PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 14, 2005

Mary Pierce

Q. How difficult was the wind?

MARY PIERCE: It was okay. I think it's been windier, yesterday, the day before. I've played on smaller courts that aren't as protected, with stands and stuff. I was fine. I enjoyed it. I mean, I just thought of it as using it to my advantage the best way possible.

MARY PIERCE: As in coaching, playing, working?

MARY PIERCE: No. He's working with someone else.

MARY PIERCE: All-court game, able to do everything. Have a big serve, have big returns, solid returns, be fast, you know, have big strokes from both sides, forehand, backhand. Also, come in, not be afraid to come in, definitely.

MARY PIERCE: I don't know. I think that it just really wasn't engrained or worked on from the beginning of their game. I think sometimes you get set in a way when you first learn how to play. I think if you don't learn to go in at an early stage then you don't feel comfortable, you don't feel confident doing it. You kind of run to the net, you think, "Uh-oh." Because the point is going to be over pretty soon. I think they get a little bit afraid to lose the point instead of looking at it as, you know, coming forward, being aggressive, you're going to win the point, so...

MARY PIERCE: I'm waiting for my next opponent.

MARY PIERCE: After this tournament I go back home to Bradenton, Florida, and train on clay for two weeks, get ready for the clay season, get ready for Amelia Island, which will be my next tournament.

MARY PIERCE: Well, I enjoy all surfaces. I don't know about some players that like only a certain surface and not others. I guess it would be their game, where they don't feel it suits their game that well. I feel that I've been trained well to have an all-court game and I can play on all surfaces. You know, to play on clay, you need to be strong physically, have strong legs, strong lungs, be patient, you know, strong arm because you're going to hit a lot of balls. I like clay. It's probably my favorite surface. I think it's a lot of fun.

MARY PIERCE: Oh, my gosh, am I getting that far into my career in age? What's today? The 14th of March, 2005, I've been asked if I could coach today. I'm just kidding actually. I do feel that I would be a great coach because I have a lot of experience.

MARY PIERCE: Thank you. I'll coach you. No, I'm kidding. Because I have a lot of experience in a lot of areas, you know, not just tennis. I think there's a lot of things to being a champion in tennis that it takes. I think I have quite a bit of knowledge. I obviously do not know everything, but I do feel like I know quite a bit, you know, that I would be a really good coach. Is that something I would do in the future? I don't know.

MARY PIERCE: Definitely. Definitely. I mean, there's a bunch of things that I could do in the future. I'm starting to think about those kind of things. Eventually when I do retire, I'll just take some time for myself and really think about what I'm going to do.

MARY PIERCE: A lot. You know, being a professional tennis player is a lifestyle, it's a 24/7 I don't want to say job, but it's a 24/7 -- you know, everything that you do matters: resting, eating, sleeping, even your free time, what you do with that. Just relationships and family, all those kind of things. You know, there's a lot of things that come into play.

MARY PIERCE: Yeah, they're very important. I have such a great family. I was talking to my dad last night. He was really saying that your grandma, she hasn't seen me play, she lives in North Carolina, she really wants me to win. She wanted me to play well today. I kind of probably would dedicate today's match to her. So, yeah, I mean, family, it's so strong. It's such a motivating thing, and it's a very important thing.