PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 12, 2004

Marissa Irvin

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Marissa, please.

MARISSA IRVIN: How did I manage to get through? Well, I just kept concentrating and kept believing that I could pull it out, and didn't let myself get down when opportunities -- you know, when I had the opportunity and didn't capitalize on them. I didn't allow myself to get angry. I just looked on to the next point. You know, I felt like I was in control and playing pretty well, that I just needed to get that one extra point. And finally I did.

MARISSA IRVIN: Well, after I had those few match points when she was serving at 4-5, that was tough because -- especially the first match point, I thought I played it pretty well, played it aggressively. I didn't want to -- you know, the last thing you want to do is look back on a match that you had all these opportunities and then say, "Oh, I wasn't aggressive; I just waited for her to hopefully make a mistake." I didn't want that. I didn't want to be looking back and going, "Gosh, if I just would have gone for it, maybe something good would have happened." I thought I played that well. She played it better than I did on those two match points. I just wanted to make sure that I held my serve. Then the tiebreaker, you know, I've played a few tiebreakers in this tournament so far. So I think maybe that helped me a little bit. I knew I needed to get out early. I couldn't get down quickly, like a 3-Love or 4-Love, because she's a very outstanding player, and she's been in big situations before. I knew that if I allowed her to get up, then coming back would probably not happen. I think we were both, you know, nervous. We both missed some shots that we probably typically wouldn't miss. Fortunately for me, I guess maybe I played it a little better than she did. But it came down to, you know, a few points in the end.

MARISSA IRVIN: Well, it's encouraging. This tournament's been encouraging. I came into this tournament thinking I was playing pretty well. So it's nice to see that, indeed, it's paying off. I've been working pretty hard. It's nice to see it come to fruition.

MARISSA IRVIN: No.

MARISSA IRVIN: Beating Justine Henin at the Stanford tournament two years ago.

MARISSA IRVIN: Bank of the West at Stanford. I mean, I've had a few pretty good wins. This would rank among the best, though, yes. I beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, too.

MARISSA IRVIN: There was a WTA event in Hawaii, a few years back, as well.

MARISSA IRVIN: Uh-huh.

MARISSA IRVIN: Well. Sure, I mean, you know, whenever you have an opportunity, even when I was serving in the second set, I think it was 5-4, 6-5, I can't remember, but I was up 30-15 and had a relatively easy shot, kind of second guessed myself, whether it was going to go in and out. I realized it's probably going to go in. I swung and missed it by a bit. Whenever you have an opportunity that gets squandered, it's hard to stomach. But if you allow yourself to worry about it and dwell on it, you're completely messing yourself up and nothing good is going to happen. When those two match points in the third set at 5-4, when she came back and won the game, she played better than I did, and she deserved to win the game. That was just how I looked at it, that I had to hold my serve.

MARISSA IRVIN: I was happy to be up 3-0 as opposed to down 3-0, I'll tell you that. I definitely felt like I was getting the opportunities I needed throughout the match and wasn't closing it out when I had the opportunity each time. At 3-0, by no means did I think, "Great, I've got her now." No, not once. It was still anybody's match at that point in time, definitely.

MARISSA IRVIN: When I beat Henin, I qualified for that tournament. So certainly playing quallies can help out because you have a few matches under your belt. You've been, you know, in the situation at the tournament that you're playing at. You've played with the balls, the ball kids. There is a certain amount to be gained from that. There's also the aspect of I've played three matches and she hasn't, and it's been hot out here. Physically, you know, it's tiring. But certainly there are positive aspects to playing qualifying.

MARISSA IRVIN: 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

MARISSA IRVIN: No. That was a good one. My other probably two big results were I got to the fourth round at the Nasdaq in 2002, beat some pretty big names along the way, yeah. Third round of the French.

MARISSA IRVIN: 2002.

MARISSA IRVIN: No, last year, 2003, third round of the French. 2002 I got to the fourth round of the Nasdaq.

MARISSA IRVIN: No.

MARISSA IRVIN: Well, actually I was the second match today. I was somewhere in the middle yesterday. I got plenty of rest. I went to bed pretty early. I was pretty tired. It was fine.

MARISSA IRVIN: I lost the first set, I was down 5-3. The paper said 5-2, but it wasn't, it was 5-3. The girl that I was playing, she's a really talented young player. She was playing quite well. I wasn't really -- I wasn't playing too well. But she was forcing it and playing a good match. I think just maybe the fact that I've been out here a little longer, a little more seasoned, to use like a very overused word, kind of helped me out there. I kept, you know, plugging along, kept believing that I could pull the match out. Eventually I did.

MARISSA IRVIN: I don't understand. I'm sorry.

MARISSA IRVIN: She did, in the third set. I mean, I didn't see -- she was sprinting around the court in the first set with the likes of Serena Williams. The only other person I've ever been on a court with that was moving like that, I'll tell you that. But to keep that up for three sets, I mean, I don't know. I guess she couldn't do it in the end. I felt bad for her because that's not a fun way to go out, certainly not necessarily a fun way to win either. I saw her slowing down a bit. I didn't know -- had no idea she was cramping until the third set. I didn't have any idea, because we had a 10-minute break in between sets. As far as I know, she didn't call for the trailer. I had no idea until she finally did in the third. But I certainly, you know, felt bad for her. From what I hear, she's fine now, so.