WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2005

Mary Pierce

THE MODERATOR: Mary Pierce and Mahesh Bhupathi, who are the 2005 Wimbledon Mixed Double Champions. Congratulations. Who would like to ask the first question?

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Drought, I guess, I don't know. For me, eight is not so bad, but you guys make me feel like I haven't won a Grand Slam since I haven't won in two years. Obviously, we had a chance coming into this morning because we've been playing really well. We just played some really high-quality tennis. It would have taken something special for someone to beat us today.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: We have a common friend. He set us up together. I didn't have a partner last minute, and Mary really doesn't normally play mixed. But, you know, I think some I would say divine intervention, she wanted to play mixed this fortnight. He asked me. I said sure. Obviously, we weren't seeded. Seedings in mixed doubles doesn't mean much.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: I think we'll play as much as we can. Obviously, her singles is her first priority. As long as she can keep healthy, we'll take it one Slam at a time. It's not like a doubles partnership where it's a year-long thing. If we have an opportunity, we'll definitely play again. I'm sure. We definitely enjoyed it a lot.

MARY PIERCE: On playing again with Mahesh?

MARY PIERCE: Oh, yeah, I would definitely love to. I've said before I've wanted to play with him for a while, and it just never worked out. Like he said, I usually don't play a lot of mixed doubles. It's been a few years since I have actually. Now that I'm feeling healthier, fitter, I'm able to play more. It really just depends a lot on how I'm feeling physically. Right now I've been feeling pretty good. I wasn't playing doubles here, so I felt like I could handle playing singles and mixed here, so... I had a great time.

MARY PIERCE: I had a great time. I mean, that was the most fun I've ever had playing mixed doubles. I have a lot of respect and admiration for Mahesh as a player. He's done a lot of great things. I really was able to learn some things playing with him, the way he communicates in doubles. It's just been a lot of fun for me, as well. He's a great player, great guy. I couldn't ask for more.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: You know, we came into the tournament obviously up seeded. We had a very tough draw. We had the defending champions early. All the big teams were in our half. I think one thing we just kept saying to each other before the match was, "Let's have some fun." It showed in our tennis. We didn't really get stressed. Actually we didn't lose a set. So we just enjoyed it. Today we were down 5-4 in the first match, but we found a way to break back and get back in. We had a lot of fun there. I think that's what actually makes a good mixed doubles team.

MARY PIERCE: No (laughter). No, not surprised. I mean, I don't really think that far ahead. You know, of course, you play, you want to give your best and enjoy your moments out there. Everybody wants to win when they're out there on the court. No one wants to lose. So, of course, that's your objective when you go into a tournament. We took it match by match really. Not surprised because I feel like I've been playing really well. I know Mahesh's level of play in doubles. Not surprised. Very pleased.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: I'm going to play with Martin Damm for the rest of the year starting in a couple of weeks. I have always believed that he has kind of underachieved because he hasn't had the right partners. He's a fabulous doubles player. So hopefully we'll give it a shot and get going soon.

MARY PIERCE: Leaving for France tomorrow to meet my Fed Cup team that's already in the south of France. Starting their training camp on Thursday. We play against Spain next weekend. After then that I go back to the States, I go home to Florida for a couple weeks to practice on hard courts and get used to the new surface. Then I play San Diego, LA, Toronto, then the US Open.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Well, I've had a good coach in the past. You know, Bob Carmichael obviously coached us for a long time. He taught Leander and me to communicate really well on the court. How to call balls, keeping each other relaxed. Obviously, it's tense situations being out there on Centre Court or semifinals of a Grand Slam. I think I picked that up really well from him. I think she picked it up in two minutes, so it was very easy for us to communicate with each other on the court.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: I think we did that. We definitely tapped. It's just a sign of encouragement, be it a good point or a near-miss just to make sure that we're on the same team, looking to go forward.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: It's just a matter of confidence --

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Yeah, I mean, we had a couple of chances last year to win. I think Max and me lost in the semis of the French. I think I lost the mixed finals somewhere, maybe at the French, too. I haven't been out of it or anything. It's just been kind of a slow year with Todd because we raised the bar so much and expect so much. But, you know, having said that, I think I'm back on track now.

MARY PIERCE: Fantastic. So happy. I was really excited. I was just saying to Mahesh before we went to get our trophies, I said, "There's something special about this tournament, something special about winning here." I'm really happy. It's great. It's Wimbledon. Winning a title here is fantastic. It's really special. Hopefully that will give me confidence to win some other titles in other events in the future.

MARY PIERCE: No regrets, no. I did the best that I could. Venus played a fantastic match. I thought she was playing great tennis. Obviously, she is. She won the tournament here. I felt the second set, I got into the match, I was playing better. Had five set points, you know. That second set could have gone any way. If it did, I would have liked to have seen a third set. But that's how it was meant to be for that day and I gave my best. There's always a reason for everything.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: No. It's progressively got a lot better over the fortnight. Obviously, a couple days off now is definitely going to help.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Just tightness between matches. But the trainers here are excellent. They get me loosened up. They warm it up with heat cream. They basically get me ready. So they're very good. They were a big help.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: It was just a freak accident, freak incident. I played in Halle. We won our first round. I woke up the next morning and I couldn't really straighten up. They don't know what happened, but it happens on grass apparently. A couple other guys have had it.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: No, it's nothing that serious, no.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: I guess it's just a matter of complementing each other to the highest level. Todd, especially because he's won so many Grand Slams, he's won nine times here, I guess he's used to a certain chemistry - the chemistry at the highest level. When you see Moodie and Huss, they played two tournaments together, they're Wimbledon champions. That chemistry you can't teach. It's probably built in between them. Tomorrow you probably put Moodie with me, we won't get past the first round. It just happens. It's a tough question to answer. You find that chemistry or you don't.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Yeah, of course. I mean, Todd's a legend. It was very exciting for me to get a chance to play with him. I definitely enjoyed it a lot, especially since we had Mark Woodforde coaching us. It was a great four or five months. But, yeah, it was a little disappointing because we were looking forward to ending on a great note here. It would have been nice to give him a 10th Wimbledon. But those guys won the tournament, so obviously it wasn't a bad loss.

MAHESH BHUPATHI: Probably not. We haven't talked about it yet. Maybe after the tournament.