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WIMBLEDONJuly 4, 2006Elena DementievaWIMBLEDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: Questions in English first, please. Q. Can you give us your thoughts on that match, if you could have done any better perhaps, whether you were outplayed? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I really think she was playing great today, especially in the first set, she put a lot of pressure on me. I don't think I was playing bad. I think it was a good match, but she was playing, uhm, very solid, very deep, you know, very -- she was very focused today from the first point. Uhm, it was really hard to fight today against her. Q. Her serve today, how difficult was it to deal with that? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think, you know, today she was serving very well, comparing to match yesterday against Flavia. She put a lot of first serve in. And, uhm, she took advantage of this. And, uhm, yeah, it was very, very difficult even, you know, with my return. I like to return, but it was very hard to put it back. Q. She seems to have developed a really good slice serve from the deuce court now. She doesn't have to hit it so hard, drags you off the court. ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, yeah, it looks like she's still working on her serve. I really think she has a great one, I think. She improved a lot. She has some slice serve. She can mix a lot. That what makes it for me very difficult to return. Q. Do you think maybe today you played against the next Wimbledon champion? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I mean, it's hard to say, but today she was playing very solid. And, uhm, she really improve her game, uhm, comparing yesterday match. And if she gonna continue to play like that, yeah, I think she has a chance to win this title again. Q. Like Maria, you're quite tall. ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Not as tall as her. Q. She's had some difficulty growing into her body in the last couple of years, where she's growing so fast. Did you experience that at all when you were a teenager? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, never had this experience but I think that it's really amazing, you know. She's very tall, she has such a big legs and arms. It seems to me like she's very good with her body, you know. She really moving better now. I don't think that she has any problem with, you know, growing up any more. Q. Can we just ask you about the streaker. Have you ever had a streaker come on court before? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Sorry? Q. The streaker, the man. ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Oh, oh, first time happen in my match, so... I mean, if the crowd likes it, that's okay with me. Q. What was running through your mind at that time? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I was afraid a little bit because, you know, in the beginning, I didn't understand what happened. I just saw like someone's trying to come to the court, and then I just realized that it was -- who it was. But the first feeling was like something happening here, you know, a little scary. Q. You laughed a little bit. ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, you didn't? Q. You went from being scared to laughing, obviously. Did it put you off at all? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, no, not really. Q. How is your game developing on grass? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, for me, it was my first quarterfinals here. And, uhm, I think finally I really found my game playing on grass. I really like it here. So it was my first experience to play in a quarterfinals, and I just hope this experience will help me in the future. Q. I work for BBC radio. A lot of people have contacted us talking about the noises Maria Sharapova makes. Do you find it off-putting? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, personally I think it's a little bit too much, but that's the way she's playing for a long time. And if the tour has allowed her to do such noise, it's -- Q. Do you think the umpire should step in at some point? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think so, yeah. My personal opinion, yeah, I think the umpire should calm down her a little bit. But, I mean, that's the way she's playing. Q. You never have a private word with her? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, uhm, I think the best way is to beat her, not to tell her what to do. I mean, when I'm on the court, I'm trying to be focused. I mean, it doesn't bother me, but I think it's too much. Q. It comes under the distraction rule in the rulebook. How can the referee think it's a distraction unless the other player says, I'm being distracted by it? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I don't know how to measure this. I don't know how to say how loud it was. I mean, we cannot control how loud she will scream the next day and the next day. I mean, it's very hard to say. Q. The point is that doesn't one player have to go to the umpire and say, I don't know how you measure it, but it is distracting for me? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I mean, next time I beat her, I will say something. But when you losing like 6-1, 4-1, I mean, it just looks... It doesn't look good if you gonna go to the umpire and talking about how loud she screaming on the court. Q. Is it more pressure playing another Russian? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, I really don't think so, you know. We have a lot of Russian on the tour and we face each other every single tournament. So it's really about just going to the next round and, you know, playing on Centre Court, which is a great experience for me. But, yeah, didn't think much about she's Russian. Q. Is there any other player who's as loud as she is to play against? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, don't think so, no. I remember Venus last year in the semifinals, she was screaming the same way, yeah (laughing). Q. What do you think her greatest asset as a player for you to go against, what is it that makes her special, do you think? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I think it's very special about her that she's a fighter, you know. It just amazing how focus she can be, how, you know, she can fight from the first point till the end. And it's really amazing. I was watching her match yesterday, you know. She was -- it was very tough match for her to win. Today it looks like the trouble makes her even stronger, and she was playing better today. I think she is still improving her game. She's really working on herself. Q. Is part of your amazement about that that she has all these other things going on outside of her tennis life? I think someone estimated she made $23 million alone last year not in prize money but in endorsement deals. To be able to come on the court, put that stuff to the side and concentrate, does that amaze you? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Well, I don't know how much she does offcourt. I mean, I'm not following her. But I think it's quite difficult, what she's doing. But as far as she's -- balancing what she's doing, she can commit all the things, you know, it looks like it works for her for the moment. Q. Are you and the other Russian players friendly offcourt? Will you go upstairs and have a glass of Pimm's together and talk it over? Vodka? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: (Laughing). Yeah, I think that, you know, most of the Russian players are very friendly. Q. How about Sharapova? ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I don't really -- I don't really have much connection with her.
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