AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2003

Mary Pierce

MARY PIERCE: Yeah, I mean, I'm happy with definitely the first set. You know, I didn't really do much wrong there and I played really well. You know, for me, that's Mary Pierce at a hundred percent, so it's very encouraging. I just need to play more matches. I think the more matches that I play, the more match fit I'll be. You know, then I'll hopefully be able to play two sets like I played the first set. You know, it's encouraging. I'm healthy. I'm feeling good. You know, that's obviously the most important thing. You know, just played my best today, and in the end it wasn't enough for today. Chanda just played a great match. She stuck it out to the end, she fought well and competed well.

MARY PIERCE: Oh, gosh, you know, I don't know. Second set was -- you know, I had some glimpses there that were pretty good. I had three bad calls at important times during the match. Maybe those would have made a difference; maybe not. You never know. But second set, you know, was close. It's maybe 80 percent, I guess. You know, third set, just made unforced errors on shots that I made winners on in the first set. You know, Chanda mixed up the play a little bit, you know, she played well. I have to give her credit for a good match that she played today.

MARY PIERCE: No, it was just the skin on top of my toe was coming off. It didn't feel very good running around so I just needed to get it taped. Something new I've never had.

MARY PIERCE: Well, you know, I'm really hard on myself, and I always feel like I can be better. Even when I won the French Open, I thought I could even improve on that. But, you know, right now where do I think I'm at? You know, I'm definitely getting better every match, definitely feeling better every day. It's really hard to say, you know, put an exact number to it. First set, I felt great, and then, you know, just not able to sustain the intensity for two sets yet. And that just comes with matches, playing more matches really.

MARY PIERCE: I don't remember what happened. Must not have been happy about something. I don't know.

MARY PIERCE: Oh, no, never. The match is never over until the last point's played. I know that from experience. You know, no.

MARY PIERCE: Well, I can tell you I'm definitely not training as much as I used to. My body just isn't able to. After coming back from the back injury, there are just some things I can't do, and I'm limited. You know, I feel that that is getting better. It's something that really takes time. I was out for a long time. You know, seven months is a really long time to be out. You know, I just feel it will just take time, you know, more matches, and I'll be able to start training, you know, like I used to basically. You can't just go from nothing to all like before. It just takes time to gradually build up.

MARY PIERCE: I know I will. I definitely will. I know I can. I mean, the first set today proved that to me. Not that I needed that to prove it to me, because I feel it inside of me that I know that I have that. And if I felt that I didn't, I wouldn't come back and play after, you know, all those injuries. Two years of not playing very much, it's, you know, a lot to go through, and it's frustrating at times. But, you know, I definitely feel that I still have it inside of me. You know, I know that just by, you know, how I played in the beginning of the match. I just feel it will be just time for me to play whole matches that way. Like I said, it's just matches and tournaments.

MARY PIERCE: No, not really. I mean, I like to think that I play that way against anybody that I play. When I go out to play, I just think about my game and what I need to do, just play my game really. Of course, knowing my opponent's strengths and weaknesses and what my strategy is. But, you know, Chanda is a tough girl to play against. She hits the ball hard, off both sides, serves and returns well. She's not an easy opponent to play.