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WIMBLEDON

June 30, 2006

Martina Hingis

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Martina Hingis. Questions, please.

Q. When you're up 3-Love in the third, you must have thought you were going to win that. What went wrong?
MARTINA HINGIS: So did I, yeah. Still I was up, I think it was a really long game to go up 2-Love. Then 3-Love, it was still very draining, those games. At 3-Love, I kind of made this weird step, so I started feeling my thigh.
But, I mean, there's no excuse.
She didn't miss. She played a great match. She's probably, on this surface, harder to play than anything else because she's very fast. She likes those flat balls. Tried to be even faster, but not today.

Q. How big is your disappointment to be out at this stage of this tournament where you've been so good?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, of course, I wish to come further in the tournament, I mean, no question. But I knew I had to face a tough opponent today. I mean, maybe from the previous two matches, everyone was thinking, you know, I'm going through easy. But I knew today, it's going to be crucial because she is a very good player and she's been around for a long time, and I haven't played her since my comeback.
You know, she's a tough cookie. She's a strong survivor.

Q. Three Grand Slams now into your comeback to tennis. You started out the season getting your feet back under you, making some progress. Would you agree you've hit a plateau right now; you're not really moving forward very much, if at all?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I wouldn't say so. I mean, I won Rome. I was still moving up. At the French Open, I just really had a bad day of food. I didn't think there I did anything wrong. I was playing better as the tournament progressed. It's just Kim, you can't play her if you're not hundred percent.
You know, then last couple weeks, I've been training. I thought I was doing better. Also here in the tournament. But I definitely -- Sugi was a different level from the other two matches. I mean, it's not even today. I still was close of winning this -- I mean, not really close, but I had the momentum definitely. It's not like I lost 1-1.
You know, definitely there is certain things I have to think about.

Q. You don't see this as any kind of a setback?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, you can take it either way. I mean, usually in the past, losses made me stronger. I knew what I had to work on and continue to progress.

Q. How did it feel to be back on Centre Court? Did it feel odd?
MARTINA HINGIS: No, it felt really nice. I actually like that court a lot better than Court 1. Somehow it felt familiar when I stepped out there. Also in the beginning I was up a break, 3-1. Unfortunately, I lost it again. It's not like I, you know, didn't feel comfortable. It's just today was not the right day. I don't know. I mean, there's no explanation right now for me. Somehow I got to have to figure out, yeah.

Q. How do you avoid getting frustrated, and keeping positive for the rest of the year?
MARTINA HINGIS: The year is still long. I usually always had, you know, French Open, and midway through the season, I always had a little crisis. It's no news. I always came back strong in San Diego. I mean, I've got three, four weeks to work on myself. Usually I always did well there.

Q. Would you call this a little crisis then?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, in the past, I mean, I had couple first-round losses here. So, I mean, I can't say, consider this either I did really well, had a victory here, semifinals and a quarterfinals, but always up and down. So usually I made it through the French, and then Wimbledon either I made it or I didn't.
Definitely it's middle of season. Everyone's getting a little more tired because the clay court season was long and tough. Here is just very different circumstances. I think everyone's always going to get a breather before the hard court season.

Q. What's missing? What are the couple key components to your game that you feel you need to get back?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think it's in a way the lack of momentum to carry yourself on. It's just when I had her, you know, even in the first set, in the third set again, just keep going. You can't just let anything slip away like that.
Maybe in the past, I would get away with it sometimes - but not against the top 5 or 10 players. But now anyone can go out there and bite you.

Q. Do you deal with defeat differently than the way you did earlier in your career?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, maybe today is less pressure. You know, I'm still not kind of the favorite to win Grand Slams. Definitely I'm in that kind of circle to be able to, but not someone who won it recently. Definitely the pressure's not as big on me as some of the other players.
But definitely I'm just as disappointed, you know, as some of the other players. But Wimbledon's always kind of special because we've had some, even losses today, you know. Kuzie went out, Groenefeld had an early loss, Patty yesterday. It kind of makes you think, Wimbledon you have to really be there and ready.

Q. Which part of her game annoyed you most, her running tennis or...
MARTINA HINGIS: She doesn't really have a weakness. I mean, she has a very, you know, solid game from the baseline, then her backhand down the line was deadly today, maybe more effective on this type of surface than anything else, yeah.

Q. Which woman do you think is going to win Wimbledon now?
MARTINA HINGIS: That's hard to say. Venus had a scare yesterday. She survived it. Well, Justine's looking strong. Amélie, Maria. All the top players have been playing very well so far.

Q. What are your thoughts on Swiss tennis development?
MARTINA HINGIS: Oh, that's probably not the right question to ask myself. I have not been really working with the Swiss Tennis Federation, so...

Q. Did you get as familiar with the grass as you hoped you would? As you came back, did it all work out okay or is there something different you might have done?
MARTINA HINGIS: I felt fine when I stepped on it. I mean, it's just very fast. You have to really move quickly around the court. I mean, if you're fast, it does help. If you have a big strong serve. I mean, I don't think that was why I lost today, definitely not. Maybe in the first set, it was. But just the aggressiveness, that was a little lacking in the important points. Just really having the confidence.
But, no, I mean, I played well. Even in the third set, I definitely had the momentum. It's just, you know, couldn't finish it off.

Q. How would you sum up your experience of Wimbledon 2006 both on and off court?
MARTINA HINGIS: I mean, I loved it until now. I really like coming back and playing here. The first couple rounds, I did well. But still somehow at Wimbledon you're never safe. I mean, when you're out on the grass, it seems like you never know how the next point's going to go, so you don't have like a certainty to make winners out of always the same positions. I mean, yeah, you can get yourself in good position with the same things, but it's never sure compared sometimes to other surfaces.
But, no, I mean, I like being in London, in Wimbledon village. I mean, so far it's been a great stay. But, yeah.

Q. Did you feel that way when you won it here, that you're never sure on grass? Is that a new development in your thinking about grass?
MARTINA HINGIS: No, I think it's always been like that. I mean, you can go one way, and right away it can also turn against you. I was up, and all of a sudden I lose the next four games. It's like, Okay, how did that happen? Lack of concentration sometimes.

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