WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with Andrea Petkovic 0:00:02.360 --> 0:00:05.080 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the sit Down. 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:08.080 I'm Matt Trolop, a writer for ozopen dot com. 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:11.280 And I'm Viv Christim, managing editor of Australian Tennis magazine 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:13.560 and Matt, why are we sitting down this week with 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:14.600 Andrea Petkevic? 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:15.280 Well, Viv. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:17.360 We were lucky enough to get some time with Andrea 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.320 from Berlin, where she was in town preparing to commentate 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:22.759 for the Labor Cup, and we thought it would be 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.439 a great opportunity to talk to her about all things tennis. 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:28.200 She's such an interesting figure in the game. Her playing 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.400 career was so long and span generations, and she's moved 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:34.400 into the commentary and media space since she's retired. She's 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.839 still really connected with the sport and has such interesting 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.519 ideas about it, and she's such a great analyst. So 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:41.760 this was a really fascinating chat and we hope you 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:47.040 enjoy it. Thank you so much for joining us on 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:48.960 the sit Down. It's great to chat with you and 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:50.400 we really appreciate your time today. 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:52.839 Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:57.440 It's an exciting time for tennis in Germany. We talked 0:00:57.440 --> 0:01:00.880 to Tobinbolts last week for the sitdown, and he talked 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:04.040 about tennis in Germany being on a bit of an upswing. 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:05.240 What are your thoughts on that. 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.240 I agree with him in some way. I do think 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.160 that it's hard as a not tennis expert, let's say, 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.160 somebody who is not in tennis, to see that as well, 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:20.959 just because we've had this golden generation of players like 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:26.320 Angie Kerber and Julia Gergiz and all these fantastic young 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.840 women who are young for life but old for sports 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.520 and have retired, and so it's maybe hard to see 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:35.920 for people who are not in tennis that we have 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:39.440 young talents coming up and on the women's side, and 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:41.720 then of course on the men's side, we've had one 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:46.080 of the best male players ever in Germany since Boris 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:50.880 Bekka and mich In Alexander Zverev, who's just a top 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:54.480 five player on such a consistent basis. He hasn't quite 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:57.640 been able to get that major title, but I just 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.760 think in terms of consistency and and winning titles and 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:06.080 competing with the best in the world, he's really one 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.560 of the best male players we've ever had in Germany, 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:13.160 and so he's generating a lot of attention and hopefully 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.840 more tennis fans to flock to the tennis tournaments. But 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.040 just tennis is trending everywhere. I live in New York 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:24.560 and in Germany, and I see around me all these 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:27.079 people who are new to tennis and trying to pick 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:29.760 it up as a sport. So good news for us. 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:34.079 You mentioned Angie Kerber earlier. She obviously ended her iconic 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:37.360 career at the Paris Olympics. Have you spoken to Angie 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:37.799 since then? 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.120 I have, Yeah, we are in close contact. We've actually 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.000 been closer since I retired, just because I have also 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:47.639 more time to go see her, and before we were 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.320 both so busy with traveling for the tennis and hopefully 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:53.920 I haven't seen her since the Paras Olympics, but I 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.799 have spoken to her, so hopefully we can also have 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:02.160 the face to face soon. And yeah, she's I mean, 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.480 I think staying she's happy is a stretch because it's 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.480 always change. I've been there. It's always change to retire 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:11.920 from something you loved for so long. And I know 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.240 Angie loved playing tennis, loved being a tennis player. But 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.200 she's happy that she's made the decision, and she's happy 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:22.280 that she has been able to retire in that manner 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:25.880 because her showing at the paras Olympics was absolutely phenomenal. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:29.120 She played some great tennis and she also played and 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:32.280 away ag Kerber always played, which was fighting to the 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:37.880 last point, sweating blood, sweat and tears basically, And so 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.480 that was really really exciting. But it's normal to take 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:43.960 some time to get used to your new life. It 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:45.320 took me a time to. 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.800 Your own retirement was two years ago. How did you 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.720 grapple with that decision? And was it an easy transition 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:52.000 for you? 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:56.000 So before the transition, it wasn't easily at all. The 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.760 three four months before I retired were some of the 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:02.960 toughest of my tech life, just because I didn't want 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.840 to retire. I really loved playing tennis. I really loved 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:08.640 traveling the world. I love being a tennis player. I 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.000 loved the routines and the structure of a tennis player. 