U.S. OPEN

September 3, 1996

Amanda Coetzer

AMANDA COETZER: It was pretty tough for me to be out there, you know, Monica played really well the first set. She hardly made any errors. I was just struggling to get into the match.

AMANDA COETZER: It's definitely not a nice feeling. I tried to, you know, keep a good perspective out there, not to think too much of the score and just realize that she's playing pretty well, you know, just concentrate on each point.

AMANDA COETZER: You know, it's really tough. I think the only way that you can really compete is actually to just be willing to stay with her and hope that she'll somewhere in the point make a couple errors.

AMANDA COETZER: Yeah. You know, these are the times you wish maybe the women played five sets, you had a little bit longer out there. I felt that I was starting to read the ball a little bit better. I really struggled for that in the beginning, to see where she was going to hit it. You know, just getting used to the atmosphere, playing a night match and all that. I started to feel a lot more comfortable.

AMANDA COETZER: Well, I definitely -- I was going to try to go out there and, you know, play aggressive. Obviously Monica's not going to give you a match. I knew I had to play well. I think, you know, forced a little too much in the beginning.

AMANDA COETZER: Definitely, yeah. I felt a little anxious all day. You know, I've never played -- in all these years I've come to the Open, I've never played a night match. It was definitely a little overwhelming. Felt a little bit sluggish in the beginning, didn't quite get into it. There's not much you can do when she's playing that well.

AMANDA COETZER: Well, I think Conchita's game definitely -- you know, she's definitely a little bit stronger probably. She could hurt Monica a little bit more, keep her behind the baseline a little bit more than I did today. You know, I think Conchita is pretty experienced. She can do pretty well.

AMANDA COETZER: Tonight I didn't really feel like I found a weakness that I could exploit. You know, I'm sure she's human. You know, if the match starts getting tougher and tougher, I'm sure she's going to make a little bit more errors.

AMANDA COETZER: Probably. I think, you know, just as last year, they had a great match. I'm sure it will be again if they were to play each other. I can't really pick a winner right now, but I think it will be a good match.

AMANDA COETZER: I think so. I think definitely since she came back, you know, I think she's a lot more outgoing. She's probably enjoying the whole tennis scene a little bit more than she used to. I think she's mixing a little bit more with other players.

AMANDA COETZER: I'm very, very excited about my game right now. You know, I feel like I'm playing some of my best tennis. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the year. You know, hopefully I can just get a lot of confidence from this, despite tonight's match.