Interview with Anke Huber

Q. Looked like you were putting your whole body and soul into every shot out there. Can you talk about what it means to you, how you feel about winning your first US Open quarterfinal?
ANKE HUBER: Feels good. I've never been in the quarters, so it's really nice. It's a great success for me. I'm happy.

Q. How would you rate your overall game?
ANKE HUBER: Well, I think it wasn't the best match I played yet today. Especially in the first set, we made a lot of easy errors. I think we were both very tight. It was very tense out there.
It wasn't the best match, but I played smart. I played it right against her. I didn't give her too much pace. She likes it, so I mixed it up a little bit. I just went for my shots when I really had it.
I think that was the right way to play her.

Q. Were you tight coming out of that rain delay? You had double match point.
ANKE HUBER: Yes, I was. I was very tight. I was getting really nervous. I don't know why. I said to myself when it was raining, I said, "Come on, keep quiet, concentrate, take it easy."
Somehow I couldn't. I missed one shot and I got really tight at 30-40. After the game, I said, "Come on, concentrate, don't think about the three match points, just keep on playing and trying."
I played it well after.

Q. How do you cope with such a long delay before your match even starts?
ANKE HUBER: I think that wasn't the problem before the match. I just wait. That's not a big problem.
I think when the match started and you have to stop, that's much worse.

Q. Did the win over Novotna give you some confidence coming into this match?
ANKE HUBER: You don't think about it. You take everybody different. Okay, sure it gives you confidence if you beat a top-ranked player. I know it's going to be a totally different match and that she can play very well.
It's just a different match.

Q. Were you surprised that you came out so strong and were able to take the first three games right away?
ANKE HUBER: Yeah, well, like I said, I think she missed a lot in the first set. It was 3-Love. Then I missed, 3-All.
I think the match got better when it was close. It was always getting better when it was 3-All or 4-3. I always played better. It's strange, but it was like that.
It wasn't a surprise. You know, you just play. You don't think if you're leading 3-Love or not.

Q. What were your expectations coming into this tournament?
ANKE HUBER: Well, I played well the tournaments before. You know, I never played really good here, so I didn't expect that much.
It's just nice to be there where I am right now. It was feels really, really good.

Q. Your next opponent can be Martina Hingis or Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Is your game strong enough to beat either of those players?
ANKE HUBER: I would prefer if Arantxa would win the match. I guess Martina will win it. It's going to be very, very tough to beat her. I played always well against her, but I didn't beat her that many times. I think I beat her only twice.
It's going to be very tough. I just try to do my best. I think I have my chances, but I have to play really well.

Q. What percentage of your ability are you playing right now? Are you playing about as well as you can or do you still have a lot of room to improve?
ANKE HUBER: Well, I think today I didn't play my best tennis. It wasn't the best tennis I've played. I played smart; I played good in the important points. I think I can play better.
I don't know what percentage it is, but I definitely can serve better. I just play second serves today to get the first serve in. My unforced errors I can keep down a little bit.
Otherwise, I played well. It's hard to say a percentage.

Q. A lot of people, when you first came on the Tour, said, "Here is the next Steffi Graf." Did that put a lot of pressure on you? Do you feel now that you're a veteran that some of that has eased?
ANKE HUBER: You get older, you see it in a different way. Sure, it puts pressure on you if you're 16 and everybody is telling you, "Second Steffi." I won a couple matches, and she won already I don't know how many Grand Slams.
It's not that easy sometimes. You always keep saying there's never going to be another Steffi, maybe not the next 100 or 200 years. Everybody still is expecting it maybe.
It was sometimes not easy, otherwise it was nice to grow up like this. It's a lot of attention. Tennis in Germany, it's very important, it's a very good sport. It was also in another way very nice.

Q. How relaxed are you with Steffi gone and everything? Do you feel relaxed out there now?
ANKE HUBER: I think not because Steffi's gone I'm not more relaxed. There is not a difference for me to play a tournament.
It would be great if she would still be here and be playing. She's such a great player. Everybody on the Tour is missing her. She's very competitive and there were always great matches when she was in the tournament.
For me, it's not a difference if she's playing or not. It's just another tournament. I'll try to play my best.

Q. You and Andrei are both playing well now. Can you talk about what it's like being here with both of you doing well at the same time?
ANKE HUBER: It's nice. I cannot say more. It's a different experience, I guess. It's nice to see him doing well. I guess he feels the same way. There's nothing more to say about that.
I hope we get a few more rounds.

Q. You guys kind of got yourself back together, then both your games started to improve. Do you feel that way as well, that when you came together, maybe things got better?
ANKE HUBER: Yeah. I think the press pushed it also up a little bit. Sorry (laughter).
You know, everybody's looking at it now. It's like we're back together, it was in the press, it was official, really official for the first time. Everybody's looking at the results maybe a little bit more.
Okay, Andrei made the finals at the French, which was really surprising. I was there because I was injured. It was really like everything came together.
Sure, we play both better. We really try to give each other a little bit confidence. But otherwise, it's just a normal relationship.

Q. Are there marriage plans?
ANKE HUBER: No, no, please.

Q. He said last night if he wins the tournament, he would consider it.
ANKE HUBER: If I win it, I consider it, too (laughter). Something to write.

Q. When you played mixed doubles together at Wimbledon, what sort of results did you have on the court?
ANKE HUBER: Not very good ones. We won the first round, and one of us got sick. I think it was me.
We're not going to play together anymore. It's very difficult.

Q. Is it stressful?
ANKE HUBER: Yes (laughter).

Q. There were some people remarking that you seem very fit. Have you been on a fitness program or anything like that?
ANKE HUBER: No. I'm practicing less than I practiced before because I was injured a lot. It's a different experience for me.
I practice really maybe half - or a little bit maybe more than half - than I practiced last year or the years before. My body cannot do it as before. I know when I do more that I get injured again. I'm really concentrating on what I'm doing.
I think I'm doing it right. When I practice two hours, I really try to concentrate on these two hours, just practice right way, not doing maybe six hours, have something else on my mind.

Q. Do you feel you may have overworked?
ANKE HUBER: Sometimes I think so, yes. After my injury last year in December, I really worked a lot. I practiced very, very hard. I was just tired getting into the tournaments, which was maybe also not the right thing to do.
I really practiced a lot always, five, six, seven hours sometimes with everything together. Sometimes maybe I did a little bit too much.

Q. What exactly was your injury and when did you sustain it?
ANKE HUBER: The last injury was on my foot. It's just inflammation which I have since December last year. It didn't go away since then.

Q. Do you enjoy New York as much as Andrei?
ANKE HUBER: Yeah, I really enjoy the City. It's very nice to come back. I always hated it before, like five, six years ago. I really hated the City. It was loud, noisy, dirty.
Now, when you get older, you see the good things about it, what you can do. I really enjoy it now, yes.