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.880 But I could feel that it was time for me. 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:17.480 My body wasn't as able anymore to practice all these 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:20.120 hours that I required to stay at the top. I 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.839 could feel also my level dropped in I could sense 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.080 that against the best in the world and against some 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:28.120 of the younger players, I wasn't able to I wasn't 0:04:28.200 --> 0:04:31.200 able to keep up for two sets or through the 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.240 sets if necessary. So I knew it was time. And 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.520 the last three four months were really before I retired 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.640 were really hard because I wasn't quite ready to let 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:43.479 it go. But then once I did retire, it was 0:04:43.520 --> 0:04:45.920 actually okay. It took me, I want to say, I've 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:48.120 been retired for two years. I think it took me 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.120 two years to really let go of that identity as 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.400 a tennis player, because I still caught myself saying I 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:56.480 played tennis to people when they they asked me what 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:00.080 I did. So I don't do that anymore. But but 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.360 it was much easier than expected because after before I 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.839 retired and started, I will just live in my house 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.159 and nobody will calm me anymore. I will know what 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.279 to do with myself, and that obviously hasn't hasn't been 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.200 the keyse at Ah. I've been almost diusier than ever 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.599 and it's been really fin and challenging to try new things. 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:22.880 So the transition itself wasn't as bad, but the moments 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:24.680 before the transition were really hard. 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:27.520 So me we definitely want to talk about that busyness 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.760 with you Andrea. But first of all, it would be 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:33.240 great to reflect on your career. Certainly watching your career, 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:35.960 the things that stood out for me were twenty eleven 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.480 when you made the three Grand Slam quarterfinals. You cracked 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:41.360 the top ten later that year. I also remember the 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:43.520 first year I went to Roland Garros was twenty fourteen, 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.279 and I remember you beating a Rani in the quarterfinals. 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.279 It was an incredible performance and you made your first 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.320 Slam semi finals. So to me, I guess on paper 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.279 they are your career highlights. Do you remember it the 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:56.520 same way or were there other moments of your career 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:57.839 that stand out for you more? 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:00.960 I know, I think you now there are. In this 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.240 twenty fourteenth season, when I made the semi finals of 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:08.760 Roland Garros, there were a couple of other highlights for me. 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.719 I won Charleston after being injured for two years. That 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:14.160 was my first big title after the injury, and it 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:17.440 was more of a relief that I can still do it. 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:20.600 And I think that's also where the semifinal run at 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.120 Rowland Garo stemmed from. Because I had worked so hard 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:27.000 to come back from injury and it just wouldn't click 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.599 and I started to doubt whether it would ever click, 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:33.599 and so the Charleston title was that necessary last piece 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.120 of the puzzle to fall into plays before I was 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.280 able to make the semi finals at Rollerland Garros. And 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:41.880 in the same year we made the finals with back 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:45.279 then the Fat Cup team now the Billage and Kingcup team, 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.279 which was a great success for us as Germany who 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.200 hadn't been in the finals since ninety three, I think, 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:54.560 and it was great fun also to share it with 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.040 team members, which you normally don't have as tennis players. 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.800 And so yeah, I think though were my hadhlights. But 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.480 it was really interesting because I retired at the same 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.679 time as Serena Williams. And while I was retiring, I thought, 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:10.640 I've done everything I could in my career. I had 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.520 my successes. I wasn't maybe the world number one, and 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.200 I didn't win major titles, but I'm really happy with 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:20.560 what I with what I've achieved. And then when Serena 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:23.400 announced her retirement that exactly the same time as me, 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:27.480 I had this strange existential crisis where I was like, 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.520 what did I really do in my tennis career because 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:33.800 obviously retiring with one of the goats in women's tennis 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.080 the greatest of all time was a strange feeling. I 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.480 have to say, I would I remember very well I 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.640 retired at the US Open, so did Serena. And I 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:44.120 remember very well coming out of my apartment in New 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.320 York and a bus was driving by with Serena's chase 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:51.000 on it, and it would say thank you Serena for everything. 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:53.120 And I was like, oh, I wonder if there are 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:57.880 buses in Germany. On my face, I'm sure they. I 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:02.480 don't think there were stuff. But I had a month 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.480 or two of this excess into a crisis where I 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:07.960 was like, all the all my childhood dreams and then 0:08:08.040 --> 0:08:10.600 win major titles. I didn't do this, And now removed 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:13.760 from it two years, I'm so happy and satisfied and 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.000 grateful for what I did achieve, and especially one thing. 