US OPEN

August 27, 1997

Iva Majoli

IVA MAJOLI: Yeah. Well, I think Sandrine is playing good, I think every draw is tough. I just don't feel good out there. Like maybe I'm not in the best shape at the moment. I don't know. Like my game is just not the way I want it to be. My ball, it's short, I never know what to do. I'm pretty disappointed with the way I've been playing, you know, the first match and this match. There's nothing I can do right now. I just have to prepare better for the few more tournaments that I have left. You know, when you know you have a good draw and a good chance, I knew this match was going to be tough, but, you know, then after was pretty open. I just feel bad I blew the chance that I had. This is a Grand Slam. It's not the same like any other tournament. You know, there's nothing you can do when you lose. I mean, I'm just so disappointed that I lost.

IVA MAJOLI: Well, yeah. I'm sure. They have nothing to lose, and I'm the one that has to win. Maybe that's the reason that I'm so tight, because I never had this pressure before. You know, after you win the French, you go like, "Oh, Majoli plays Testud, no problem." But people don't know she's going to try everything. If I'm a little tight, nervous, my shots aren't working too well, she's going to beat me because the tennis got much better. I guess, I just have to get used to and deal with the pressure that comes with winning a Grand Slam. I guess I wasn't ready for that right now. It's good if I learn something from this match, you know. I just have to go out there and not care about anything except my tennis and just play, you know, be aggressive, go for the shots, and then lose, not play like nothing and lose.

IVA MAJOLI: Yeah.

IVA MAJOLI: Well, I mean, I don't really think it was the end. I played good the first game in the third set, and then I just fall apart. I gave her a chance to come back into the match. She made some good points; I made some easy mistake. Then I got more tight. You know, she took the advantage.

IVA MAJOLI: It is. It was. I think it was a pretty big point. 2-1, 30-All or something. I just think I wasn't aggressive enough the whole match. I was just pushing the ball. The second set when I played good, aggressive, I won easy. Then I kind of just stopped. I don't know why.

IVA MAJOLI: I mean, she's been playing great tennis this year. She had some good results. I lost to her in the semifinals last week, so I knew the second match was going to be very tough. I expected a lot more from myself. I expected if I played the way I played in the second set that I would win the match. But I didn't play. I played bad. Then they get even more confident. But she's one of the players not ranked who are tough to play, you know, in the first rounds. Because I think the first rounds are always the toughest ones. If you get through them, then everything is open, you start playing better and better each match. But I just have to try to do that from the beginning of the tournament.

IVA MAJOLI: The situation was so bad, I like to help people as much time as I have. She was, I don't know the word in English, but she was sick and I just tried to pay for her treatment, to get to go to England, get some surgeries. If you have a chance, it's nice to help other people.

IVA MAJOLI: Four.

IVA MAJOLI: Five and a half.

IVA MAJOLI: No, no, no. She lives with her parents. She doesn't live with me.

IVA MAJOLI: No, no, no. That was a mistake.

IVA MAJOLI: Yes.

IVA MAJOLI: After Wimbledon I didn't play much. I was injured. I played three tournaments in the States. Haven't done as well as I wanted to do. I think I just wasn't prepared, you know, at all. I mean, I couldn't play very much. Just started to play one day before Canadian Open. It's tough when you don't play for three or four weeks. You know, you come to a tournament and you have a tough opponent like Sandrine. There is nothing really you can do. Against some players you can still come back because you're No. 4 and maybe they get scared. But Sandrine, she had some good wins this year. She feels pretty confident. She wanted to take her chance. You know, I think it's the same for everybody, you know, if they lose. Everyone expects, even yourself, that you have to win. It's real disappointing, you know. I'm just going to try to go out a little tonight and forget about it, just have some fun.

IVA MAJOLI: Well, I mean, the last two matches that I played her, my balls were so short. She has really good backhand. She was able to control her game with her backhand. I knew her forehand was a little bit weaker, so I wanted to put more pressure on her forehand. I did pretty good in the second set, but then, like I said, my balls were just too short, not too much depth. She was able to even hit her forehand. So, you know, when you play bad, they can all play everything, if you give them a chance.