Marcell
Oct 6th, 2007, 03:49 PM
“I want to have a dog so much”
Stuttgart. No matter how much Svetlana Kuznetsova wanted to play in the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix today, deep down there is somewhere else she’d rather be.
For most of us, when we want a holiday we go away. When tennis players such as Kuznetsova want a holiday, they go home. Understandable, when the season stretches from January into November. The players know that if they do decide to take a break then others will be building up the ranking points ready to overtake them, and often their sponsor contracts dictate how much they receive based on their results and ranking.
So, despite climbing to number two in the world and the glory of playing in Grand Slam finals, there is a down side to the job. “The down side for me is that I want to have a dog so much, but I cannot because I’m never home to take care of it,” Kuznetsova said. “And basically, if you really want to meet people and do whatever it’s difficult because you travel all the time so you’re never in the same spot. You travel every week and it’s new friends, new people and it’s hard to stay in contact with everybody. Also there are lots of things that people don’t realise we go through. When you travel you have so many ups and downs and you still have to go out there and take it all out of your head when you come onto the court. And there is an obligation to play all of the tournaments. There’s no want to rest five months or do whatever. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You have a match and you go and you play, and that’s it.”
Despite all that, she does enjoy being in Stuttgart. “I love the site. I love playing in Germany a lot. I don’t like so much the sound of the German language but I love playing in Germany. And of course we are driving cars all week long. I love it and always have good memories.”
When she does manage to spend a few precious days away from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, she makes the most of them. “I love to go to movies. I love to spend time with my friends having an easy dinner and talking. I hang out on the internet, listen to music. I’ve got about 2000 songs on my ipod. I always download the latest songs. I do make myself read, but it’s not my favourite thing to do.”
If she did take a real holiday, like other people, she’d head for the sun. “I wish I can go to Jamaica one day. There are so many places I want to go, but I always try to come back to Russia because I never spend time there. I don’t like to lay on the beach. I need activity. I’d try to do some reggae dancing, learn that at least.”
Kuznetsova enjoys cooking, especially Japanese food, but even when she’s not playing tournaments her training programme often leaves her too tired to do much. “Cooking I can do, but when I’m in Barcelona training I come back so, so tired and I don’t want to cook so I prefer my mum to cook if she’s staying with me, or I’ll go to restaurants with friends.”
Although she is, of course, Russian, she has been based at the Casal/Sanchez Academy in Spain for many years. That is another frustration. “I’m never in Russia,” she said. “I love being in Russia, but I can never be there. There are so many tv shows the Russian girls ask ‘did you watch this or that’ and I’m not even watching the tv, so it’s hard. Anywhere I have Russian tv it makes my life so much easier and having language without translating it to yourself. It’s a different mentality, but I’m pretty used to the other way anyhow.”
The Russian mindset is very different from that of the Spaniards, and Kuznetsova can appreciate the best and worst of both. “Russian, Spanish, it’s all different mentalities, but I try to think about the best I like from each of them. With Spain, what I don’t like is that they’re very slow. It’s like tomorrow, we’ll finish tomorrow. They’re normally late and everything is very easy-going, you know. In Russia it’s more positive. It’s faster. You need this, you do that and it’s done. It’s more clear. But in Spain I like the respect. They have respect for people. You have to be a person first before a player, for example. That’s what I got good. Maybe it’s from my academy, maybe it’s from the club where I train, maybe my coaches. I don’t know if it’s Spanish or not, but you’ve got to have respect for people. And in Russia it’s a bit opposite, if you’re somebody, you’re number one or nothing. I don’t think it’s the right way. You have to respect umpires, linesmen, ballboys, everybody. Even normal people in the hotel, whatever. And Russia’s a little bit the opposite.”
Considering she is a top player, one who has been in three Grand Slam finals, it is disappointing that she is less well-known than some of the more glamorous or flashy players. Many people do not know that she has a good sense of humour, for example. “I’m very easy-going,” she said. “I’m very friendly with people, very open. I’m very shy actually, but as I grow up I’m getting better and better, but sometimes someone will say a compliment and I won’t take it seriously because I think they’re just telling me to make me feel good, not because they really think so. I love to make jokes, I love communication, I love to talk with people, I love to listen to people or just have an interesting conversation. Not about politics though. I don’t like politics.”
