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TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 30, 2000

Monica Seles

MIAMI, FLORIDA

WTA: Questions for Monica.

Q. Have you any explanation what happened today?

MONICA SELES: I think she played well and I wasn't playing well and I had a hard time moving. A combination of that was not good today.

Q. Was it your ankle or anything else?

MONICA SELES: No. I just couldn't move, so.

Q. Is that a conditioning thing?

MONICA SELES: No, no. I have a slight problem with my ankle. But, I mean, it's no big deal.

Q. How did it feel today compared to your last match?

MONICA SELES: It felt fine.

Q. Were you trying at the beginning to shorten up the points so that the rallies would be a little shorter, and that didn't work?

MONICA SELES: No. I think I was trying to go for more shots than I would have liked to because I knew I had a hard time moving sideways on it. When I started doing that, I started making many more errors, and I could not bend down for balls today. A combination of that against someone who is as consistent as Martina, it's not going to work.

Q. Do you shrug this off as a bad day, another loss? Is there something that could linger with it?

MONICA SELES: Well, a combination of both. I mean, I don't think it's going to linger with me tomorrow morning. I know why in my own brain what happened. But definitely, I mean, I just have to approach the match A or B, and today I was kind of C, in the middle of deciding yes or no.

Q. Even on some other times you've played her, it hasn't always gone well. Is there a constant thing that's defined her dominance over you?

MONICA SELES: No. She just played much better, more consistently, especially the last four times we have played.

Q. Have you ever had a worse loss than this?

MONICA SELES: I probably had a few. I mean, I had to Steffi a few. I had to Martina I think here two years ago.

Q. Given all that you've accomplished, what keeps you going in the game?

MONICA SELES: I have no idea (laughter).

Q. Do days like this make you think about maybe retirement?

MONICA SELES: I really have no idea. I mean, today my main thing is to be healthy.

Q. Do you have an injury problem?

MONICA SELES: No, I just had a hard time moving today because I have a slight problem.

Q. Your foot didn't keep you from moving?

MONICA SELES: I had a hard time moving.

Q. Can you say what the problem is?

MONICA SELES: I have a twisted ankle.

Q. The score was obviously pretty shocking. A lot more shocking was that people booed.

MONICA SELES: Well, I think serving two double-faults at the end definitely didn't help.

Q. Do you still have a passion for this game?

MONICA SELES: Today, after a match like this? It's tough. In general, even yesterday, before this match took place, how much passion do you still have for tennis? That's a tough question. I mean, that I'll keep to myself.

Q. At this point, what's the goal? Do you think you can be a No. 1 player again?

MONICA SELES: I mean, it's just so general for me to go that much forward. I'm just looking forward to the next few hours. My brain is not going forward to a month or two months at this second.

Q. Looking back, do you wish you had just defaulted?

MONICA SELES: No, not at all.

Q. Emotionally you seem pretty down after this. What exactly are you feeling right now?

MONICA SELES: Well, it's hard not to be down after a performance like today. If you're an athlete, when you're out there not playing at all well, that would be terrible if I would be feeling happy after a match like this. I definitely feel very disappointed. It's the semifinals. I really expected a lot more of myself than what I showed today.

Q. Obviously because of injuries and other things, over the last few years you haven't spent as much time on the court as a lot of these people you're playing. You're in the semis. Where does that put you? By no means are you always having bad results. At times you're still one of the best players in the world.

MONICA SELES: I have no idea. Right now, I don't really think about that. Right now I'm just thinking about this match, what happened out there.

Q. Does she beat you because she's the sort of player you used to be?

MONICA SELES: No. I think she's a totally different player. I mean, Martina is not a hard-hitting power. I was more of an overpowering player. I don't think my game even way back was similar to her style of the game. I think she'd probably be closest to Chrissy.

Q. How much today was her victory or you losing?

MONICA SELES: That's hard. I mean, I've just come off the court. The match was over so fast. I'll have a little bit more time to figure that out.

Q. Not only was it disappointing, I'm sure, but were you hurt to hear some of the fans booing at the end of the match?

MONICA SELES: I think definitely if it was a closer match. When I served those two double-faults, "Wow, what else can I do in this match?" I sure didn't pick a day to have a performance like that out there. I'm sure they really wanted a match closer match than what happened out there today.

Q. Are you embarrassed?

MONICA SELES: No, not at all.

Q. When an athlete is injured, has time away from what he or she does, there's always time to think to yourself about the future. Have you thought in the early parts of this year when you were off with the injury about maybe a second life, what eventually you'd like to do with the rest of your life?

MONICA SELES: Definitely. I mean, I know what I would like to do, what other things, definitely. At this point that's not what I want to do. Oh, yeah, of course.

Q. Do you feel old?

MONICA SELES: What a great question.

Q. It's stupid.

MONICA SELES: You answered it yourself, very well.

Q. You know what I mean. In women's tennis --?

MONICA SELES: So you're basing that on my performance today?

End of FastScriptsâ€¦.

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