“I'm awake,” Nadia Podoroska said when asked by an Australian journalist if she had pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. “What I have improved the most is my mentality,” added the Argentine, a brilliant semi-finalist at Roland Garros after beating third seed Elina Svitolina. Rosario's, who will leave Paris in the top-50 of the WTA ranking, touched on many and varied topics:
The games: “I would like to win an Olympic medal, it will be my first Games and I hope to enjoy the experience.”
Physical: “I am completely fresh, I have no pain or problems in my body and I have played many games lately.”
Form moment: “I've been playing well all year, with good feelings.”
Male final: “No, for me the final is not going to be Djokovic-Nadal, Diego Schwartzman is going to be in the final”.
Women's tennis in America: “It is very difficult for young girls from South America to play in Europe, I hope this result will help us all.”
Support messages: “I have been in contact with Gabi (Sabatini) and it makes me happy that she is always with us. I have not looked at the social networks on my mobile yet ”.
Bad times: “The hardest part of my career was two or three years ago, when I had a lot of injuries and was eight months out of the circuit. I lost a lot of ranking and had no money to compete. Not know what to do”.
Old injury: “I injured my right wrist.”
Next rival: “I'm going to be able to watch the game, whoever I play with will be tough and I'll have to be prepared.”
Departure to the Chatrier: “At that moment I was very concentrated, memorizing the strategy, I tried to get out of the context of being at the Philippe Chatrier, but then it gave me joy and satisfaction to be there.”
Full Time: “Feeling of satisfaction, of joy and of having done what I had to do. We had proposed a good strategy ”.
Mentality: “I go very game by game, I never said, I have a chance to go far. Each game is new and I must be clear that I am doing well and go out to do the same ”.
Assimilation: “For me they are all new experiences, being among the 100 in the world, playing my first game in the Chatrier, but what I'm doing best is going out and doing what I have to do. We will talk to the team later to see what I can do, because now the economic part is going to improve ”.
Next steps: “We are not clear about the calendar, there are very few tournaments, they are planning to go to Australia earlier … I want to finish here and then plan well.”
Number one: “Now I say it too, dreams remain, they do not change.”
Strategy: “The best way is to be able to do what I've been doing on the pitch, it's what has worked for me. I must continue like this and calm my head ”.
Experiences: “I am enjoying this new experience very much and trying to remember these moments and these emotions that are very beautiful and for which I have worked so hard.”
Who did you remember: “From a person who has helped me not only financially and without him I could not have paid the resources or traveled abroad, I would not have been able to do any of this. He enters the court with me every day and I am very grateful to him ”.
Juanpi Guzmán: “Now everything can happen”
“He has a routine, since qualifying began, they work on a day-to-day basis, focus on what he has to do and not go further, that the one in front of him is only a rival. She visualizes the good, what she has to do. Every day they talk about the day before, what is coming, but in terms of continuing to do what he does, ”explained one of Podoroska's coaches, former Argentine tennis player Juanpi Guzmán.
“We had talked, after watching rivals' matches, we felt that with Svitolina she would have more time and she could play heavierThe court helped because it was very heavy. He had to arm himself with the right. We show her the best that the other has, but without losing sight of what she has, “said the coach about the strategy of the game on Tuesday.
Plans: “Honestly, we are not sure what we are going to do. The idea was to play three ITFs in the United States. Now I don't know, we canceled the first one and we have to do the same with the others. From here to Australia we have no chances, because in Ostrava he cannot enter “
Merits: “Mainly his work has been going on for a long time, how responsible he is with everything, with the tennis part, with the physics that he did within his fall without skipping a day. In Spain the same. What surprises me the most is how calm she is on the court and what she is enjoying. He is facing things that would be difficult for anyone. “
Handling the situation: “Trying to get as little information as possible to him and stay in line. That the routine does not change, because in his head it is good. It leaves us alone and it helps her ”.
Three-way relationship: “With Emi we have been brothers since we were little, I am the godfather of her son, he of mine, the families are very close. We spoke with her two years ago, she was traveling with her boyfriend and she told us if we could give her a hand since 2019. We agreed because we liked how she played, her work and the desire she made her. She is very obsessive about her work, that everything is perfect. She pushes us and we lower her a little ”.
Hopes: “We do not envision her being the champion, neither in the semis nor in the quarters, you don't see if she can go that far, now anything can happen. Anyone can win, with the confidence they have ”.
Racket change: “I played with a racket that weighed 350 grams, it was heavy even for men. He had a lot of left and right wrist injuries, it bothered him a lot for the backhand. Tried a lot since last June. One day we took weight off him and he liked that one, he ended up dropping 20 grams and the ball comes out just as strong, this helps him to make the ball come out a lot and take effect ”.
Rival Preference: “I would choose Trevisan, because he is in the same situation as her and we know her much more than Swiatek.”