06/10/2007
Stuttgart. No matter how much Svetlana Kuznetsova wanted to play in the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix today, deep down there is somewhere else she’d rather be.
For most of us, when we want a holiday we go away. When tennis players such as Kuznetsova want a holiday, they go home. Understandable, when the season stretches from January into November. The players know that if they do decide to take a break then others will be building up the ranking points ready to overtake them, and often their sponsor contracts dictate how much they receive based on their results and ranking.
So, despite climbing to number two in the world and the glory of playing in Grand Slam finals, there is a down side to the job. “The down side for me is that I want to have a dog so much, but I cannot because I’m never home to take care of it,” Kuznetsova said. “And basically, if you really want to meet people and do whatever it’s difficult because you travel all the time so you’re never in the same spot. You travel every week and it’s new friends, new people and it’s hard to stay in contact with everybody. Also there are lots of things that people don’t realise we go through. When you travel you have so many ups and downs and you still have to go out there and take it all out of your head when you come onto the court. And there is an obligation to play all of the tournaments. There’s no want to rest five months or do whatever. It doesn’t matter how you feel. You have a match and you go and you play, and that’s it.”
Despite all that, she does enjoy being in Stuttgart. “I love the site. I love playing in Germany a lot. I don’t like so much the sound of the German language but I love playing in Germany. And of course we are driving cars all week long. I love it and always have good memories.”
When she does manage to spend a few precious days away from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, she makes the most of them. “I love to go to movies. I love to spend time with my friends having an easy dinner and talking. I hang out on the internet, listen to music. I’ve got about 2000 songs on my ipod. I always download the latest songs. I do make myself read, but it’s not my favourite thing to do.”
If she did take a real holiday, like other people, she’d head for the sun. “I wish I can go to Jamaica one day. There are so many places I want to go, but I always try to come back to Russia because I never spend time there. I don’t like to lay on the beach. I need activity. I’d try to do some reggae dancing, learn that at least.”
Kuznetsova enjoys cooking, especially Japanese food, but even when she’s not playing tournaments her training programme often leaves her too tired to do much. “Cooking I can do, but when I’m in Barcelona training I come back so, so tired and I don’t want to cook so I prefer my mum to cook if she’s staying with me, or I’ll go to restaurants with friends.”
Although she is, of course, Russian, she has been based at the Casal/Sanchez Academy in Spain for many years. That is another frustration. “I’m never in Russia,” she said. “I love being in Russia, but I can never be there. There are so many tv shows the Russian girls ask ‘did you watch this or that’ and I’m not even watching the tv, so it’s hard. Anywhere I have Russian tv it makes my life so much easier and having language without translating it to yourself. It’s a different mentality, but I’m pretty used to the other way anyhow.”
The Russian mindset is very different from that of the Spaniards, and Kuznetsova can appreciate the best and worst of both. “Russian, Spanish, it’s all different mentalities, but I try to think about the best I like from each of them. With Spain, what I don’t like is that they’re very slow. It’s like tomorrow, we’ll finish tomorrow. They’re normally late and everything is very easy-going, you know. In Russia it’s more positive. It’s faster. You need this, you do that and it’s done. It’s more clear. But in Spain I like the respect. They have respect for people. You have to be a person first before a player, for example. That’s what I got good. Maybe it’s from my academy, maybe it’s from the club where I train, maybe my coaches. I don’t know if it’s Spanish or not, but you’ve got to have respect for people. And in Russia it’s a bit opposite, if you’re somebody, you’re number one or nothing. I don’t think it’s the right way. You have to respect umpires, linesmen, ballboys, everybody. Even normal people in the hotel, whatever. And Russia’s a little bit the opposite.”
Considering she is a top player, one who has been in three Grand Slam finals, it is disappointing that she is less well-known than some of the more glamorous or flashy players. Many people do not know that she has a good sense of humour, for example. “I’m very easy-going,” she said. “I’m very friendly with people, very open. I’m very shy actually, but as I grow up I’m getting better and better, but sometimes someone will say a compliment and I won’t take it seriously because I think they’re just telling me to make me feel good, not because they really think so. I love to make jokes, I love communication, I love to talk with people, I love to listen to people or just have an interesting conversation. Not about politics though. I don’t like politics.”
06/10/2007