HOME DEPOT CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 9, 2002

Magdalena Maleeva

Q. Maggie, it's tough to win a match when you can't hold serve in the last set and a half?

MAGDADLENA MALEEVA: I didn't even realize that. Yeah, I didn't serve well on my other match, and today was quite okay. Really, I'm going to say the same thing as everyone else. I'm really tired, and my shoulder was really tired, and I don't want to say it, but that's why. I didn't get nervous or anything. I'm really tired, so I couldn't. I don't have any speed in any arm. It's, like, gone. It was already two days ago. I was surprised because on practice I was serving quite okay, so I mean, still, considering that, I think I did quite okay. I just couldn't get pumped up. I don't know. It's kind of like the aggresstivity is gone, which is really very normal, and I'm usually much more, like, vocal and I encourage myself much more. When this is gone, it's not the same tennis.

MAGDELENA MALEEVA: Probably. I mean, I'm really happy to be where I am, but to focus really on every point and constantly to remind yourself what you're trying to do, this is also tiring. I did quite okay. I just started terrible in the third set, and she's too solid. I mean, you can't give any free points. I mean, I don't want to say how tired I am. I'm physically and mentally tired.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: That's why I'm tired. I wouldn't be tired if I didn't have those results.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Exactly.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: It doesn't feel like it, does it?

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: This is what it was. We were all very excited to come here, and we all fought very hard to make the top 16, so I was very glad to make it to here, and it's really unfortunate that we have to play in front of those small crowds, but hopefully it will get better.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: It feels like it's the end of the year and I want to go home.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Not a minor tournament, because you have the best players. It's just unfortunate that you have Henin and Clijsters playing yesterday, two of the best players in the world, and there was just a few people. That's just unfortunate. I hope it will get better.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I don't know much about it. I guess LA is a very big city, so probably the promotion was not very good. I'm not the one who organized the tournament, so I don't know exactly the details, but I don't want to criticize, because I don't know exactly what has been done and not been done.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: No, I'm not saying that. I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's obvious that for such a competition, there are too few people, and that's it.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I can challenge them. Jennifer will always be a challenge. I didn't see how Venus played yesterday, but Venus looks quite solid. She looks good physically, so she will always have a chance against them.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: At that point, when it got to 2-all, I had the momentum going there, and it's unfortunate that I didn't win that game and the next game. I think I had 30-love and there I had chances. I didn't capitalize on them. This was a very important moment. The first set was close, and I could have done better.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I haven't?

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I try to think that about every person I play. She wasn't playing great the last few weeks, and, obviously, I knew I had a chance.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I was all the time, every rally we had, it was such a struggle to just have speed. Probably at the end of the second set, I was really glad. I tried not to think about it.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I think today, you have to fight. Every point is very important. I don't save myself. Maybe it's 40-love, you go for your second serve or something, but I don't believe that in such a close match you can save yourself, and there is nothing to save yourself for, because there are no more tournaments. I did my best.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Well, I guess what I've showed this year is that I can do a little bit of everything. I can be aggressive. I can have a slice. I can go to the net, which, unfortunately, I didn't do today, and I really had those chances to go and finish a few points, and for some reason I doubted a little bit, so I think I have variety in my game. I'm very fit physically, even though I'm tired today, but usually I work on my fitness, and I have speed and I'm fast, so I have a bit of everything. Hopefully I'll improve my serve. Sometimes this year I hit a good serve, sometimes I didn't.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I'm extremely happy that the year is over. It's always normal to be here, and I wish I had won, but I think it's really nice to be 27 and realize you're playing some of your best tennis. It's just you really can see what you have been trying to work on, and I don't want to be one of those players that had their best time when they were 22 and 23, and then they're kind of always a little bit not as good. I'm really excited about Moscow and about the whole year, so I just need some time off.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Nothing. I'm just going to go home.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I work a little bit differently. I don't practice maybe four hours a day, but work a lot more on specific things, and I try to always be fit, and I don't get injured anymore, so all of these components help me play the best at the moment.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: No, I don't practice less, but I concentrate on different things, and it's always quality over quantity. For some things I work more, and for others that I used to work more on, I work less. I don't spend hours on the court hitting balls. When I'm on the court for practice, I know exactly what I'm working on. It could be just a 45-minute practice, but once you've done what you wanted to, it's much more fulfilling than just exhausting yourself.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I guess the weather is different here. I haven't spent that much time here. I don't know. For me, there is not so much difference in places. There is more difference in big cities and small cities, and I think people in the cities generally tend to be more alike and people in the small villages in the countries tend to be more alike, and so, California is a nice place.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I hate that. Thank God, not as much. It's getting there. It's nothing to compare to here yet.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: I realized that. All the scores were 1 and 2. Hopefully the crowd enjoyed that. The other matches were all so quick.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Everyone has been saying that they're dead, so I guess that's the reason.

MAGDALENA MALEEVA: Oh, come on, you can be, believe me. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. It's just a fact, and I think we all did our best and it's normal to be tired sometimes, but everyone did their best. Even Justine yesterday, I talked to her, and she's got the flu, and it's normal because we don't have the season off. We play for 11 months, 10 and a half. Maybe we should have less tournaments. Thank you.