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NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 29, 2006

Tatiana Golovin

MIAMI, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.
Q. How did you turn the match around and come back in the second and third sets?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I just -- I don't think I played that well in the first. I think she kind of surprised me by the way she played. You know, she was really taking the ball early and really going for her shots. You could see she had no pressure and she just kind of wanted to go out there and win.
So, you know, I was a little bit nervous. I wasn't really hitting through the balls in the first set. But then I think mentally I was really tough out there and I kept fighting all through the end, and that's kind of what got me through it.
Q. Did it have anything to do with that first set, with that challenge? Challenged a call on her serve, she was down Love-30, 3-All, she wins that challenge.
TATIANA GOLOVIN: No, actually, I was kind of -- I thought it was out. Just wanted to challenge it.
No, but I don't think that really made a difference. I actually think the challenge is so good because that's kind of why I wanted to play on center, too, is to try that out (laughing).
No, I think it's actually good because I think it gives a little break to the umpires because you're not like screaming at them, and it makes you feel better, too.
Q. You kind of cruised through your first three opponents, your matches. This one was a bit tougher.
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I think maybe a little bit more pressure today because I think people were expecting me to win and I was expecting to win myself. I had a great match against Dementieva, you know, yesterday or two days ago.
So I think I guess the easy matches are good in the beginning because you kind of, you know, you stay fit and you stay in shape so you don't lose too much energy. But I think it's good for me to have a tougher match to get into the match tomorrow.
Q. You haven't beaten either of them but you played them very tough, Sharapova and Myskina. What kind of match do you anticipate?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, I think I played -- yeah, I did play both of them, all three-setters.
You know, it's gonna be different situation, different atmosphere, different conditions. I'm just happy to be in the semis. I'm going to go out there and just really play my best. I think it's definitely going to be a different match than today because I got nothing really to lose tomorrow.
Q. You spent a lot of the winter training at this park.
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yes.
Q. What is it like to be playing now in this tournament, doing so well?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: It's nice. It feels really nice to be driving your car to the courts, sleeping in your own bed, knowing you know everything around. I just know the courts so well, I know the conditions and the wind. I think it definitely -- I have my friends and family, so it's definitely a lot more support.
Q. When exactly did you move here, and why here?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Well, I always kind of practiced in Florida. I moved down here after Wimbledon last year. I've been in Bollettieri's for seven years, I spent like a year and a half at Evert's. Florida is kind of like my second home.
Q. Any reason Miami per se?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: My sister lived in Miami, so I kind of knew the place. Miami is definitely a great town, so...
Q. You said she "lives"?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: She lived, yeah.
Q. If you could point to one or perhaps two things that have elevated your game to the level it's at now in this past year, what would it be?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I think mentally I got a little more mature, and I'm kind of -- you know, I think I'm handling situations better. I think I've improved on my serve. Just physically. I think just kind of all-around game. I had a good two and a half months -- like two months of practice over the winter where we worked on my backhand and my forehand and coming in. I think my volley's improved.
But just needs to come out now in the matches and I need to play the way I'm playing at practice.
Q. When you say "mentally matured," do you possibly mean being more selective about when to go for an explosive shot?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Absolutely. I think, you know, going for the right shots at the right time, and especially trying to -- staying, I think -- against Dementieva, you know, when you have a game plan, you have to stick to it no matter what happens. I think that's kind of what happened, and just that type of maturity, the things that only come with experience, I guess.
Q. I know you're not working with Tarik. Are you planning on going alone, getting back together with him, looking for someone else?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I don't know. I'm just going to try to focus on this tournament for now.
I'm playing Amelia and Charleston next week, so I won't have much time to practice. I'm definitely looking. I think I do need a coach, but just really kind of taking it easy.
Q. Do you still have an apartment in Paris?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: No, my sister lives in Strasbourg, so kind of not in Paris. I get to stay in a hotel when I'm in Paris, which is even nicer (smiling).
Q. I was reading about you. It said that you played ice hockey as a child, is that right?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, my dad was a hockey coach so my first sport was kind of playing hockey. I played on my dad's team. I love ice skating.
Q. Till you were about how old?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Six, until we left to Florida to Bollettieri's.
Q. Do you follow the sport?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: We go occasionally now. I like to watch when it's on TV, but I don't really follow it, like I don't really know the players or the teams.
