May 17, 2000
ROME, ITALY
Q. Mary, were you pleased with some of your shots by your reactions today?
MARY PIERCE: No, not at all.
Q. Why? A little rusty after Hilton Head?
MARY PIERCE: Yeah, I think so. I just missed some shots that, I mean, not that I
shouldn't miss because everybody makes mistakes, but that I personally didn't think that I
should miss. But, you know, that happens and it's my first match since Hilton Head, my
first match in three weeks, my first match on red clay in Europe. So I just have to be a
little bit more forgiving of myself, more patient. This is my first match. It can only get
better.
Q. Did you ever think that the way you were making mistakes there was a danger this one
could actually slip away from you?
MARY PIERCE: No, you never think like that - at least I don't. I take it point by
point. I knew what I was doing wrong, I just knew that it was just time to, you know, play
a few games or a few points. Even if I lost the first set, I just knew it was going to get
better. I was never worried.
Q. Was there a specific turning point in the first set where you suddenly thought,
"I'm warming up now, I'm getting this?"
MARY PIERCE: Not really. I mean she was up 5-4, serving 30-love, anything could happen.
I could have lost the first set. I just hung in there and tried to stay focused for every
point, point by point. I tried to work on the things I felt I wasn't doing well and
hopefully start to play better.
End of FastScripts….
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