0:08:17.080 --> 0:08:20.400 And I can just really to all the active tennis players. 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.040 That's the only message I have for them. What you 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.480 don't realize after you're retired, how important it is that 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:29.240 you've given it. You're all now I find much more 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.560 satisfaction and the fact that I know that I pressed 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:34.640 out the last job that I could out of my 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:38.080 performance of my ability. Maybe I didn't have as much 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.480 talent as an Ang Kerber or a Serena, but I 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.160 tried my best and I did everything I could, and 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.080 I was the best tennis player I could. And it's 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:49.360 interesting when you get older how much more you value 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.600 that over successes and titles. And that's the only thing 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.640 I can tell young players that even if you maybe 0:08:55.640 --> 0:08:59.240 don't win major titles, you will find a great satisfaction 0:08:59.760 --> 0:09:02.280 with then you if you know you've done it all 0:09:02.320 --> 0:09:05.160 to be the best that you can be. And that's 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:08.440 just one thing that I've learned now just recently, maybe 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:09.880 in the last few months or so. 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.400 That sounds like a healthy perspective. We like that, And 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:16.199 you mentioned Serena. It's almost like you're anticipating the next 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:19.240 questions we're going to ask you. It's fantastic the way 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.600 that your career kind of unfolded and overlapped with a 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.160 lot of amazing generations in women's tennis. So Serena was 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.200 obviously kind of a constant for that whole time. She 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.720 had like a twenty year, twenty five year career, but 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.000 you kind of when you emerged, it was Sharapova, Azarenka, 0:09:33.080 --> 0:09:36.480 Lina and then obviously you know, hall Att, Kviteva, Radwanska 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.760 came along, and then there was that young brigade, Ostapenko won, 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.880 Roland Garros, Osaka, Barti andre Escu, and then as you 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:47.480 were closing your career, we were seeing Fiontek and Saba 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:49.280 Linka start to kind of come to the top, and 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.480 I just wonder, Yeah, like thinking about all those names 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.079 you overlapped with, like is that something that you're very 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:56.280 proud of, and like, what did you What were your 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.440 thoughts on sharing the court with such a great range 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.000 of players, writs. 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:04.280 Yeah, I mean it's it's really it was such a 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:07.480 pleasure and honor really to play alongside these women. And 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.760 I take a lot from having been able to be 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:13.720 in the same room and in the same locker rooms, 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:15.880 on the same courts as the best women in the 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:18.240 world that have ever done this. And I think I 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:20.920 was always I'm a writer now, I've always been a writer. 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.040 I think I was a writer before I was a 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.560 tennis player. So what comes with writing is watching, right. 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.920 I was always a very keen observer of everything around me, 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.880 and I would watch all these girls and all these 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:36.160 women do what they do and how they achieved it. 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:38.520 And how they trained, how they ate, how they slept, 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.280 all these things that sounded creepy, how they I didn't 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:48.040 watch them sleep, but you know that's a little weird. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.640 So that was always a big yeah, something that I 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:56.199 gained a lot of strength from and something that I 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:59.800 also modeled myself after after these great women, and that 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:03.880 really made me stronger as a personality. And also, which 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:07.079 is really interesting, the first year I came on tour, 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.480 I still played against the likes of Kim Cleisters and 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:12.920 Justine Enna. So I was eighteen or nineteen, so I 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:15.840 even had the last It was really I think the 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:18.280 last the first year on tour for me was the 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.480 last year of those type of players. But I still 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:26.080 kind of caught the last, the last cusp of Cleisters 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.200 Anna as well, And so that was really incredible to 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:32.760 now look back at all of that and having been 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:37.520 part of all these tremendous players. And you know, also 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:41.679 it helps me in my in my in my new 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.040 job as an analyst and an expert, because I have 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:47.600 seen so many generations and I can see patterns now. 0:11:47.800 --> 0:11:50.480 When I played Saballenka when she was seventeen, I already 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:54.079 knew and same with Igasciantek. I already told my coaches 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:57.120 of these two will win Slams, will win major titles, 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.560 for sure. You can just feel that there is something 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:00.559 else than them. 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:01.280 Interesting. 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:03.800 Yeah, that's so interesting, and it's come true, like they've 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.280 gone on to win multiple majors, so yeah, you can 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.360 see something in them. Obviously, being in Australian Open, podcasts 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.640 were always really interested to recall things that happened here. 