Q. Does your dad still coach?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: No.
Q. He doesn't. I know he left Russia, yes, to coach?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: In France.
Q. What kind of team, a junior team?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: It was a team of Lyon. I'm not even sure really. I think it was, I guess, professional team, like a French city, yeah.
Q. Was that the reason he left?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, for work.
Q. There's a little Russian in you. You've already beaten two Russians here. You might be beating a third one.
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I hope so (smiling).
Q. Is there something you know about the Russian mentality, and is there a Russian tennis mentality?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I think we're just really tough, and I think there's a lot of confidence about, you know, when you're from Russia you're kind of expected to win and there's no other solution but to win.
So I think, you know, that's why all the Russian girls are doing so well, because it's so natural to win. It's not like something exceptional.
Q. Is that something that you can use in your favor?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I think so. I should, I guess, you know. I got to have that confidence in order to play well, absolutely.
Q. Where are your parents now?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: My mom is with my sister and my sister just had a baby like a week ago. She's in France.
Q. In Strasbourg?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, she's in France. My other sister is actually here with me now, with my nephew. I'm like switching families.
Q. If we have a pie chart of you, how much is Russian, how much is French, and how much is United States?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I always see myself as French. I mean, this is kind of where I grew up. When I go home, I do call, you know, France "home" for me. I think America is just somewhere where I can practice and is good for my tennis. Russian, I think, is just in the family.
So definitely French.
Q. You are an animal lover, is that right?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Absolutely. I have two dogs and a cat, and I love horses.
Q. Who takes care of these animals?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: My sister, my family.
Q. She lives with you here, you're saying?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: No, my animals aren't here, no. They're all in France, unfortunately. Nobody like comes to greet me when I come at the door anymore so... it sucks (smiling).
Q. The other thing is, are you very into fashion?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course. You know, I love shopping in Paris. You know, you get to travel so much, so you get to see a lot of different fashions. I'm 18, so I love dressing up.
Q. You're sponsored by Lacoste.
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yes.
Q. Someone told me you might have a say in the --
TATIANA GOLOVIN: I do. The dresses that I design, we get together with the Lacoste team and we think about new models to make, new outfits. Starting the French, we're going to have great, great clothes coming out. It's really exciting.
Q. How about today's?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: This is actually Wimbledon's dress. I didn't play that well last year at Wimbledon, so nobody really got to see it. So I'm pushing it forward now so everybody sees it.
Q. You helped design that?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, yeah, and the other ones, too, the pink and the white ones.
Q. What other things do you do, hobbies besides tennis?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Like I said, I love horseback riding, you know. I love, like, going to shopping, going out with friends, dancing, taking piano lessons. So, you know, ballroom dancing. A lot of things really. I love reading, you know, going to the movies.
Q. As a tennis clothes designer, you undoubtedly recall the famous "cat suit" that Serena Williams wore at the US Open. Would you ever wear something like that?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Uhm, I don't know, but something maybe similar to it. No, I just think it's -- I think she's done a great job with all her clothes, really putting out her personality out there. I think it's great for the fans to see a different side of you, except just a tennis player, you also get to see what you like to wear. So I think she's done a big step for tennis with her outfits.
Q. How would you describe today's outfit, so I don't screw it up here?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: What do you guys think?
Q. It was pretty, but how would you describe it?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: How would I describe it? I think it's, yeah, very, you know -- we try to stay elegant and classy, as Lacoste. I love the open back, the back that is open. It definitely has a little sassy and is a little sexy, just the little wavy skirts. I think it's just kind of what's happening in fashion right now.
Q. You haven't worn it since Wimbledon? Is this the first place you've worn it?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah. I didn't want to wear them again, I'm like, "They suck, I'm not gonna wear them."
Q. You went back to Moscow in 2004, and it seemed you were very taken with the city. What did you go home and tell your family?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: Yeah, I just told them that we have to go back together and visit everything and see where I was born. But everything went by so fast.
But definitely I think it's something that I have to share with my family in order to really understand the city.
Q. So you haven't gone back?
TATIANA GOLOVIN: No, we haven't been back.

End of FastScripts...

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