PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 27, 2005

Amelie Mauresmo

Q. How much did yesterday's match affect your play today?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think I had pretty good recuperation. The beginning was a little bit tough because I had to get things going and probably still a bit rusty from yesterday, but once a few games were behind me then I really felt it was getting physically better and better. I just think she, two things she did much better than me today: Serving and returning. That made the difference at the end of the match 4 and 4, it's close, but it's not -- it's not close enough. She played better than me today and only on hard court, being her best surface, she's tough to beat.

AMELIE MAURESMO: You have to adjust a little bit more. Obviously the serve is not so effective on hard court and the serve and volley game as well. So you have to mix it up a little bit more and try to -- also the slice on the backhand is not so effective as well. Yeah, few adjustments to make here and there that let her actually, you know, play her game and dictate the points right from the beginning sometimes.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Oh, yeah. I really felt I had some great moments on serve and volley, but also some tougher ones when she returned pretty well with angles and stuff so it's pretty hard to read also. But yeah, that's why it's hard to serve and volley all the time against her, except maybe on grass.

AMELIE MAURESMO: She was up and down a little bit on the serve but I felt she served pretty well on the big games and the big moments, especially in that first set when she had a few breakpoints down and was able to come up with the big serve. Yeah, probably still up and down for her on the serve but at some point was really able to step up and hit some big ones.

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, it was in. Definitely in, but I wasn't well played enough to play the right way.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I warmed up a little longer than usually, just to -- and which was the right thing to do. As I said, as the much also was going I really felt better and better physically, so yeah, I had to get all, I don't know, toxins out probably out of the body from the first moment today.

AMELIE MAURESMO: It was a bit windy today, a little bit more the other day during the week. Yeah, when you were on one side it was much easier to serve and come in. I didn't think that it affected the game a lot.

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, I think it's -- no, you know, I am now focusing on the US and, you know, things are going be different there. That's the way it is. That's the game -- the game of tennis is like this. You lose, you win and you keep going because that's the way it is, because every week you have new challenges to face, so it's all right.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think since I was returning pretty short and, you know, especially on her first serves, probably, then it gives her the opportunity to really come in and then she likes to come in, dictate, and play the big shots. She likes to play in one, two or three shots and that's -- you know, by returning pretty short, I gave her the opportunity to play like that. So a few things to adjust there.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Like if we would play at the Open, what would be different there?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I don't know. It might be in a couple of weeks, but, you know, not the same place, obviously, maybe for her a bit different there in New York and -- but, I don't know, really. It's still a little bit far for me to think about that match. I am not there yet. She's not there yet, and, you know, things are going to be difficult for both of us, first of all, to get there, but if it happens, just, you know, crowd and everything, but probably the way we both going to enter the court is going to be different also. In a Grand Slam it is a little bit different.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Oh, about the -- (Laughs) about -- nothing special, just -- (laughter) --

AMELIE MAURESMO: Really?

AMELIE MAURESMO: (Laughs).

AMELIE MAURESMO: There is no secret. Whatever. It doesn't really matter.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I know that's the way it is. I am aware of that, but, you know, I just -- streaks -- how do you say, streaks are made to be broken. Is that how you say it? So I just hope that-- each time I hope it's going to be this time and that's just the way it is. As long as she plays the tennis she plays today and she's hitting the ball so hard, nothing really to say about that.

AMELIE MAURESMO: For a lot of people it's a bad matchup the way she plays because she's very powerful, returning very well, serving very well also, so then it's tough to get into a point where you have the opportunity to do something with the ball, because right from the beginning she likes to really take control.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I think, from what I have seen, I think she's still been practicing and she said, I mean, she's been practicing pretty hard because we can see that physically she's moving pretty well and I think the back is not affecting her game anymore, but it's always quite impressive to come back and win a tournament when you have been out for a few weeks like that.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think it's good. I was able to really make sure my game is there; make sure that physically I am strong enough just like the way I played today for big battles and come back the day after even, you know, I didn't really know what to expect for today and how I would feel physically and, you know, I felt pretty good. It's always good to feel that you are strong on this part of the game.

AMELIE MAURESMO: That was pretty different.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I knew -- I have played against Lindsay many times, so I knew what to expect and I know exactly how she plays the pace of the ball and the speed of the ball. No, it didn't matter.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Oh, yeah.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I had less winners. (Laughter).

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, no, not really. I felt I could have, even though maybe physically a little down after yesterday's match, I really felt I could have done it today, no, I was pumped up still.

AMELIE MAURESMO: That's how I felt. I mean, you never know unless it's really obvious, so it's just that's the way it is. Sometimes you are not happy about calls and maybe I was right; maybe I was wrong, I don't know.