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:15.440 And you're running twenty eleven here where you beat Maria 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:18.400 on Rodlver Arena at night and you were kind of 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:19.960 the story of the tournament that year. What do you 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:21.960 remember about that run at the IO? 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.360 I always when I come back, I love being at 0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.960 the Austraiana Open because all those images come back and 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.760 I think what I remember most so really did change 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.959 the trajectory of my career. And I'm not exaggerating when 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:38.720 I say that. The reason why I say that is 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:41.600 there are players who have confidence the moment they come 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:47.800 on court, like Serena, like Maria Sharapova, Carlos al karaz Novakdjokovic, 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.520 They always kind of even as twelve year olds, they 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.000 always knew that they belong at the top of the game. 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:55.760 I wasn't like that. I always need to gain the 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.640 confidence before I could go on to do great things, 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:01.240 and Australian Open was a big tea moment for me 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.880 because it added another block of confidence for me, knowing 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.840 that I can beat the likes of Maria Sharpola on 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.520 a big stage in front of a packed rod labor 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:14.040 arena in a night session setting, and reached the quarterfinals 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.319 of a major tournament for the first time. I think 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.880 I think it set me up for what I've reached 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.679 after that and accomplished after that, being a top ten 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:27.480 player and reaching multiple quarterfinals after that, and that was 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.280 the first stepping stone, and I think that's why I 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.840 will always remember it very very keenly. And of course 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:37.079 the atmosphere is unlike anywhere else at the Australian Open, 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:41.679 just so many great fans. Not only that, but also 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:45.000 so many great fans who have a fantastic knowledge about sports. 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.720 You can just really tell that Australia is a sports 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:52.040 nation and they respect their athletes and other athletes, and 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.199 it's always so fun to come and play there whenever 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:56.480 you get the chance. 0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.000 Andre you mentioned earlier that you were a Rushia before. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:03.200 For you a professional player. I was always intrigued by 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:07.040 how you balanced those kind of interests in your career, 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.240 and you know, how did you balance it all? 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.520 Well? You know what I think. When I started, it 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:16.680 was kind of frowned upon to have multiple interests. And 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:21.040 I really think Maria Sharpova and Serena Williams changed all that. 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.640 I think they were the first ones. I've always had 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.880 my intros and hobbies and my books and my writings 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.400 and all these other things, but I would almost not 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:32.440 talk about it because I thought I have to be 0:14:32.560 --> 0:14:35.000 focused on what I do on playing tennis. And then 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:38.440 Maria and Serena kind of brought the narrative to another 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.480 level where they were like, no, I do design furniture 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.720 and I am a male specialist. Serena and I am 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.680 a businesswoman and Maria and I think they changed the 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.960 narrative of an athlete in general, not only tennis players, 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.520 and it was okay to do other things. And I 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:59.520 felt much more comfortable after that to talk about the 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.640 things that I had. And I always saw it as 0:15:01.680 --> 0:15:05.200 an and on another takeaway to my game. I always 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.400 saw it as something that can strengthen me mentally and 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.000 not take away from me mentally, and I think that's 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:13.720 just the way a way to frame it. You can 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:17.240 say like, oh if I if I write for two 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.640 hours after practice, they can sap my energy. Or you 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:23.280 can say, oh, if I write for two hours after practice, 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.280 they will give me something extra and uh, and it 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.320 will give me energy. And I think that's how I 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:29.000 always saw it. 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.320 And why did it take your mind off things? As well? 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:33.440 If it's one hundred percent tennis all the time, then 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:34.360 maybe that's not healthy. 0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:37.200 Yeah, exactly, that's how That's how I always saw it, 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:41.040 and which also now I am grateful for it sets 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.400 you up for a career after you see it with Serena, 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.040 you see it with Maria and for me in a 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:50.120 much smaller way as well. You don't fall into a 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.720 whole after tennis, like what am I supposed to do 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.040 with my life? You kind of land on your feet 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:58.640 and you find another path, as you've already if you 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:01.240 already tried a few things out while you were still playing. 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:03.680 How did you get into tennis? And what did you 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:04.280 love about it? 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.760 So my dad is a tennis coach, so the classic 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:14.400 tale of a tennis coach. Yeah, and I always loved 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:17.680 it and actually Interestingly enough, the reason I wanted to 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:21.040 become a tennis professional was the first time I lost. 