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INTERNAZIONALI D'ITALIA

May 18, 2006

Martina Hingis

ROME, ITALY

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Martina, please.
Q. Did you expect a match more tough?
MARTINA HINGIS: I think it was quite tough, especially in the second set. She was up 4-1. So I don't see it as an easy match. I just played well in the first set. Didn't really give her much rhythm and didn't give her many chances. Of course she was probably a little nervous playing here in front of the home crowd almost.
She regrouped definitely in the second set. I don't know if the people helped her, encouraged her. I don't see it as an easy match, so, no (smiling).
I was happy not to go three sets.
Q. You broke a lot of Italian hearts out there today.
MARTINA HINGIS: I think I won some, too (smiling).
Q. Always. Where did that swing volley come from?
MARTINA HINGIS: I just had to. I missed couple volleys and she passed me well. Then (indiscernible) if at some points she'd go through and I miss some. Then I'm like, "Okay, I got to go for it." Just like offensive mind, you know. Then they also were in.
Q. She mixes it up very well on the court. It's not easy maybe to get used to her game.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, for sure. Then the second point, I slid, so I'm like, "Okay." I was quite awake after that.
No, I think the more angles you give her, the better she's playing. Because she forgets -- I mean, she's so physically strong that she plays even better angles or down the line, she forgets about that she has no time to do something because she has a heavy topspin. And when you play more through the middle, you don't give her those angles. They worked well toward the end of the second set, yeah.
Q. You didn't like to go three sets?
MARTINA HINGIS: No, who would? It's too hot (laughing).
No, but, I mean, definitely, it looked like 3-0 and 4-1, it looked like far away, but it was only one break. So, I mean, today I served well, and once I broke her back, I was like, "Okay, come on now, you got to hold, and then we'll see what happens."
Q. She had a point for 5-3.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I served well. Thank you (smiling).
Q. At this stage, are you satisfied with your season? You should be.
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, you always want more. I mean, that's my nature. That's normal, I think. If you were on top of the tennis world, it's just natural to be like that.
Like I said in the previous conferences, I've always been very close, so I hope I will be able to turn it around and, you know, to do better, even not just quarterfinals and semifinals player, but one step more, you know.
Q. You only lost to top players, except one defeat from Pennetta, but you beat her.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but I beat her now, so I had the revenge (smiling).
Yeah, definitely. I mean, of course that's very satisfying. But now that I feel like I'm so close, that I can even beat those top players, maybe not every time or not every day, but sooner or later, hopefully. Or what is hard and what's different now in the tour, that you have to play Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and there is No. 1, 2, 3, 4 player and one every day. That is the difficulty.
Q. This tournament looks a good opportunity.
MARTINA HINGIS: Maybe let her translate (laughing).
Q. Are you surprised about Oprandi, this girl who comes from Switzerland but who is now Italian? She said she played with you many, many years ago.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, she was like this little girl.
Q. In kindergarten?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I was like, "What is she doing here? She doesn't belong to this group," she was so little (laughing).
But, no, I mean, she was always a year younger. She played well. Unfortunately, she had some injuries in the last couple years.
Now I know -- I've always -- I saw her once at the airport and I saw her here and there. I always followed a little bit. I knew that she was in Italy, but now she's back in Bern practicing.
I was happy to see her doing well. You know, even through the quallies and first match against Brandi was also a turnaround. Today she played very well. It's good to see her, you know, after all the injuries she had, to be playing well.
Q. Do you know her?
MARTINA HINGIS: Do I know her, yeah. I don't know her that well. I mean, yeah, I saw her when she was a really little girl. But since, I lost track of her.
Q. Are you saying that playing the last four rounds in four days is maybe tougher than a major?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, it is, because at the major even you have a day off in between where you can regroup or just take it a little easier. But this is definitely difficult on your mind. I think that's why you also see, you know, the injuries and you see the people pull out, because you don't want to have to go through this kind of condition week after week.
I think that needs to be changed but, I mean, I can't just do it by myself, you know (snapping her fingers), and turn things around.
Q. You had trouble closing, you were saying. It looked as though you were having trouble closing again today.
MARTINA HINGIS: I did.
Q. You did, yes. Why?
MARTINA HINGIS: Why I did?
Q. Yes. How did you do it?
MARTINA HINGIS: Because I feel like maybe going into those matches against Mauresmo, or sometimes I didn't feel like the offensive game, or if it's going to get me very far in the belief. But against Schiavone, where I've beaten her already and got to this point, I think I'm more confident now against a player like her because I felt like I had still more to give, compared to when I played Mauresmo or even Venus, I didn't feel like I had the game under control, you know. I was always defense instead of today I was more offense.
Also if I didn't take my chances on the spinning volleys probably last week or the previous weeks, I didn't do it, I was too scared, you know, to do it. Today, I took my chance and they worked out. So I think that was the difference also. That's why I held easy to go 5-All and then I broke her, because she knew there was a pressure on her.
Q. You never been scared?
MARTINA HINGIS: Me?
Q. Yeah.
MARTINA HINGIS: When?
Q. You were talking about being scared. I think I never saw you scared.
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I'm a woman, you know. I don't know. It's natural, I think. Yeah, when I was 17, I wasn't scared because I was at the level, at a different level. But now I think, you know, it's just natural.
Men, if they're not scared, they're lying, too (laughing). I mean, I've played some mixed doubles matches where I felt like, "Okay, just put it in..." (laughing).
But it's one thing to be scared and be able to play it at the difficult moments, or to be scared and not being able to go through. Because if you practice and you can rely on your shots, then you would rather do them even at the key points. And if you are not, then you lose. It's as simple as it is.
Q. There is one player now that you fear in this draw more than the others apart from maybe Kim Clijsters, No. 1 in the world?
MARTINA HINGIS: I think Venus played really well this week. I've seen her. When I played her in Warsaw, I think she improved quite a lot. She's definitely -- I'm going to watch the match when she plays Patty. I think, you know, if she can keep going the way she did in the last three matches, she definitely is one to watch.

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