FAMILY CIRCLE CUP

March 29, 1995

Gabriela Sabatini

GABRIELA SABATINI: You mean physically?

GABRIELA SABATINI: You know, it was weird what I had, I don't know, I felt something under the toe.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Left.

GABRIELA SABATINI: And, I mean, I couldn't even walk and I started to look and there wasn't anything. The trainer just padded the toe. Maybe he thought it could be that one but it was hard because -- I didn't feel anything after that and then I played and it was okay. I mean, I didn't feel anything else.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Well, it's a little hard to come from Lipton -- from the hard courts. It is my first match on clay. I haven't played clay surface in a long time. She was not missing. Sometimes it's tough because you have another idea coming from the hard court, you know, the points are going to be faster and here, the points were not ending and then the balls were getting very, very heavy. I think the balls were -- I don't know, after a few games it was really hard to move the ball and I got a little tired too. I mean, before when I came here I was actually -- I had like a flu, something like that, a virus, and I wasn't sure if I was going to play. You know, I asked to start today. Today I started to feel a lot better and today I was okay. But physically, I was probably still a little bit tired from last week.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Well, I finished Saturday -- I mean Thursday. I came on Saturday. I had a day off, Friday. Saturday I didn't practice. So first day I practiced was on Sunday here and, you know, very easy. I mean, I didn't want to kill myself because I wasn't feel well also, I was feeling weak and tired.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I think I learned a lot from that -- you know, from losing that match and, you know, it gave me a lot of things. So, you know, sometimes it's good that that happens and, you know, it depends on me, I guess, how I take that, and I took it very well and, you know, I'm feeling good and, you know, today is just a match that I lost. But, you know, I look forward to play a little more on clay. Hopefully I will have a few more days now to get ready for Amelia so...

GABRIELA SABATINI: It was really hard because she wasn't missing and she was throwing those high balls and it was hard to, you know, finish the point, to do something with those balls. You know, at the end I was just, you know, trying to put the ball in. I was getting a little frustrated too because I couldn't win the points, and I would hit the ball hard and they will not go inside, so that wasn't working either. But I mean, she fought hard, she runs a lot, she got to every ball and, you know, it was a tough one for a first match.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Sure, in better conditions I think I should beat her.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Well, the things I did on the match and what happened, why I couldn't win -- I couldn't finish the match when it was 5-1, those kind of things is good to see what was happening at that moment and --

GABRIELA SABATINI: Not specifically the points but how I was feeling in those moments which is helpful.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I just missed one return. She served very short and then she won the other two. You know, she was -- she just went for it and she came to the net -- really, I should have taken some more risk but she took the risk and she played it very well.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah, I missed that. It was very short the ball, I expected to be a little under and, you know, I guess I was too slow to, you know, react to that.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yes, I was aware of that. I knew she was left-handed and she plays two-handed backhand and forehand. I knew that but I never saw her play so I really didn't know, you know, how hard she could hit the ball or what kind of games she had.

GABRIELA SABATINI: The next day I was really tired. I was extremely tired and then Saturday I started to feel really mostly weak and tired and headaches. I had a little congestion.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yes, that's my next tournament. Next week. We still have the doubles here.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Well, yeah, we still have to play doubles. That will probably be Friday so we can -- I hope we can do well in doubles so I can stay here a little longer.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Sure. I think we're all responsible a little bit for that. I think we all have to put something from us to help, you know, the tennis -- to help women's tennis, you know, to promote, you know. Sometimes with the media I guess, you know, we all have to give some time from us.

GABRIELA SABATINI: No, I mean I think there are a lot of things that are better than what it used to be and that's what a lot of people don't see. There's much more prize money, I see a lot of people coming and watch the tournaments and you can see here, so I don't see that it's really bad.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Okay.