More Quotable Quotes: Vera Zvonareva

Vera Zvonareva

MIAMI, FL, USA - World No.3 Vera Zvonareva was the only player in the Top 7 to reach the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, but she isn't just a star on the court - she has many off-court interests as well. Here are some excerpts from Zvonareva's press after her quarterfinal win over Agnieszka Radwanska...

On what she learned from her two Grand Slam finals last year...
"I learned a lot of things along the way. I wouldn't say there was something I learned just in the finals themselves. Definitely it was a great experience to be out there and play in front of such great crowds at Wimbledon and the US Open, but I learned a lot of things just playing a lot of matches in two weeks. I learned a lot about myself, how to prepare myself the best I can in order to get to the last stages of the tournament. I had never really played seven matches in a row before. I learned even if I play an easy or a tough match, no matter what I already know, I needed to practice in order to improve for the next match."

On keeping her emotions in check during matches...
"I'm an emotional person no matter what. It's the way I was and the way I am right now. I'm just more mature and now I know how to handle different situations. There are moments I need to pump myself up more, moments I need to be a little bit hard on myself, moments I need to take it easy. Now I know those moments and what to tell myself. But at the end of the day, if I need to break that racquet, I don't care. I will break the racquet on the court. It doesn't matter. Emotions are very vital in any sport - if you play with no emotions, it's tough to win. You just have to use your emotions to your advantage. That's it."

On the second degree she is currently working towards...
"It's my final year. I'm working on my thesis right now and have a final exam in June or July. I might miss it because of the French Open and Wimbledon, but hopefully they can postpone my exams and I can take them a bit later. For me it's very important because I always loved going to school and learning different things. It takes my head away from the tennis court and lets me focus on other things. I'm really enjoying it, especially the international economic relations. I've had the chance to meet people from many backgrounds who speak many languages. It's very interesting and I'm excited about it, because I think it's very important to develop yourself, not just as a player, but as a person as well.

"My thesis is about how to use athletes and sports to bring Russian products onto international markets. Everyday things, like shampoo, clothes... we produce a lot of things that never go out on the international market. We can sell a lot of things. If people come to Russia for the World Cup or Olympics, they can see those things and it could help us be more international."

On her work as a gender equality spokesperson...
"That is a WTA and UNESCO partnership. I'm part of it because everyone in the world should get the same opportunities. When women start talking about equality some people think about feminism, which isn't the right approach. It's not about that at all. It's just about giving everyone equal opportunities, and then everyone can make choices in life. If you look around the world, there are some countries that give same opportunities, but there are a lot of countries where women don't have the same rights. They cannot make choices and cannot get education or play sports if they want to. It's very bad. All of these things help develop a person and it will help the international community. I've been a part of this and hopefully we can do some better things in the future."

 

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