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WIMBLEDONJune 27, 2000Nathalie TauziatWIMBLEDON MODERATOR: Nathalie Tauziat. Q. Your Wimbledon history is a lengthy one and a reasonably successful one. Is this likely to be your last singles match here? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: I think so, yes. Q. Was that a very difficult decision to reach? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No. Q. Why? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Because it's the life. I one day have to stop. This year I want to play well here, and I didn't. I lost. That's it; it's finished. Q. She's long been thought of being a very talented young prospect. How good do you think Clijsters is and can be? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: I don't know. I don't know how good she can be. She can be good, but I don't know how. That's her problem. I mean, she have to work herself and play well. But today I don't think she's really win the match. If I play my best tennis, I don't think I can lose to her on grass. But today I didn't play my best tennis. That's it. Q. Where did it go wrong for you? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: I didn't move well. I didn't serve well. I didn't return well. Nothing was working. That's it. Q. So a bad match for you all around then, from every aspect? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Yes, uh-huh. Q. Why was that, do you think? Was it preparation? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No. My preparation, I play everything like usual, but I didn't play so good on grass this year than the year before. Q. A lot has been made about your book coming out this year. How has that affected you, the release of it, the talk of it? Are you happy that you did it? Has it gotten in the way? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No. I'm happy to do the book. I think a lot of journalists take my book, for example. Maybe sometime they have to talk themself about what they think and not say only, "Nathalie say that in this book," and that's it. Sometimes they agree, but they didn't take the responsibility to do it themself. Q. If you could clear up, Lindsay Davenport was saying earlier that you had told her that perhaps some of the translations in English were not correct. I was just wondering if you could clear up a few things for us. I had read a few different comments that were translated about Anna Kournikova where you said you liked her and that you thought what she was doing was okay, but you also made some comments on the other side about her, saying sort of the way she behaved at tournaments. I was wondering if you could clear it up? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: She's what, behave? Q. The way she behaved. I was wondering if you could --? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Could I speak French and he translate, if that's okay with you? Q. Yes. NATHALIE TAUZIAT: (Nathalie speaking in French.) TRANSLATOR: She says: I like Kournikova. I think she's a nice girl. But what I don't like is the whole system about people talking only about her because she's sexy. There are a lot of other girls on the tour who are as pretty as her, and they don't talk about them as much. They just -- I just don't like the system where they use only the image of Kournikova. What she brings to the tennis, there are other girls who are as good players or better players and they don't talk about as much as her and that's what I don't like. Q. What are some examples of that? Who are some of the other players you were referring to? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Well, there is I think in Top 10, you have Martinez, you have Davenport, Mary Pierce, some other players who play well, and you didn't talk the same way too much, you know. Particularly I think Davenport is a player we can talk more because she's someone very interesting about tennis. Q. Are you being critical of the WTA when you say "they are not promoting"? Are you talking about the journalists? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Everybody, journalists and WTA, too. I think the WTA promote only some players, you know, top players, nice players for the image of tennis, but not everybody. Q. Did you feel any pressure on you because you were the one who wrote the book? May this be an explanation for your game today? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No, no, no. My game was wrong. It's not because of my book. It was wrong, it was wrong. Q. Because the pressure of the ambience? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No. I think I have more pressure because I want to play well here. Q. Can I return briefly to the original question about retirement. Are you planning to play on the WTA Tour for the next few weeks? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Yes. Q. When do you expect to retire completely? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: At the end of the year. Q. And what plans do you have after that? Do you plan another book? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: No (laughter). Q. Are you going to be a coach? Are you going to work in the tennis media? Are you going to commentate? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: I don't want you to know what I'm going to do (laughter). No, I don't know. I just take some time off for a while, and after I decide what I'm going to do. Q. What role do you think personality and charisma should have in tennis? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: You can have charisma. I think all the players are different character right now. Like you have the Williams sister, you have Anna Kournikova, you have Davenport, you have Hingis. Everybody's different. That's why I think the tour is also interesting. But the system of what's happen around the court, around tennis, take too much place right now. Q. When you look back on your career, do you think you should have been a Wimbledon Champion? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Yeah, maybe. Q. Will that go down as one of your greatest regrets? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Uh-huh, yeah. Q. Can you expand and tell us why? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: You have to read my book. It's on my book (laughter). It's in my book. Q. Just in a sentence, though, please. NATHALIE TAUZIAT: How I can explain that? I think I didn't take my chance when I have it, that's it (tearing up). Q. Lindsay surprised everyone by saying you could have said more in the book; there was more to say. NATHALIE TAUZIAT: If she thinks there is more to say, she have to write a book. Q. You talk about regrets and talk about regretting not winning the Wimbledon championship. Do you regret there are not more grass tournaments to play because you've always been seen as a good grass court player? Do you regret the grass court season is not a little longer and have some more grass court tournaments in Europe? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: What to say? The circuit is like this. I'm not bad on hard court, too. We have three grass court tournament. That's like this. I mean, we have one Grand Slam on grass. That's good. I think it's good opportunity to play well. That's enough. I think it's enough. We have enough grass court. I don't think we can play everywhere every time on grass court or clay court. I think the circuit is like this and you have to do that. Q. Did you find that the players supported your book as a whole? Have there been people who have come up and thanked you for writing it? What has the reaction been? NATHALIE TAUZIAT: Some doesn't like and some, yes, like some articles. Some players come to you, "Is it true you say that in your book?" Some article like in Spain or in English came off. Some came to me and say, "Oh, that's good you say that." That's it. End of FastScripts…. |
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