous out there. I could never believe that a girl who has won so many Grand Slams, so many tournaments, could be that nervous, you know, closing out the match. It felt like it was her first time, you know, to win that tournament. She has won it so many times'.
Jelena: 'But she was very strong, especially in the first set, you know. When she's playing her best tennis, when she's serving well, it's just tough to match up against her. Even though I work hard physically, I can never in my life be as strong as her. So it's just a big difference. But I was trying my best out there. It was windy. It was hard for me to, you know, play the balls where I wanted them. She was the better one today, and she's the winner of this tournament'.
Jelena: 'I was sick. You know, it was so really annoying for me to be sick, you know, and playing a final. I felt little bit weak today. I felt ‑‑ I couldn't breathe. But I didn't, I tried not to think about this. I tried just to play the game and just enjoy it and have fun'.
Jelena: 'Finally I finished the tournament so I can rest, because I've been on antibiotics. I think with the playing and a lot of action, being sick, you cannot recover. I think I need some rest in order to get better, and I finally can do that after today'.
Jelena: 'I started to feel a little bit dizzy in the court, light headed like when I blow my nose my ears were popping like when you're on the airplane. That's how it feels. It's uncomfortable, but what can I do? I kept coughing and coughing, and I coughed my way through the tournament. It was really weird. (laughter.) I had to do ‑‑ I had to do my best in order to be here'.
Jelena: 'Even though I don't feel, you know, 100%, there's not ‑‑ nothing in my mind that will make me default so I cannot go. I can be weak and I don't care. I will not play, I cannot compete at my best, and then just default in the final. That would be really bad for the fans. I could never do that'.
Jelena: 'So I'm sick, but I tried my best out there to play my game and to match up against, you know, very strong opponent. But obviously I didn't ‑‑ I couldn't do it. It was a three‑set match, and it was a tough one'.
Jelena: 'I thought I could come back at the end. You know, if I had won that game at 5‑4, I didn't think that could have happened. It was unlucky for me, but next time. I had a pretty good score against her ‑‑ I beat her in Australia and I played so much better. Here with the wind on one side it's so much tougher. I hit so hard and my balls went past service line. It's difficult, but that's just the way it has to go'.
Jelena: 'I had all these actors when I was returning. It was just funny. I was thinking that one of the actors was in that movie, if you know, White Men Can't Jump. I was feeling when I was playing that match, I thought, White Girls Can't Play, you know'.
Jelena: 'I felt like that at a certain point when I was playing against Serena. I was just like there's no way I can play with this girl. She's just too strong for me. But, you know, I could have done it, but she was just, you know, too good at the end'.
Jelena talked about being love-3 down in the second set and love-5 down in the third set: 'That is one quality that I have, and there's going to be days when I'm not going to play well, like maybe today, and there are going to days when I'm going to play well. But something that is always there is my fighting spirit, no matter what the score is'.
Jelena: 'If it's 5‑Love, 3‑Love, whatever the score is, I'm not giving up. I'm still out there and I'm still fighting for every point, and I still believe that I can come back and win the match. I was on my way, but unfortunately it didn't happen'.
Jelena: 'The crowd enjoyed, you know, the match. I think it was for both, but obviously she's American, and for sure she's going to have many more fans here. But I also had many, many fans, and especially Serbian fans. You could always hear them. They're always loud, and you always know where they are'.
Jelena: 'It's just a fun atmosphere to play in front of the crowd. It's amazing. It was a full stadium. It was a nice final overall. I thought that I'm going to come back at 5‑3. I was ‑‑ you know, I just said to myself, If only I can make one more game, 5‑4, and go out on the other side and play with the wind and she's against the wind. It's so much tougher. She hits so hard.
Jelena: 'But then I can still manage to play aggressive and dictate those points from that side, but I didn't do it. So it was unfortunate, but I believe that I could have, I could come back'.
Jelena: 'I feel like I'm making improvement on the physical part, because I've been working with a fitness trainer in Indian Wells and here throughout these two tournaments. I already feel that I'm making some progress, but it takes time, of course'.
Jelena: 'But I already feel a lot better than I felt in Dubai where I played a third‑setter and I couldn't even move. I was too tired, too exhausted. I was completely out of shape. And now I'm coming back, I'm getting better and better, but it will take, you know, more time, of course'.
Jelena: 'But as for the coach, hopefully, you know, I was getting some help here in beginning of the tournament and as well in Indian Wells. Makes a huge difference, because I'm No. 3 player in the world without a coach, and I can just imagine what will happen to me if I have a full‑time coach that will be there for me all the time and share his knowledge and experience with me'.
Serena: 'I thought I had like 15 matches points. I'm glad to know it wasn't. I really thought I had 15. I don't know. I just ‑‑ a couple of shots she hit really well, and then a couple of times I made some mistakes, and I was just like, it was just weird'.
Serena: 'I was definitely up and on my way to glory, and out of there, you know, within an hour. But, you know, I made a lot, I started making a lot of mistakes. Then I think I wasn't doing, Jelena obviously started playing when you have nothing to lose it's like you play like you have nothing to lose, and those are the most dangerous people in life, you know, on the court'.
Serena: 'So I think she just started making some great shots and, you know, putting a few more balls in play, and I started missing some important shots. You know, she got lucky a few times. I got lucky, you know, then she just closed it out'.
Serena: 'Jelena is a great fighter. She seems to always be down match point and sometimes is coming back and winning. Not only that, the fact that she's a great player and fighter, also the fact I made mistakes I shouldn't have made and I missed shots I shouldn't have missed'.
Serena: 'I didn't do the right, the same thing that got me to be up a set 3‑Love. It's more a factor of me allowing myself to be dominated, so I think if you factor in all those factors, then that's kind of what happened'.
Serena: 'I think she's definitely unpredictable. She's hitting shots down the line and she'll mix it up and go crosscourt, she'll hit a lob. She's not someone you can say, I know she's going to do this at this point. You have to always be on your toes'.
