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WIMBLEDON

July 5, 2006

Naomi Cavaday

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. How important is this win for you, bearing in mind that it is Wimbledon and there's all this attention?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Well, it's massive just for mainly the development of my game because that's what I'm focusing on. I'm putting myself out there and giving every match my best shot against these top players. I realize I can compete with these players; I can beat them as I have done. I'm through to the quarterfinals which is another match, another experience at Wimbledon. It's great.

Q. You spoke yesterday about using the experience you had in the main draw to put pressure on the girls you were meeting in the Juniors. Did you feel that worked for you again today? Looked like it was.
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, it did. I think that in the beginning of the match, she struggled with my pace a little bit. That got me ahead straightaway. Then I just kept on top of her in that set.
In the second set, I think at the beginning, I think just throughout the match, I had that intensity. It was a lot better than yesterday.

Q. You served really well. You hit six aces, I think. How big a weapon can your serve be for you? It got you out of trouble sometimes. You won the match with an ace.
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, definitely. I think it caused her a lot of trouble and it can cause a lot of players a lot of trouble. I always say if I'm serving well and I'm hitting my spots, I've got a chance against anyone.
So it's a massive weapon. I've got a long way to go with it. I'm still working on it. It can still be tons and tons better. It's gonna be really good.

Q. It's a classic Wimbledon tactic to round off a match like that with an ace. Was it in your mind when you tossed up to serve that big, finish it with a big one?
NAOMI CAVADAY: No, I think I was just more relaxed on that point. I mean, I hadn't been serving as well in the second set but I was still serving well, I was still happy with it.
Before that point, I knew that my lefty slice serve really was causing her problems. That was the serve that was getting me out of a lot of trouble in that second set. So I didn't go for anything big like the big ace up the T. I just kept it simple, and I came up with a really good serve.

Q. Can you just describe your emotions when you saw that ball sliding wide? I think she ended up on the ground again, where she did quite a few times, didn't she?
NAOMI CAVADAY: As soon as I hit it, I knew it was an ace. I mean, you can feel it. I don't know anyone fast enough to get that serve back. It was bang on the line. It was a perfect serve for me. Came at a perfect time because it was tight in the second set.
And, uhm, it was just -- I was just really, really happy.

Q. Lovely sliding left-hander. Do you base it on anyone's?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Well, unfortunately -- there aren't actually too many lefties in the game at the moment.

Q. There are a couple quite good servers, Goran Ivanisevic and McEnroe.
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, for sure. I just like to use it as much as I can. I think different parts of my game are similar to different players, but I can't really compare everything I do to certain players. But, I mean, I like the way Nadal serves. He uses it well. He likes to open up the court. Everything about him is working around his lefty. So that's what I like about him.

Q. Is he a bit of a role model because he is a lefty?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, well, I mean, he's a great lefty and he uses it really well. He has got a heavy forehand, which I think I have as well. I think he really, really uses it so well, and that is what hurts all the players he plays against.
So I think, uhm, it's kind of similar because I think my forehand is a big weapon for me, so I think people like to stay away from it.

Q. Have you ever seen videos of older players like McEnroe and the lefty game?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, no, I mean, I have. It's completely different now. But the general idea is still the same, you know, you open up the court with the lefty forehand, and you bang into the space. That's the set play, where you open up the court with the serve. Yeah, no, that really helps.

Q. You had quite a support group in the left-hand corner. Were they your friends from school?
NAOMI CAVADAY: I think so. I knew they were coming, so I assume it was. They were, uhm, a couple of them are from tennis, a couple of them from school. It was, yeah, really good support.

Q. They were getting dirty looks from your opponent?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, I'm sure. That's what's so great about Wimbledon, everyone's on your side all the time. That was just brilliant for me.

Q. Do you know anything about your semifinal opponent, Radwanska, I think it is?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Yeah, I'm playing the younger of the two Radwanska sisters, Urszula. I played her once before, indoor hard, $10,000. I lost 7-5, 7-6, something like that. It was quite close. She's a very good player. She's gonna keep the pressure on, you know, no matter what. She's a fighter, she wins a lot of matches.
It's gonna be interesting, but I'm up for it.

Q. What targets did you set yourself in this championship?
NAOMI CAVADAY: This championship? Uhm, I think quarterfinals really was a target for me because that's winning a few matches. That's not just winning one or two rounds. I've won three matches now.
It was kind of a target, but I didn't really set out to say, I'm going to do this, because you just don't know in a tournament like this. There are so many different people. I mean, I didn't know many of the people. I know roughly the standard. I just wanted to put my game out there, put my name out there, give it my best shot and see what happens.

Q. Did you have a reasonable amount of experience on grass before coming here?
NAOMI CAVADAY: Not really. This year's kind of my first experience on grass. I did play -- I played the Birmingham DFS Classic, WTA event. That was my first match on grass. I had really good results there. I lost in the last round of qualifying.
Then I played Wimbledon wildcard playoffs, which I did well in. I was really, really enjoying the grass. I think it really suits my game, my natural lefty game, I think it takes it well.
Then, now, yeah, here to Wimbledon.

Q. How fast can you hit your serve?
NAOMI CAVADAY: I don't know. The first time it was measured was when I played Sugiyama. I was quite shocked to see I hit 115 I think in that match, was my best. I don't know if I've bettered that, but it's good.

Q. You're the first Brit to reach the quarterfinals of the Juniors since 2001. How significant are those sorts of landmarks for you?
NAOMI CAVADAY: I try not to pay attention to things like that because, uhm, that's when you can get wrapped up in things, you know, like the British rankings. When it's all very British and you compare yourself to British players, I mean, it's just not -- that's not how I like to do it.
I like to compare myself to the best and unfortunately the Britons aren't the best at the moment. It's more like the Russians, the French. I compare myself to the Juniors at the top, the top 5, top 10. I rank myself against them no matter what, and the same with the seniors.

Q. Do you know what your junior ranking will rise to?
NAOMI CAVADAY: I had a look. I think if I had lost, it would have been 50. I think now it's about 40. So it's okay.
I mean, the main aim for me was to get it high enough so I can get main draw of the US Open. That was my big aim. I've got this week and I've also got another tournament in Austria in two weeks' time to do that, to work on that. So hopefully, that's my goal.

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