WIMBLEDON

June 30, 2003

Kim Clijsters

MODERATOR: Ladies and Gentlemen, Kim Clijsters. Questions, please.

KIM CLIJSTERS: Definitely. I think in the normal matches, so far I think I've started really well. That's always a great feeling to have. If you start well, have that rhythm, it's always nice to keep going. Definitely helps your confidence, as well. You know you're serving well. You know you've got the rhythm, so that's really good, you know, to keep going. Even I think today we had some great rallies out there, a lot of long rallies. So that was nice. I really enjoyed it out there.

KIM CLIJSTERS: Not really. Of course, I practiced in indoors today because there was no chance to hit outside on the grass before my match. But, no, I mean, during my match, it was fine. The sky was pretty clear. But I heard from the referees and from the WTA like supervisors that it was going to be maybe an on-and-off match, that we were going to get off a few times. But it didn't happen during my match. I just spoke to Jennifer. I think she finished her match point while it was raining. That was a good one for her to get through as well. I think everyone, the Williamses, Venus and Serena finished all before the rain. Everyone did it quick.

KIM CLIJSTERS: No. If you're playing well, it's always very nice to take into your next matches. Obviously, because I'm playing well, my confidence is really high. That's great to have. I'd rather have the quicker matches where I'm playing really well than the tougher matches where I'm not playing well. I think the quicker matches where you're playing well are better for my confidence, I think.

KIM CLIJSTERS: I don't know. I mean, you know, they've been dominating for a reason, and that's because they've been the best players on the tour for a while, and especially here on the grass. Most of the Americans, you know, they're all great servers. If you watch Venus and Serena, even Jennifer and Lindsay, they hit the ball so hard and place the ball so well. I think on grass, it's very tough I think for any player to, you know, beat them. But I think, yeah, it's tough. That's why I think they've had such good results here in the past few years, all the Americans. Lindsay has done well here, then Venus and Serena. I think, yeah, they're so strong, and they move all very well. I think that's definitely an advantage to have here.

KIM CLIJSTERS: Just to enjoy it. I played Steffi Graf in my fourth round on Court 1. It's an experience. I mean, it's something I'll never forget. It's just a great feeling to be out there. Of course, I was really nervous. Everything was all new. To have that feeling is definitely something, you know, at that time maybe it's a bit overwhelming. But I think it's very good to take that into your next years, to have that experience. You learn a lot out of that. She doesn't look the type of player that's going to get very influenced by those things. You know, she looks mentally very strong. So I think she's a great player, yeah.

KIM CLIJSTERS: I've played Suarez on clay at the French. I think I played Silvia in Sydney this year. I'm not sure. You'll have to look that up, I think. So, yeah, Suarez I think is more of a clay court player. She has a very extreme grip on the forehand. I think Silvia is the type of player who can mix it up really well with her slice, she can keep the balls very low. She moves very well. She's a very fit girl. I don't know. It's going to be an interesting one, I think. I think Suarez has a great backhand, very aggressive backhand. She'll definitely have to dictate the points from her backhand, I think.

KIM CLIJSTERS: No, not really.

KIM CLIJSTERS: No, he's definitely helping me, to support me and sit there in my box and support me. It's always nice. It doesn't always happen, you know, to have him there in the box. It's always special to have him there, yeah.

KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah. Even like at the French, it's always nice to have him there, yeah.