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.800 I really hated that feeling of losing, and so I 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:25.720 was like, this will never happen to me again. And 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:28.640 that's when I kind of started to practice and train 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:32.440 really hard. Then the successes came and it was just 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:34.720 a given. And then once I was on tour, I really, 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:36.640 I have to say, and that's why it was so 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.920 hard for me to retire. I think I really loved 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:42.480 being a tennis player. I love the competition, I loved 0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:45.400 the training. I love the traveling. You know, the traveling 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.880 is a big aspect that people don't really talk about. 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:51.760 I've seen so many players, talented players not make it 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.560 on tour because they couldn't stand the traveling. They couldn't 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:57.520 stand the being away from their family and friends, and 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.200 I never had that. I always loved being around the 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:04.639 world all the time, and so I think I just 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:07.240 loved the lifestyle as well as the tennis plague and 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.800 the competition. I think some players get tired from competing 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:12.800 all the time, but for me, it was always the 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.359 most fun aspect of being a tennis player. 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.560 It's really interesting you say that I wonder we were 0:17:18.560 --> 0:17:21.480 interested kind of like in your cross cultural upbringing, and 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.080 maybe that was a reason that you loved the global 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:26.000 travel of it, because obviously you were born I think 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.880 in Bosnia to Serbian and Bosnian parents parents, but grew 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.280 up in Germany. You obviously you live in New York now, 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:34.840 you speak English fluently. I think you speak four languages, 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:37.919 so you're kind of like a global citizen. Like, do 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.440 you think that that helped you with that nomadic lifestyle 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.159 of a tennis player and experiencing different cultures because you 0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:45.600 had so many to begin with. 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.080 I think that it's definitely a part of it. I 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.480 think when you are at an immigrant, you struggle with 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.840 feeling at home anywhere because you're not fully at home 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.240 back at where you come from when you're back. Then, 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.200 when I was born, it was still Yugoslavia. So when 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:01.159 it came back all the sudden, it was Bosnia and 0:18:01.240 --> 0:18:05.120 Serbia and it had fallen apart. And I never really 0:18:05.160 --> 0:18:07.520 felt that home there because I hadn't grown up there. 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.920 But I never really fully felt at home in Germany either, 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.000 because I in the beginning I had an accent when 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:15.520 I spoke German, and so it took a while, and 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:19.600 I think when you travel and you're a tourist or 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:24.040 a foreigner, you're that everywhere you go. And that's why 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:25.800 I think I live in New York right now. That's 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:29.240 my favorite part about New York. Everyone is from somewhere else. 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:32.720 There is no such thing as an immigrant because everyone 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:37.720 is an immigrant there. Nobody, actually I know one person. 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:39.600 I've know so many people in New York and I 0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:41.760 don't know one person who was born and raised New 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.840 York or everyone else is from somewhere else. I think 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:47.560 that's why it's my favorite place in the world. And 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:52.919 maybe that's definitely part of it that traveling does not 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:57.840 come so hard to me because it's it's the discomfort 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.360 of being somewhere New has always sort of been there, 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:04.000 so it hasn't it's not a discomfort anymore. It's become 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.680 the feeling of home as being somewhere in you. 0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:09.760 And how do you feel like So, You've obviously had 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.000 a lot of pro tennis experiences, your career was long, 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:13.919 and as you said, you had these off court interests 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.639 as well that helped keep you kind of like balanced. 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.879 Do you think it kind of made it an easier 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:22.639 transition for you to move out of the sport and 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:23.960 be doing what you're doing now. 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:28.359 I think so. I do think so that Having said that, 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.480 having said that, I think that I had interest during 0:19:31.520 --> 0:19:34.959 the career helped me transition into a next career. I 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:37.800 do think they still have to mourn your tennis player 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.800 identity despite being ready for the next step. And I 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.080 was ready for the next step, and I'm very happy 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.680 with what I do now. But I do think that 0:19:45.880 --> 0:19:49.080 the letting go of having been a tennis player is 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.960 still very prevalent and very normal, and then you have 0:19:52.080 --> 0:19:55.240 to go through it no better, whether you don't work 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:57.680 a day in your life anymore, or whether you start 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.560 working right away like I did, and something else. And 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:03.400 so it didn't take away from that morning, but it 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:07.200 did make things maybe less empty, and it made it 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.760 more fun and the challenge of trying new things was 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:14.439 also part of my life, not only the morning of 0:20:14.480 --> 0:20:17.040 my tennis player career, and so I think it was 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.560