“Working every day, I don’t have another secret.”

Less than 48 hours after her second triumph at the "All England Championships", Carolina Marin took some time to answer the Yonex Swiss Open's questions. The olympic champion, three time world champion and six time european champion talks about secrets, motivation and her very own duel against a whole continent.

Congratulations, Carolina. Tell us a little bit about your feelings after winning the title.

Well, of course I feel happy. It's not about winning the title, it's about the way I performed the whole week.

You have won it [the All England] already in 2015, now it's nine years later. That shows your tremendous career, what is the secret having been so long on the top of the game?

[laughs] Working hard every day, I don't have any other secret. Improve my game, improve myself, improve my mental part and my physical part.

What keeps you going after all these years?

You know, when I injured myself two months before the Tokyo Olympic Games, it felt like someone took something from me. And this is why I just keep motivating myself, I really want this gold medal at the Olympic Games. And after the injury, you know, I just told myself that I really want to fight for that medal. This is how I keep myself motivated every day.

Another question about the secret. It's like almost one woman against a continent - Carolina Marin versus Asia. They are so strong, how do you keep up with them all those years?

Well, you know I don't feel scared when I have to play against any opponent. I know, most of my opponents are from Asia, but I don't care about that. I play against anyone who wants to be in front of me on the court, and I don't care about the flag. I just want to do my best and to win the game.

Last question - now we are here back in Basel, you have good memories of Basel. What are the main memories and what is your goal this week at the Yonex Swiss Open?

Well, I have very good memories, you know, last time when I played here, I won the title, and I like this city, I like the stadium, I like the atmosphere. I remember there were so many spectators cheering for me, so I like it. And the goal for this week is the same goal as last week: Not to think about the tournament win, but to think about the way there. So yeah, just keep the focus on improving myself and also my mental part.

Thank you, Carolina Marin, and good luck.

Interview: Marco Keller, Swiss Badminton

[Update: Carolina MARIN confidently wins today's match against LIN Hsian Ti from Chinese Taipei (21-15, 21-10) and is therefore still on track to fulfil her goal of this week.]