16 February 2015
K. KOZLOVA/H. Watson
6-4, 7-5
An interview with:
HEATHER WATSON
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. We are concerned about you. Can
you explain what your problem is?
HEATHER WATSON:
Yeah.
Well,
when I got here I was feeling like I was getting
sick, and I tried to take some Vitamin C to stop it.
Then yesterday I had a fever, temperature, so I
was just in my room the whole day to try and rest
up and get ready for today.
I woke up today actually feeling a little bit
better. Still not great, but I felt like I could go out
there and have a good chance.
I had my game plan to play aggressive
tennis, keep points short, knew what I wanted to
do. In the beginning of the second set I started
to get this pain in both of my feet. I thought it
was just like maybe some cramp or something,
just very slight, and as that set went on it just
started getting worse and worse to the point
where like it was agony to just touch.
Still don't really know what it was.
Maybe, you know, yesterday I took loads of
anti-inflammatories, painkillers, stuff to get better
for today for whatever I've got, virus, I don't
know.
So I don't know. Maybe that's something
to do with how I felt and it trying to tell me to stop
or my body just, that was like a defense
mechanism.
I don't know. It's feeling definitely better
now than it was towards the end of the match,
but, yeah, just definitely not my day physically.
Q. What have the medical staff told
you about that discomfort? They said it
could be a result of...
HEATHER WATSON: I have a few
different opinions, so I don't really know. The
fact that it's getting better now is a positive, and
maybe it was cramp-like but it was different. It
was a different sort of sensation, kind of -- it went
from like feeling like a bit of cramp to being a
sharp pain. But, yeah, definitely not my day
physically.
Q. Silly question probably, but you're
not using orthotics in your shoes or
anything?
HEATHER WATSON: No. I am using
new shoes. I don't use orthotics. I never have. I
have never had any problems with my feet, so,
you know, if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it.
But I don't know, you know. I have been
wearing those shoes for two weeks now and had
no problems. I'm not sure. Maybe it could be.
Maybe not. Maybe I do need orthotics now.
Q. Are you given any sort of medical
guidelines on how many anti-inflammatories,
so forth, you should take?
HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, definitely.
We get told to take, I think it's just like one pack
three times a day with your meal. That's what I
did. I just took the regular stuff.
Q. Is it a matter of rest for you now or
are you going to start back playing again?
HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, definitely. I
find the Fed Cup week quite tiring, so coming
into here I guess my immune system was low,
and I must have caught something.
Like I said, I did feel better than
yesterday. Yesterday I was just horrific. I had a
towel next to me in my room because I was like
sweating so much and then I was cold. Yeah, I
felt horrible.
Today I definitely felt better. I felt I still
had a chance today to win. She played very
well. At the end she got a bit nervous and I
thought, you know, this is my chance to come
back, but my feet just didn't let me.
Q. We always ask you this, but could
it be connected to the glandular fever?
HEATHER WATSON: No, I think it's
literally a cold or a fever or whatever it was, and
that was a very different feeling. I didn't have all
of...(pointing to nose and sinuses).
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Q.
What have been your global
movements since Fed Cup? Where did you
go?
HEATHER WATSON: Since Fed Cup,
came back to London, then came to here. I
guess it's just weather change and travel and a
lot of matches in Fed Cup.
Q.
Tennis-wise, do you feel any
concern? Because you have had such a
fantastic junior career. Do you feel you've
lived up to the potential that you were
supposed to?
HEATHER WATSON: Well, I feel like I
have just gradually, my career has just been
going up. I mean, I have had a few ups and
downs, few bumps in the road. Still going up.
Last week I was at my career high, and I feel like
there is so much more I can improve on and so
many things I can do better. I think that's just
really positive for the future.
Q. Can you say what these things
are, what you can do better?
HEATHER WATSON: Oh, well, there's
bits in every single part of my game. You know,
something I have been working on a lot is my
footwork in cutting the angles, playing more
positively, moving forward.
