CHASE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE COREL WTA TOUR

November 23, 1997

Mary Pierce

Q. Were you tired at all in the third set?

MARY PIERCE: No, not in the third set. In the second I got tired, but third set I felt better, it was okay.

MARY PIERCE: Yeah, I agree. I was looking forward to today's match playing five sets, to see what it was like. And you really -- you try to prepare yourself, but you don't know what it's like until you're in it and doing it. So I knew that definitely trying to win the first set was very key for today's match, it was really close. She served really well. She never let down. I didn't really have many opportunities to break her. I felt like I was holding my serve really strong, I was serving well also. At the tiebreak I was up 4-2 and it was close, I think there were just a couple of little openings in the doorway that I had and I didn't really finish it off or take advantage of those. And I think that's what made the difference in the first set.

MARY PIERCE: I wasn't really thinking about what effect that would have to her, but I knew that I guess she'd be surprised, because every time I played her I've played her from the baseline and she's always stayed at the baseline. I was always really surprised she came back and never came in, because that's more or less her game. So today I was expecting the same thing from her, to stay back more or less. I knew for me to beat her I had to come in and be aggressive. And it was working. And I think it worked and I think that next time I play her I have an even better idea of what I need to do.

MARY PIERCE: Well, it was more specific for Jana because I know that to beat her I had to come in. But it's something that I've been working on this year, trying to do that in matches more and more. And I think this week I did it the most I have so far this year. And especially since it's indoor and the surface makes it easier to do than playing on clay courts or something. But that's something that I'm definitely going to start doing more and more and taking advantage of my good serves, my good ground strokes, and just going up and finishing the point sooner, making it easier on myself and using up less energy.

MARY PIERCE: Thank you. I'm happy and I'm not happy at the same time. Basically, I'm pretty satisfied. If I would have gotten here, I came here Saturday night, and they told me you would be in the finals a week from now, not that I wouldn't believe them, because I always believe in myself, but having been sick, missing a lot of tournaments, not playing a lot of matches, not being able to train, didn't play so well in Chicago, and took the week off to try to get fitter and get ready to play here, I'm really happy, I played three great matches, beat No. 1 in the world. And I beat two other great players. When you come here to this tournament, it's the last one of the year, you've got all the best girls on the Tour, and every match is tough. So I'm happy that I made the finals, but I'm not happy I didn't win today. But Jana played a great match, she's playing really well right now, she also won the doubles. I'm not ashamed of myself, I have a lot to look forward to next year.

MARY PIERCE: She's always served well against me. That's a strong point of her game. I think that she really mixed it up well. And in the important times she only double faulted once, but other than that she made a lot of great first serves.

MARY PIERCE: An easy time with my game?

MARY PIERCE: No, I don't know.

MARY PIERCE: Yeah, my legs were still pretty sore. They felt the best today they have in the last few days. But both my groin muscles were pretty sore today. It's not really an excuse, because it's the last match and you try not to think about it and push through it. I had a little trouble running in the third set, I think that's why I missed a few volleys, I wasn't coming to the net as quickly as I could be, instead of the volley being higher, it was lower, so it was difficult to make the shot. But I can rest now, the year's over.

MARY PIERCE: Not much, just -- I was a little bit tired, like I said, in that second set, and I was just trying to get through it and hopefully keep it close, keep it tight, anything can happen maybe in the second set. But she took advantage of that weak moment that I had and really played well and kept her game and her level up and I wasn't worried or anything like that because I knew there was five sets and I just tried to play point after point.

MARY PIERCE: Actually I have about three and a half, four days vacation, and then I have to go to Europe and play two exhibition and a few, what would you call it, media -- not media, sponsor obligations, I guess. And then I start probably training around the 10th or something of December, before I leave.