PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 9, 2003

Nathalie Dechy

NATHALIE DECHY: It was a tough match because I always say I had some trouble to play against her. Most of the time I lost against her, so I knew it would be a tough match. She start really well, too. I was always most of the time down. I really try. The main thing was fight and try to stay in the match to be able to have my chance at one point. That what happen in the final.

NATHALIE DECHY: Well, I don't know. Maybe she likes my game. She's really hard -- it's hard to win a point against her because she moves really well, she change the pace. Her ball are always really well-placed like in the court. It's a game that bother me a little bit. So I had to be really careful on her.

NATHALIE DECHY: The turning point, I think in the second set, in the beginning of the second set, I start to feel really better like try to move much better, to hit the ball better. I was trying to step in the court and go to the net. That was a little bit of the change of the match. On the first set, I was always behind my line of the -- she was like the boss on the court, making me run. In the second set, it started to change.

NATHALIE DECHY: Yeah, I feel confident. Since the beginning of the year, I had some really good matches. I won my first tournament. It was some good confidence for the rest of the year, I think. I think it's in a good way. But for sure I think on the last few months, the tennis has been improving a lot. There's more and more good player, Top 20, Top 30, who are able to play well and who are able now to beat the Top 10. It's kind of every match are getting tougher. It's good. I have to be fit for every matches.

NATHALIE DECHY: Yes.

NATHALIE DECHY: It won't be the same because Kim since that match has won a lot of matches, is now No. 3 in the world, has won the Championships. She had more confidence than last year at this stage. But I think both of us will have this match in a little corner of our mind. It will be one of my advantage. After, on the court, it's going to be really tough for sure. But I'm happy to play against her, for sure.

NATHALIE DECHY: I think it's a tournament that I like. It's always good to come here, to have this great place here. It's so calm, like peaceful. You're there just to play tennis and to focus on the tennis. Yeah, I think I like this place. I always did some great matches. I had some great victories here. Why not keep going?

NATHALIE DECHY: I know her really well. I played against her last year in Scottsdale on the same surface. She's more like a good clay court player, but on a slow surface she's always good. If she wins also against Kim, that means she's going to be really good. For the moment, I just want to like recover this match and go and have a look on the other match and see who I'll play. But I'm not going to try to think too much about that.