U.S. OPEN

September 2, 1992

Mary Joe Fernandez

Q. Can I get your general comments on the match, Mary Joe?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: General comments. It was a tough match. She played very well. She had a big serve. I wasn't able to break her, the first set at all. She was hitting the ball aggressively, and you know, I hung in there, the second set, you know, big game at 3-All when she left 15-40, and after that, played a little bit better, and just hung in there, really.

Q. What are you working on to raise your game from 7, 8, 9, to 3, 4, 5?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Basically just play more aggressive, taking that first short ball and hitting it hard and coming in instead of waiting a little bit. You know, I think the difference, you see the top players, whenever they have an opportunity, they take it right away. If they miss, they keep doing it until they start going in. So you know, it is hard for me. I have played a certain way all my life, and it is hard to pick up on those things and if I make a few errors, then I get a little tentative and I stop doing it. So, it is a transition that I am trying to make.

Q. You get tired of people sort of maybe asking you when are you going to make that breakthrough, I mean --

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I get asked all the time.

Q. Does it tire you?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: No. You know, I had a long time when they said, "When are you going to win a tournament, when are you going to win a tournament." Then I finally win. Then they said, "When are you going to break the top ten?" Then I break the top ten. Hopefully, I will keep doing it. Then they will have a new question. We got to see. The competition is really tough out there. I think, if I improve my game, and, you know, play more consistent, then I will do well.

Q. Were you weighted down by the gold medal?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yes.

Q. Have you talked -- did you have any experience with the hurricane?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: No. I was not home. My family was home.

Q. Was the home in the path of it?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: No. We were very lucky. And just trees and stuff flew away, but our house is okay.

Q. Are you a little south of Miami, though?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I am in South Miami.

Q. That is what I thought. What were your losses?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: We were lucky. Our next door neighbor lost their house.

Q. Really?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: But we are okay, yeah.

Q. Was Sylvia--

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: My mother and dad were there.

Q. Must have been kind of scary?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yeah, very scary. We were up all night. We couldn't get in contact with them. We were up all night. They had to evacuate. Nobody I know got hurt too badly.

Q. They were eve evacuated before the home next door blew away?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Yes.

Q. In the wake of the gold medal, has this made any change in your life? Do people who perhaps knew that you played tennis or something, but didn't pay any attention--

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I think a lot more people recognize me now. Especially when I went home, you know, I found more people "there goes Mary Joe" or "well done, you won the Olympics." I think a lot of people were watching. For me, it was exciting. It is a memory I am going to have for the rest of my life, and you know, it is definitely right now the highlight of my career. Hopefully I will be able to play in four years again.

Q. Can it carry over into tournaments like this or the Olympics is definitely something totally different from--

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Well, it is different. It is different pressure, and different excitement, so, you really can't compare the two of them. You know, it has only been last, what, three times, and I think every year, it is played a bit more important, so, you know, this is a Grand Slam. We are used to playing these. It is a different ballgame. But like I said, it was a great experience, and I am very lucky I got to play.

Q. So the gold transcended, in other words, probably nobody ever came up to you and said congratulations when you won a doubles tournament in the Australian Open?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: Definitely, no. A lot of people -- I went to Montreal and I was here a week earlier; people on the street recognized me a lot more than they used to. So it is neat. It is really neat.

Q. Apart from the tennis in Barcelona, which athlete did you really admire?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: That is tough to say.

Q. Who impressed you the most?

MARY JOE FERNANDEZ: I can't say one. I met so many athletes, there are -- I guess I met Carl Lewis on the opening ceremonies. For him to still be competing and running, that was impressive. I don't know, it is tough to pick one out of the group.

Q. Anything else? Thank you.

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