After her Berlin 1st round against Caroline Wozniacki, we tried to contact Tatiana by mail to ask her how she was doing…
We had an answer today and it’s quite reassuring !

Even if she is actually out of the entry list of Roland Garros, here is what she replied to us :
"I still don’t know whether I’m going to play the French Open or not, but for now I’m doing treatments! I did not completely recover from the surgery like I would have wished to, but I hope to be back very soon, and overall at 100% of my abilities."

Reassuring news : at least she doesn’t suffer from another injury !
Thank you for your answer and get well soon Tati !

A French 10-15 years old tennagers magazine, Okapi, interviewed Tati a few weeks ago, the magazine was out today.

I translated the questions :

Since Mary Pierce in 2000, the French have been kind of failing in the French Open. Do you think you could be able to be the next one to win ?
It’s a dream ! But for 5 years, I’ve been having injuries that prevented me from beeing at the top. Last year, I won my 2 first tournaments, so I think I can go further.

Is playing the French Open special for you ?
Yes, it is. First of all, it is a Grand Slam. Being regular regular during a whole fortnight and winning such an event is already a big accomplishment. And obviously, it is Paris : I was born in Moscow, but my parents came here when I was 8 months old. Here, I play in front of my home crowd, my family. I tremble when the speaker pronounces my name before coming into the court.

How did you start playing tennis ?
I held a racket for the first time at 3 years old. At 7, I went to a tennis Academy in Florida, where I stayed during 7 years. There I met Maria Sharapova, who was a very good friend, like an older sister. At 14, I became European Champion and at 15 I started playing on the Senior tour.

You’re all the time at different places, flying the world.. How do you manage this nomad life ?
In every country, I decorate my hotel room with pictures of my family, flowers, my laptop, books. Also, I always have a teddy bear wearing a French flag in my bag !

What do you do during holidays ?
I sleep ! I am with my family and act like a baby. So I sleep a lot, I laugh, I play the piano, I dance with my sisters Oxana and Olga. I have only 3 weeks in a row every year, and they go very quickly !

What piece of advice would you give a youngster who wants to do well in that sport ?
I would tell him about my own experience : at 10 years old, I used to wake up at 6am every morning to practice. I did not go at friends’ birthday parties, did not go to bed late. But you need to know why you make these sacrifices, otherwise it could be dangerous. You have to play with passion, not to make your parents happy.

What players impress you the most ?
Justine Hénin, because she manages to win even when she doesn’t play well. And Serena Williams : on both sides, her shots are A-MA-ZING. Also Roger Federer : How does he get to be on every ball ? I can’t understand !

Unfortunately, Tatiana lost today in the first round of Berlin against Caroline Wozniacki 6-7 2-6.

Wozniacki was the first to serve and soon things boiled down to one game a piece but Tatiana managed to break for 2-1. But then Wozniacki fought and the tables turned with the score at 2-3 and then Caroline won another game for 2-4. Tatiana fought to win the next game and suceeded for 3-4. But soon the score was once again in Wozniacki’s favor and the score was now 4-5. Tatiana got a head start in the next game and held for each girl to have 5 games each. Tatiana then went to break Wozniacki but still, she couldn’t capture the set. Wozniacki ended up winning the first set tie-break and also had the set under her belt.

The second set directly went into Caroline Wozniacki’s favor with her winning the first two games and it all lead down to Wozniacki taking the second set and ousting Tatiana from the Tier I Berlin tournament, which Tatiana enjoys playing at very much.

Tatiana says that "I only just had surgery and I am still recovering from that, but it is just too soon to expect too much."

Tatiana is playing another Tier I tournament next week, this time in Rome. Best of luck Tatiana!

Quotes from Tati just after her match :
"I normally love playing in Germany, but it is just too soon to expect too much. I only just had surgery and I am still recovering from that, I am not perfect yet and I’ll need to take my time to recover my form. This is all just part of the process."

On Lacoste website, there is an interview of Tatiana for the 75th anniversary of the clothing company. Here it comes :

An animated flash with pictures of Tatiana has been also created by Lacoste for the occasion. You can download it  here. (right-clic and save the target as…)