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MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAUMarch 29, 2015Catherine BellisMIAMI, FLORIDA S. WILLIAMS/C. Bellis THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. So can you try to describe for those of us who will never play Serena on a center court what's it like and to be your age and to be going up against Serena Williams on a center court? What was it like? CATHERINE BELLIS: I was pretty nervous. I mean, she's No. 1 in the world and like the best of all time for a reason. I think it was just a really good experience for me for the future and I'm glad I got to do it, but she's a lot better than me for right now. Q. When you first walked out there and you see her, I mean, she's an imposing figure, obviously. What was going through your mind at that moment when you first saw her, first got on the court? CATHERINE BELLIS: I was pretty nervous. I didn't know how my game would hold up against her, because, you know, I have never played her before. Never really seen her in person. Just on TV. I mean, she's my idol; she's from America; she's No. 1 in the world; she's the best of all time. It's pretty scary playing her. (Smiling.) Q. I'm wondering, how about just the stadium itself? I can't imagine you had ever played on anything like that. The US Open you were probably on the outer courts, right? CATHERINE BELLIS: Uh‑huh. Q. What was that like getting adjusted? CATHERINE BELLIS: Yeah, the stadium is huge. I don't know. I like that kind of stuff. It was fun. It was good to get used to, because I have never played on something like that before. Q. The other thing was you didn't show what you had today really. I imagine when you go home and look at the tape, if you ever look at this again, you will say, How did I miss all those shots.  Talk about how you actually felt you played. Not about Serena, just about how you played. CATHERINE BELLIS: I think just playing her affected how I played, because she, you know, is Serena. I think nerves got a little bit of the best of me, but it's not really anything that I can control. Q. How did that ace feel? That got a big ovation. CATHERINE BELLIS: It felt unreal. (Smiling.) I think that was one of my only winners during the match. Q. Were you ready to stop right then? CATHERINE BELLIS: No. I wish. Q. How did the conversation at the net go afterwards? CATHERINE BELLIS: She's really nice. I mean, there's not much that you can say, but, you know, whatever. Q. I'm from England. Have you ever played on grass? What are your plans for this summer? CATHERINE BELLIS: Yeah. I played on grass last year in Europe. This summer I think my ranking will get me into the qualifying of the slams now, so I'm going to play those. Q. So you played junior Wimbledon? CATHERINE BELLIS: Junior, yeah. Q. How did you find that in your game? I guess it's a pretty unusual experience where you're from. CATHERINE BELLIS: No, I really like the grass. I trained on it for a lot of time before then. I thought I was playing really well. Unfortunately during the tournament ‑‑actually, about a week before the tournament I hurt my wrist really bad. I think just getting used to the grass and how low the balls are. On my forehand my wrist just hurt so bad. I mean, the doctors didn't even know what happened. It was inflamed so much. I mean, I played, but it wasn't my best tennis. But I like the grass a lot. Q. Did anything surprise you about Serena today? CATHERINE BELLIS: Not really. I mean, her serve is amazing. Her groundstrokes are. I mean, there is not anything I could have been surprised by. I knew she was going to be that good. Q. I want to ask you just about her power. Being on the other side of the net from those shots that are coming, how is that different from most of the players that you play? CATHERINE BELLIS: Yeah. She definitely hits really hard. (Smiling.) She's obviously really muscular so she can hit extremely, extremely hard. Compared to the other players in my last like couple rounds she definitely hits a lot harder. Q. You probably visualized in your mind, oh, you know, I'm going to maybe play Serena one day. How did it compare to your dreams or thoughts of what it might be like to be in that situation? CATHERINE BELLIS: Well, I thought it was crazy coming into this tournament and seeing the draw and like even playing in this tournament, let alone like being my age playing Serena Williams. I didn't think I was ever going to play her because I thought that I wasn't ever ‑‑I mean, I thought that maybe I could be at that level, but I didn't think I was ever going to, you know, to play her and be in the same part of a draw as her. I mean, that's crazy like thinking of that. Yeah, I mean, I never really expected that. Q. What's your next tournament? CATHERINE BELLIS: I'm playing the WTA tournament in Charleston. That's my next one. Q. So when you see how good she was, what does it tell you about your game? What do you think you need to improve to maybe compete better against her next time? CATHERINE BELLIS: Definitely just be a little bit more relaxed if I ever play her again. I was going for a little bit too much I think because of who she is and kind of was going for a few shots that I probably wouldn't make anyway even if I wasn't nervous. I just have to improve everything. She attacked my serves, so I still need to improve that. Q. Do you think you'll remember this match next week, or do you think or will it be a blur? CATHERINE BELLIS: I hope it will be a blur. I hope I never remember this match. No, it was actually really good experience. I'm happy that I got to play her. It was an eye opener, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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