U.S. OPEN

September 1, 1995

Mary Joe Fernandez

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I didn't play doubles. My legs are better. And I pulled out of doubles because of it just so I wouldn't strain it any more.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yeah, but it is feeling -- felt better today than it has in the last couple of days.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I strained my left hamstring in my first round match.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yeah.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I thought I played well today. I was very focused, you know, really played solidly, didn't make any unforced errors. I knew she was going to come in a lot and give me chances so I tried today to play as aggressively as I could, but on the other hand, I made too many unforced errors. It was unfortunate, she got hurt second set a little bit in her back, and I went through a couple of games easily at the end. But the first set was a tough set. I felt like I played well.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: It is going to be tough. If I play Arantxa, she is one of the quickest players out there, and I am going to be -- I will have to be on top of my game. I have to take chances. I have to come in and, you know, we will just see.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think it is getting better. I am getting more confidence and more matches, that helps me. This is the best, I guess, I felt in a while from Wimbledon to now. It has been good for me. I think I am on the right track. I have been working pretty hard and staying healthy and doing all the right stuff. So hopefully, you know, it will launch me into another breakthrough.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yes.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think just perseverance and patience, I think. If I can keep working hard and, you know, believe -- keep believing in myself that I can win one, then maybe it will happen.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I will take one Grand Slam any time.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: It is tough. The competition is difficult. The people at the top of the game are very solid. Graf and Arantxa winning most of the Grand Slams in the last year and a half. On the men's side, you know, Sampras and Agassi have been dominating. So it is tough to get that Grand Slam in there. I think, you really need to put in good tennis for two long weeks and that is hard. But like I said, a Grand Slam is huge. Just takes time. You have to persevere, I think.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I don't know, maybe it is the one that has the most distractions and the atmosphere is different. Little bit crazier and louder, but the French is tough because on red clay it is slow, so you have to be out there longer and grass is hard because you never know, it can go any which way, so, you know, it is one of the toughest in terms of the atmosphere, but I think the French is probably the toughest.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I like to watch a lot of tennis. You know, I watch tennis at night. I know what is going on.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: They look pretty well. I am pretty impressed with Monica that she has come back and playing so well so soon. I saw her play her first night match. She played pretty well. She is hitting those lines like she used to. And Steffi had a tough match in the first round, but got through it and now is supposed to be more confident and playing well. So...

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I don't know. Steffi is very tough mentally; has had to deal with a lot through her life and her career, so I think that she can really focus.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I mean, it seems like the top players are the ones that, you know, that win the most. Graf won so many and Arantxa has won four. I think timing. It is all a bit of timing, when you come along, and who the top players are. It all depends, a little bit of fortune here and there could do the difference.

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: That is what I thought that she needs couple of matches to get into it. She proved everybody wrong in Canada. She didn't play anybody in the top 10, but she played tough players and cruised through them. She beat Gaby and Gaby is in the top 10. Doesn't seem like she needs it. I think she is pretty confident in her game and in her strokes. Her accuracy is unbelievable; just hits those lines and those angles, you know, we will see when she plays a top ranked player how it will be, but she convinced me that she is playing really well.