Diego Barbiani · @Diego_Barbiani
14th Mar 2019 from TwitLonger
Hsieh: "Sometimes I do what I want on court. And it’s great, and it’s exciting"
exclusive interview, full article (in Italian): http://www.oktennis.it/2019/03/hsieh-alle-volte-in-campo-faccio-quello-che-voglio-ed-e-una-grande-sensazione/
WHY THE DOUBLE HANDED
“When I was younger I was very small and very skinny. I couldn’t play one handed so my father told me to try with the double handed. One day we were walking close to a tennis court and I said “I have never seen this sport!”. The next day we went back he brought me to the court. He gave me a racquet and he started to throw me balls. He said: “If you can touch just one ball, you can play tennis”. I was having piano lessons. Unfortunately I touched the ball (laughing) so things went in this way. Maybe if I haven’t touched it I would still play piano”.
HOW SHE’S ENJOYING BEING ON COURT SINCE 2018
“I’m traveling with my brother and my boyfriend. My brother is also teaching kids at home while my boyfriend is working in an office, so he’s not really for tennis. There were some problem last year, when I lost my fitness coach. I was thinking about doing more fitness because it would have been a challenge for me to do well in singles while playing doubles. At the beginning of the year I was without fitness coach and I travelled only with my brother […] we decided to just enjoy tennis or, like here, if things don’t go good we can go to Grand Canyon or after Miami we could go to Bahamas, the little island on the ocean. I like swim. I always wanted to go there, but depends on how my schedule goes”.
HOW SHE CREATES THESE SHOTS
“I always try to stay there and simply have fun, I think it’s working. Sometimes I have a plan, sometimes I don’t. If not, I just put the ball anywhere I want or I feel. I like lobs, I like slices. I cannot decide for which is the best one, I just like all my shots, it depends from the moment. Sometimes I just try to cope other players and I say: “Oh, I can do that too!”. Sometimes I do what I want on court. And it’s great, and it’s exciting. You go there and you know that you are gonna make it. You are in your bubble, you don’t even hear the crowd. Like you, when you are writing an article and you are so focused and you can’t hear other people. Sometimes it’s like this on the court. I enjoy when I hit a shot and I start to hear the crowd, it’s really amazing”.
TOP-3 HOT SHOT SHE WOULD LOVE TO HIT IN EVERY MATCH
“mh... dropshot, dropshot, and dropshot. Just dropshot, I would love to play with only the dropshot, from anywhere, in every direction (laughing). I would love to use every dropshot: the volley dropshot, the baseline dropshot, the forehand dropshot, the backhand dropshot, crosscourt, down the line… Yes, they are all very interesting for me (laughing)”
BEST MOMENT IN SINGLES AND DOUBLES
- “In doubles it’s Wimbledon 2013. We won from 4-5 down in the final, but the whole tournament was very drama. I lost my singles match, second round, and I had to play doubles later. After singles I was so sad and I was lying somewhere in the players lounge. I was staying there and my phone started to ring. It was my coach: “Su Wei, where are you?! Everyone is on the court!”. We had 10 minutes, 15 minutes to get there or there would be a walk over, so I run to the stairs, then to the locker room to change myself, then went out and straight to the court. I did it for one minute. It could have been a walk over, then we won first round and we got better and better until the final where we won the title. It can’t be crazier than that”
- “In singles was last year, in Wimbledon, when I defeated Simona Halep. It was pretty tough, I was 2-5 down in the third set and it was my first victory against a current world number 1. The whole situation was amazing. It’s impossible to forget”
A POSSIBLE NICKNAME
“I don’t know how to say in english, but I would like to be called like the person who does trick shots with the cards. That person who ask you to pick a card and remember the number, and then he guess the number”