XXVI OLYMPIC GAMES

July 26, 1996

Mary Pierce

MARY PIERCE: No, not at all. I don't know, it was kind of a weird match, I guess. I started out fairly well in the beginning. I was up 2-Love and just felt like -- I guess today my serve wasn't there, and I missed a lot of easy forehands that is usually my favorite -- one of my favorite shots. So that was really important. I had a lot of easy shots and I missed those. Just felt like I made a few mistakes when I shouldn't have; not to make her play enough; didn't make her move enough - just things like that.

MARY PIERCE: No, that was the first time today.

MARY PIERCE: Well, I know Ines' game. I have seen her on the tour before, and she has a really good game. And she can be a dangerous player if you let her be. She has a good serve, and she got quite a bit of first serves in today, so that made it a little tough for me to try and attack her serve. She has solid groundstrokes, and she is a fighter, so she really didn't give me any chances. I gave her all the chances throughout the whole match, and that is really hard to win a match against anybody that way.

MARY PIERCE: Just my stomach was getting a little tight, that is about all.

MARY PIERCE: Well, if I would have found the answer already, then that wouldn't -- I don't know. I mean, I guess, there is probably a reason for it. Probably maybe a few reasons for it, I don't -- I guess there are -- not really much I can say to that question because, you know, I figure that everybody is human and you can't always be 100%, especially tennis. It's a pretty tough season, you have to practice and be ready every day. You have to be on top of it every day, and I guess that is kind of hard. And I think I had a hard year last year, even though I won the Australian Open and won the tournament in Tokyo. I had a very hard year mentally. It was very stressful for me. So, you know, I feel like I have been practicing well the last few months, and feeling like my game is starting to come back together again.

MARY PIERCE: How many times have I been asked that question?

MARY PIERCE: Didn't read much about me yet, have you?

MARY PIERCE: Oh, okay. I was born in Canada, Montreal. I have lived there for about five, six months; moved to Florida; lived there for -- you know, I grew up there and moved to France when I was 13. And because the Federation was helping me to practice and everything and I started playing Federation Cup at like 15 or 16, so I have been playing for France ever since then.

MARY PIERCE: English is my first language. It is more natural to me. I learned French when I was 13, but I have no problems communicating or anything.

MARY PIERCE: Right.

MARY PIERCE: Just was not making as many mistakes before, that is just all. There is nothing special, you know, about it. If when I was winning or if I was losing, I mean, it was just, you know, me making my shots, playing a little deeper or doing more with the ball. That is all, really.

MARY PIERCE: That was probably the point in the match. That was the most important point of the whole match. It was kind of stupid, I was on the forehand side of the court and hit a backhand. I didn't know why I bounced it in the first place. I should have taken it in the air. That would have given me the break and I would have served for the match.

MARY PIERCE: No, I kept trying even when I was serving, trying to even it out; get back into the match, but.....

MARY PIERCE: What did I expect?

MARY PIERCE: What do you mean?

MARY PIERCE: Every tournament I play I try to do the best I can. I believe in myself and I think I have the best game in women's tennis and I think I have proved that to everybody and to myself that I can win big tournaments, but, you know, I go in having the confidence. I don't put pressure on myself saying, okay, "I want to win this" or "I should win this." So I just take every match as it comes.