THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 15, 1994

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

Q. Que pasa? What happened? I mean, you really had the match in your hands, do you feel, and what happened for you to lose it?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, I have the match in my hands, but it went away. It is something that happens. I could not finish it up. And I just think that I have the chances to win the match. I didn't take it and she is a dangerous player. She had a very good serve and she knows she is going to go for the ace or make some doublefaults, and also second serve she is going for and all the times I played her, I beat her, but this time, I was playing really well since the beginning. I get into the tiebreaker, but I didn't take my chances. Then I was playing the same, but my ball was very short and I let her come in to the match and happened what happened that I lost.

Q. With her serve being so big and that is a different thing from a lot of players, how tough is that, a different thing?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: It is different because with other players you can attack the serve. With her, you either got to make an ace or she goes for a doublefault, but she just goes for it. Sometimes you have second serve that I attack and I just missed return. I just think that I have to be very patient because she can make me maybe three aces then I can still play, and then I can go back to deuce. I was very patient, but when I had my chances, I just make some easy mistakes, I let her come into the match and I lost.

Q. Arantxa, this is one of your favorite places to play, always have a lot of fans here; are you really sad about the loss?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Yeah, a little bit because not -- I always play well here and I wish I can play as good as I did the past years, but I have many more tournaments. Of course I am really sad because you always want to win and go for the next round. But I just think that I let her play her game and I make a lot of errors and, you know, she beat me.

Q. You were down 5-3 in the second set and you worked back to that tiebreaker. Do you feel like maybe you got a little bit too confident in that tiebreaker? You had five matchpoints at that point, what happened?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I was not confident at all because I knew that anything can happen with her. I just think that, you know, I play a good game, a good points, but I didn't finish it up as good as I wanted to. I tried to hit some shots, but I didn't hit the ball well; make some mistakes then she make good serves, so all the points went very fast, except one long rally that I missed the forehand. But I have my chances and I didn't take it, and when you don't take it, it can happen what happened today and I lost. But she played really well, I think. Especially she served well at the end and she puts your pressure because she has a very good serve. She is very tall and hits the ball hard. But I think that I let her play well because I make so many mistakes.

Q. Could you have perhaps been looking forward too much with a final with Graf?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: No. I always say that I am going match-by-match because I don't think that you should think that way. I always think that you always have to go one-by-one and I never thought about the final. I just go match-by-match, thinking every player, and today I was concentrate to beat Brenda, but I did not have -- did not come to my mind about the final yet.

Q. She has been happy this week with her return game. Did you notice that her return game is maybe more improved than the past times you have played her?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I just think that she is a very good player because she hits the ball hard, harder than maybe any woman, she is very tall and she maybe has the harder serve on the circuit. Everybody knows that. When she puts her serve, she is really dangerous. I just think she is always playing the same way as when I play her, but today, she was more consistent with her serve and made her win more points with his serve; otherwise, I could attack more, especially in her second serve, but she put a lot of first serves in and she served well.

Q. Arantxa, how much does it disappoint you that you are not going to have the opportunity of winning this title for a third straight year?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, I just think that I win two times. Nobody can take that one. I have many more years to come here to Lipton and I think that, you know, I learned something from this match today. But like I said, I am a little bit sad, but, you know, I am going to keep going and try next tournaments.

Q. Where do you play next?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Hilton Head and Amelia Island. Probably could be the first one to win three, but, well, two is enough. It is okay.

Q. Time to get on the clay?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Yeah, I am looking forward.

Q. While looking forward to the French Open, you will be playing Hilton Head and Amelia; what other tournaments beyond is that?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Barcelona, Hamburg, and Berlin. So I am trying to concentrate and be 100% for the French Open. I am going to kind of steer off today's match.

Q. You are playing doubles with Jana Novotna. What happened to the doubles pairings of last year, there seems to be a little shake up there, why did you guys change partners?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, Helena and I, we don't have the same schedule, that is why we could not play, only four tournaments a year, so if you want to qualify for the championships, you better play more than four tournaments, so the reason is that I was going to try to concentrate more on singles and then Jana came to me and asked me if I want to play, she have similar schedule and we decide to play together. We are doing very well so far and we are going to play a whole year together.

Q. You had some indigestion a couple of matches ago?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Yes. I am still having it, but --

Q. Did it bother you today?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: It bothers a little bit, but, I mean, it is not the reason why I lost, but I will have it.

Q. Bad pasta?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I don't know what it is.

Q. That is what Goran would say?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: No, something that I ate. I don't know, but, I mean, when I went into the court, I didn't think too much about it. I just tried to concentrate, but definitely could not eat a lot because my stomach did not, you know, take very much food, but it is all right. That is not the reason.

Q. When you said that Brenda hits harder than any other woman, did you mean that she hits harder than Steffi Graf or is it tough to compare the two?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I am saying in serve.

Q. Just serve, that has nothing to do with groundstrokes?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: No. I am saying about serve.

Q. The food you had, do you think it might have been here at the tournament?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I didn't have that before, so, I don't know if it is here or not. I have it. I don't know.

Q. There have been a few complaints about the food here.

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I did not have anything before I came here, but I have it now.

Q. Looking again at the French Open, who would you least like to play in the early rounds there; who is some of the toughest competitors on clay?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, I don't have any name. I just think that I am looking forward to play on clay because it is my favorite surface and I have some tournaments before I can prepare, you know, really well. I think that, you know, French Open has always been special tournament for me, so I just want to go there, you know, and do my best and see what happens.

Q. Arantxa, the Women's Tennis Association is studying whether or not to increase the minimum age to play on tour from 14 to whatever. What is your opinion about that?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: About the young players who come in?

Q. Well, do you think that the age is right, or should there be another criteria for young girls playing on the tour, other than just age or --

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: No, I just think if they do that, it is because they want to protect the players who are coming, you know, who are young. I think they change the rules. They know what they are doing, but probably it is for supporting the young players who are coming in, try for them the best so they can play longer.

Q. Do you think there is a problem with too many young players on the tour?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, depend which age you want to start playing.

Q. Age limit now is 14, do you think that is the right age?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I think that it is too young to start; probably would be better if they do 15 or 16.

Q. Do you think that European girls are more mature at an earlier age than American girls?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: How you want me to answer that? This is the same as asking you; do you know.

Q. No, that is why I asking you --

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: I don't know either.

Q. Arantxa, now that you are working with Karel Muns and Swen Groeneveld, do you have any new regime; what type of workout do you have?

ARANTXA SANCHEZ VICARIO: Well, we work on offering everything. I am trying to improve my game and I am working a lot on my serve and because it is probably, you know, the most that I have to work on my game and then I just try, you know, to work a little bit every groundstroke and volley, so I am happy and go slow, and I think that my game is better. It has improved and, you know, I am just going to keep going.

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