WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2000

Sonya Jeyaseelan

MODERATOR: Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. I have Sonya Jeyaseelan.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I didn't feel the same way because I've now played a lot of top players and I've had some wins over them. But, I mean, at Wimbledon, she's coming off the finals of the French Open, I haven't -- it hasn't sunk in yet. I think it's almost the same as beating Venus.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Pretty much the same.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I would say a little bit more because it's Wimbledon, it's a Grand Slam, and this is where you play the big players. If you have an upset, I mean, I always enjoy. I just have to stay calm because I have doubles still today. Tomorrow I'll enjoy it.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Yeah. Well, she has a game that is like a clay courter, she's going to be patient, work the point. She started playing a little better the first game of the second set. I was shocked actually how easy it was for me. But on the other hand, the first set I was up 3-Love. I made myself make it difficult for me. Actually, I played much better, too, in the second. I gained more confidence. I saw the ball even bigger, so I was more aware of what's happening.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Well, I've had a career very up-and-down. I trained with my dad till I was 18. I had to take a break from that. I took almost two years, traveled on my own, just to find myself, who I am, to play for myself. Finally I moved to Toronto, started to have a better life. Then I decided that it's time to train hard again to be Top 50, to get where my goal is. I moved back to Florida. I trained starting November of '99. I'm able to train six hours a day. I don't have to drive all over the place. It's much easier for me, I'm more relaxed in that atmosphere.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I'm training in Delray Beach in Florida at ITA, International Tennis Academy.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I have a coach. I have like two coaches. They work with me on and off at the academy and on the road. The one here on the road is Alan Ma. At home is Andre Lebel who is also French Canadian.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: It's hard to say because I was focusing more on my game. I noticed some balls she didn't seem to run down as much. But it's grass and it's faster. I have two hands off both sides. Maybe it's harder for her to read the ball, I don't know. I give her some credit, too. She is coming off the French Open, playing two weeks of clay court matches. But on the other hand she had a good win over Anne Kremer. If she was not really a hundred percent, she should have lost to Anne Kremer, because Anne Kremer is having an unbelievable game on this surface.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Yeah.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: There was once where I took six weeks off last year after the US Open to reevaluate my whole situation. I've always enjoyed playing. I've always been a good competitor. I've always had good wins here and there. I decided to give it one more shot and work really hard at it because, I mean, I'm talented, but not a born talent where I can't train. I said, if I give it my best shot, if it doesn't work, I can pack it up. Obviously it's showing that it's working, and I'm going to keep going for it.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Well, go back to school and study interior design or fashion, something related to tennis.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I'd love to, yeah. Love to design sport clothing or interior design.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I've done my own place (laughter).

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Yeah, also for like a major company. I'm not interested right now. My goal is tennis right now, stay focused. But I've always enjoyed being different than other people, wearing different things, just having that eye.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: My father is Indian, my mother is Sri Lankan. I was born in Canada.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I've never been to India or Sri Lanka yet. My parents are trying to get me over there to play tennis, play some challengers, be seen as well over there. In those countries, I don't think there's very many female athletes in general, in any sport. I think it would be a good idea to get the youngsters aware that they can also achieve it.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Probably both. If I go that far, I'll make sure I do two in one.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Yes. My parents spoke to me in English.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: They live in Vancouver.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: No. No. Actually, I'm looking forward to going out on the court again and playing because this will help me maintain and not bring out all my energy just over this one win. It will settle me down. I can go out and feel the ball again, go out and have some fun. Tomorrow I think I will have the day off, so I can take it easy, practise a little bit, get some treatment, be ready for the next match.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I was excited. I have to be. I have to enjoy that moment. It's not every day you get those moments in your career, so I had to also enjoy it as well. I mean, that's why you work hard.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: At 5-Love, I didn't expect to be up so easy at 5-Love. She is serving to stay in the match. I sort of rushed a little bit, but I was feeling confident, seeing the ball, moving well. A little bit of nerves started to come. I said, "It's okay, now you get to serve, you can control the pace." As soon as that happened, I was much more relaxed. I closed it out.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Well, I've always had poor results on the grass, so I'd always tell myself, "Maybe you don't enjoy it, you don't have the game style for it." But I do have the game style. I have short, quick back swings, I'm low to the ground. It's an advantage. I do have a decent serve, which surprises the girls. I don't serve-and-volley, but I'll come in once in a while and take it out of the air. The courts are playing slow. It's almost like you're playing on hard courts. That helped me out, too. I think with her slice on a faster surface would have been much more difficult to get under.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I knew about the graveyard court. At one point it came into mind that she lost I think against Sam Smith on this court. I'm not quite sure. Whether it was on Centre Court or graveyard court or Court 13 - I don't know, what are the other courts - I don't think it would mean a difference unless it played a factor in her head.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I think the crowd is always sometimes behind the underdog. They like to see, I'm sure, new faces out there. I mean, if you're playing well, the crowd likes the personality, they get into it, I think it was great that they were behind me. I loved it. I mean, that's why I love playing tennis, is to perform for the people. If I wasn't a tennis player, I would have been a figure skater.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I was already competing in provincials in British Colombia. I was only 12 and 13. I mean, if I would have focused on skating, I could have probably done well, too. It's a different lifestyle. I'm happy I chose this one.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: Why? I didn't really have the choice. My dad sort of made that choice. He made the right choice. I love tennis at the same time, as I love figure skating. But it was something he could get involved with. He couldn't skate himself. He was always falling.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: It was a very difficult time. It was not difficult till I was approximate my teenage years. As soon as you're reaching your 15, 16, you want to become -- you want to do your own things, you want to be independent, you want to make your own decisions. It's difficult. Your parent says one thing, you want to do one thing, there's a little bit of friction. I've been with my dad since I was six years old, day in and day out. He moved to Bollettieri's with me. He did everything for me. He was my cook, my coach, he did my laundry, he helped me with schoolwork. After a while, you just become, you need space. It's healthy.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: We have a great relationship now. It took almost four years to develop a relationship. It's never perfect. It won't are perfect. But he's come around. He's understood that, you know, his daughter he has to let go at one point in time. He can't just hold on to me forever.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: It was difficult. The culture is very different. I mean, as a female in the marriage, she can't be telling him exactly what to do. She's going along with it. She's happy, you know, to see her daughter succeed. It's difficult. Sometimes it's not in the most healthiest environments. I mean, she probably also wanted to see her daughter be something different in life and have a better opportunity in life. That's probably why they came to Canada, too. I mean, I don't know if I would have had the opportunities in my generation in Sri Lanka or India.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I didn't check.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: She won?

SONYA JEYASEELAN: I'm excited. She probably has a good game on this stuff. Last time we played, I beat her on the clay. I have nothing to lose. I'm still the underdog. I know how she plays. I'm just going to make sure that I stay focused and I stay hungry, I fight and stay in the process the whole match. The better player's going to win that day, so.

SONYA JEYASEELAN: The double-handed off both sides?

SONYA JEYASEELAN: When I started, I was very tiny and I couldn't hold the racquet with one hand. My dad made me hold with two hands to have the strength to (indicating). It's unorthodox, ugly, but it was working for me. When Seles came up, he was so happy with the decision (laughter). He was like, "That's it, okay, I made the right choice for Sonya."