Q. You have had a bit of a rough time
health-wise with glandular fever, what
happened in Australia, now obviously here.
Do you think that if you were to take time out
or took time away from the game to get
yourself fully healthy and then you came
back, would that be something you would
consider from here?
HEATHER WATSON: I genuinely think I
have just been really unlucky in this little spell
and it's just all come at the wrong times. Touch
wood, I have never had any massive injuries
apart from the glands. I have just been pretty
unlucky. I have had a few niggles here and
there, but, yeah, just bad timing.
Q. Laura has had to pull out for her
projected comeback.
HEATHER WATSON: When was her
projected comeback?
Q. Next week. Have you had much
dialogue with her? You have been struggling
with health things. She's been struggling
with injury things. It's been unfortunate.
HEATHER WATSON: Well, we don't
talk about that together, but when I was training
in the offseason in Florida she was there so I
saw her a bit.
But, yeah, I mean, it's not a fun thing to
talk about, so we don't usually talk about that.
We went to the movies and stuff like that, but,
you know, none of that stuff.
But she must be having a really tough
time being away from the game.
Q. She's quite a bouncy character.
HEATHER WATSON: She is.
Q. You know her as well as anybody.
Is she still up?
HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, definitely.
I'm sure she's frustrated with not being back
already and not being back when she wanted to
be back. But with injuries like that and being out
for so long, you've got to play it smart and not
rush, even though you probably want to.
Q. Did you hit together in Florida or
work out together?
HEATHER WATSON: No, she was -- I
mean, she wasn't hitting very much.
Q. We were told she was hitting.
HEATHER WATSON: Well, I don't...
Q. When was this? I've got you now
(smiling).
HEATHER WATSON:
No, we had
different training schedules.
Q. So what do you girls talk about?
HEATHER WATSON: Boys (laughter).
TV shows and all that rubbish.
Q. What movies did you see?
HEATHER WATSON: We watched the
-- it's not called A Cinderella Story but something
like that with the comedian Chris-something. Do
you know which one I'm talking about?
Q.
It must have made a big
impression on you.
HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, I didn't
think it was that great. (Laughter.)
Q.
Did you get a chance to hit with
Martina since she's here?
HEATHER WATSON: I haven't hit with
Martina, no.
Q. Did you get a chance to talk to her
in the locker room?
HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, she was in
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the lift the other day. We were talking about not
having to use the key cards for the floor that we
are on, so that was good.
Q. Anything about tennis?
HEATHER WATSON: No.
Q. Are you in the doubles here?
HEATHER WATSON:
Yeah,
Erakovic.
with
Q. And do you know when you're
playing?
HEATHER WATSON: Well, it will be
tomorrow. I'm going to do what I did yesterday
now and just hibernate in my room, take
medication to get better, and from the way my
feet are feeling now, I think tomorrow they should
be okay. I think it must have been just like a
body defense thing, and they just went into
cramp.
Q. It wasn't anything to do with the
heat? It was really hot out there.
HEATHER WATSON:
No, I wasn't
bothered by the heat today, actually, surprisingly
with how I have been feeling. I was okay. I have
the ice towel to just stay cool, but it wasn't
bothering me.
Q. So burning or cramping?
HEATHER WATSON: Well, it felt like it
was cramping at first, but it didn't go away and it
just got worse and worse. Then when I called
the trainer, her touching my feet lightly was
agonizing. It was really sore.
Q. Talking about boys, do you like
the same kind of boys? Are you going to
fight over them?
HEATHER WATSON:
No, we have
different taste in boys, which is a good thing.
Q. Who is your taste of a young star?
HEATHER WATSON: Well, I don't have
a certain type. I like all types (smiling).
Q. And Laura?
HEATHER WATSON: Laura, I think
everybody knows her crush is Cam Newton.
He's an American football player.
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