XXVI OLYMPIC GAMES

July 29, 1996

Mary Joe Fernandez

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think it's good. Unfortunately this is a team event, and we do have to play against each other. But on the positive side of each other, we're guaranteed a medal. That's the good part of it.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I thought she had her ups and downs. At moments she was pretty consistent. I think she was having a little trouble. She had a lot of mishits and a lot of mistakes off the side. But I think I played aggressively throughout the match. In the beginning I wasn't executing, I was making mistakes, but I kept to the gameplan, and I think that she felt the pressure of me attacking.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Definitely. I took chances, and I was really looking for the shot. She has a lot of spin, and if you don't take it early, and I was hitting it on the rise, it takes a lot out of you. I was feeling a little fatigued at the end.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: She definitely got demoralized. She was fighting hard, and the last game was a big game. And if she breaks back, anything can happen. I played her a few weeks ago at Eastbourne, and it was 5-1 in the third, and she got back at 5-4. So I knew she had been working hard at fighting and just playing every point to the end. And I think she played well today.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: It's always tough. We've become friends the last couple of years. And the good thing is that one of us is going to continue on. Basically we know each other really well. We know our games really well. And hopefully it will be a good match. We'll both play well, and whoever plays the best, wins.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: No.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I feel lucky. Sometimes things work out. Unfortunately Chanda had an injury, and wasn't able to play here. And I was able to do well and take her place.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: The usual, go see movies. We just hang out. We don't do too much. We don't party too much.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think we're different in a lot of ways, and we balance each other out. I'm five years older, so I think I'm the calmer one of the both of us. And she gets me to go out a little bit more and have a little bit more fun. On the other side, we make sure we don't stay out too late and things like that. I think our personalities blend well together. We became friends a few years ago at Fed Cup, and I think the team concept has been good. And because of that we've continued to support each other on the tour. It's nice to have a friend who roots you on when you're out there, and you finish playing, you can go cheer them on. And I don't think it's very common on the tour. It's nice for a change.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: We do. I've been trying to get her to come down to the east coast, and she's been trying to get me to the west coast. But we're both pretty stubborn. I think she's been coming to the east coast a few more times, so I owe her a few.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: She was very happy. I wasn't sure she had won, but she had a big smile on her face, so I presume that she had won. And that's just exciting. Unfortunately we do have to play each other, but like I said earlier, it guarantees us a medal.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: It would be nicer if we had won a bronze already. That's what happened last time. In '92 I was guaranteed a bronze. That was easier. But I think it's better to play all four. I think there should be one bronze medalist, it makes it tougher, obviously. But it makes it more of a big deal if you do win that match.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I'd like it to be more of a team event, where we wouldn't have to play against our own teammates. So whether it be the first week of it, like the old Fed Cup, where you played just three matches, two singles and one doubles, and maybe the second week do an individual draw or just do a team event. I think that would be fun for the players, and I think fun for the spectators, as well.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think in the Olympics, in the spirit of things it would be better, and it would be nice to have Billie Jean King on the court. She's great throughout the year. And at the Fed Cup she really pumps us up and motivates her. It's hard to sit in the stands and not be able to talk to us. You would think here at the Olympics where a lot of it is team competition, she would be able to help us out and rooting us on. So I'd definitely like to see that part of it change.