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US OPEN

September 4, 2002

Amelie Mauresmo

NEW YORK CITY, A. MAURESMO/J. Capriati 4-6, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Amelie, for many players Jennifer Capriati plays maybe too quickly for them, serves too quickly. Did you want to slow her down a little bit today so you were entirely ready to receive serve from her?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, I needed to recover, you know, because she's playing -- she makes you run a lot. You need to recover.

Q. You think that was beginning to irritate her, when you would put your hand up and say, "Just one second, let me get ready?"

AMELIE MAURESMO: Maybe, but that's the game. If I need some times, I can have. I don't know exactly how long I can have, but if I need it, I'm gonna take it.

Q. Did you mentally ever feel like you were out of the match? Did you still believe the whole time you would win?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, at some point, yeah, I thought, "Okay, it's not my day, I'm gonna go back home tonight." But it happens. I mean, that's not because I think that I'm not gonna fight or that I am gonna go out of the match. But, yeah, when you're down a set and 6-5 and she's serving, it's -- you know, you have to hang in, there even though you're thinking maybe it's the last game. But you still have to hang in there and try to do your best. That's what I did and it worked out pretty well.

Q. She said she got a little tight, kind of choking in the game, the 6-5 game. Did you feel she was getting nervous there?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, not too much. Because I was paying attention, you know, to what I was supposed to do and to me -- because physically, you know, I wasn't feeling so well. I just wanted to make sure everything was going fine for me and try to put that ball back in. Yeah, didn't really realize that while the match was going on, you know.

Q. When she missed the overhead late in the match, did you think maybe she's not quite as solid as she was in the first set.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, but I always thought that -- as the match goes on, you know, you get tired, you sometimes lose a little bit of concentration. You have to take these opportunities to come back into the match and try to, you know, come back to the same level. Then see how it's going.

Q. Where was the famous Mauresmo backhand today?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think the legs were out of it more than the backhand or the forehand or whatever. I think, you know, I didn't really have the footwork right from the beginning to adjust to play that backhand or to adjust and go to the net, you know, what I really wanted to do today. So I just find another way to beat her, so...

Q. What does it say about you now as a player that, even though you're tired, you can win a match like that?

AMELIE MAURESMO: It's great. I mean, it feels great inside. It gives -- you know, I think to myself, I have different way now to win a match: either go to the net and be aggressive and dictate the game, or if doesn't work and maybe physically I don't feel good enough, you know, I can still, you know, hang in there and really make the opponent play one more shot each time. That's what I did today.

Q. During the long rallies today, a slice pops in, forehand drive. Mixing up every shot. She seemed to be having trouble with the high balls around her shoulders. Did you sense that was where you were going to need to be?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, she likes to play with a lot of pace and same height. You know, when you slice a little bit and you put some topspin, as you say, maybe she's not used to that, because on the tour, not so many players play like this. So, you know, I know that's what she doesn't like too much. I try to do that.

Q. You had a similar type of run at Wimbledon. You played great in the quarters, although the match was a lot quicker. You get into the semifinals, you're gone pretty fast. What are you going to do to prevent that from happening?

AMELIE MAURESMO: You know, at Wimbledon I thought I played my match in the semifinal and Serena was just too good that day. She played great, served great. There was really nothing much I could do. So I just want to, you know, go out there, play my game again, do my best, and we'll see what happens.

Q. Can you clarify your comments about the Williams sisters? I've seen them presented in different ways. Are they good for the game of tennis, and especially if they dominate like they have been?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Are they good or not? That's what you mean?

Q. Is it good for the game of tennis if they consistently dominate.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I think to me people are maybe gonna get bored of seeing always the same final. But I can't, you know, put myself into the crowd's position or the public, you know, in the public eye. To me, it gets a little bit irritating, you know, because you want to go out there and try to beat these guys. But we'll see, you know. Time will tell for sure.

Q. Speaking of irritation, you could see the irritation in Jennifer late in the match as she wanted to serve and you weren't ready. You've now played five times this year.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah.

Q. That's what makes a great rivalry, I think. Do you think of this as now becoming a very good rivalry, you and Capriati?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think so. We are now I think 4-3 for me, or something like that. I know she -- you know, she doesn't like to play against me. Maybe she gets a little bit tight when she has to play against me. You know, she's a very good player, so I'm not going on the court thinking, "Okay, I'm gonna beat her." That's for sure. It's always good matches, good fight. It can go either way I think.

Q. Why do you think she gets tight playing against you?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I've beaten her a few times. As I just said, you know, my game is a little bit different from the other players on the tour. So I don't know, maybe she's not used to that so much.

Q. Jennifer said that if you play your best game, she thinks you do have a chance to beat Venus. Do you feel that?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, you know, I have a feeling, you know, I have good chances and I'm gonna go out there thinking that into my mind. But obviously Venus or Monica both are good players. It's gonna be a very tough match, especially since physically it was very tough today for me. So I'm gonna have to recover very well from that. We'll see how it goes. But I will take my chance, that's for sure.

Q. Are you going to be able to topspin balls high enough to reach the shoulders of a 6'2" person?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I'll try. I'll give it a try.

Q. You've had some close matches where at the end you've gotten tight. Are those days behind you?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I hope so. You can never say, "It's never gonna happen again," or whatever. But I really hope that I'm getting little bit more mature and maybe gets a little bit more experience to handle a little bit better, these matches. But anything can happen and you always have to fight against this tension a little bit.

Q. Did you notice that she played differently today and she changed her strategy a little bit?

AMELIE MAURESMO:

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