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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2001

Amelie Mauresmo

WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND, A. MAURESMO/N.J. Pratt 7-6, 4-6, 6-4

MODERATOR: Questions for Amelie.

Q. I've read Nathalie Tauziat's book in French and understand that people in France are angry at her for writing the book. I don't understand why. Do you know? Are you one of the people that is angry at her and why?

AMELIE MAURESMO: It was like a year and a half ago. Since then I think things have calm down a little bit. I mean, for me it's in the past.

Q. What was it she said in the book?

MODERATOR: She's here to answer questions about the match she just played.

Q. One month ago your record was 31-3. You might have been the best player at that time on the tour. You had a very difficult time at the French Open. Today you had to go three sets to beat a player who is not ranked very high. Are you struggling with your ability, your killer instinct?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, you know, today was an important match for me. I needed to have a win today, whatever the score, whatever the way I had to make it. After, you know, one month without competition obviously, and the last experience I had wasn't too good, so the main thing for me was to win. I mean, my killer instinct, maybe as you say, is going to come with some wins that I hope I will have under my belt. You know, it's all going to come back together. It's never easy for the French. For me, it wasn't easy to come out of the French as early, to go back into the routine. It was pretty tough.

Q. Do you think your confidence needs to be rebuilt?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Not rebuilt. Not everything. I just need maybe these couple matches, you know, to have all my confidence back. But today is already good.

Q. How confident were you going into today?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I was okay. I mean, I've been practising for one week now on the grass courts. Everything was going all right. So, you know, I was just hoping it would keep going.

Q. Did you think today the match was pretty much on your racquet?

AMELIE MAURESMO: On my?

Q. On your racquet? If you hit the winners or made the errors.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, she did a few things to try to disturb me a little bit. I mean, I had some occasions obviously in the first set to make it maybe a little bit faster, also some occasions to break her in the second set, which I didn't. I guess it's my first match, as I said, on grass, and first match since one month. I just need to adjust a little bit, I think.

Q. How tough has it been to regroup after the French?

AMELIE MAURESMO: It was tough. I was really waiting for the first win, so I'm happy about this one.

Q. What did you do after the French?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I stop for ten days, I mean, no tennis, nothing. Just went in the south of France, tried to think about something else. You know, after that, I had of course to prepare again and get ready for here.

Q. Do you think there's too much emphasis on the way female tennis players look than their actual skills and performance?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Too much about?

Q. The way women tennis players look rather than their performance and skill.

AMELIE MAURESMO: It's about both, I think, now today. I think it's good for women's tennis, if it's not going too far. I mean, has to be both, I guess, the skill and the way you look or whatever.

Q. What do you think you have to do to get to the top? What do you have to add to your game?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I don't know. No, I think, you know, I had a pretty good run at the beginning of the year. Everything was going all right, everything was coming together. I just need to find that rhythm back, and it should be all right.

Q. You think it's just a matter of consistency?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, yeah. Nothing special into my game or whatever. Just, yeah, consistency.

Q. When you took those ten days off and there were no unforced errors, no double-faults, what was the sweetest thing about that?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, it was important for me anyway. I couldn't have kept going in doubles or mixed or whatever. I just had to, you know, try to think to something else, which was not easy. I don't know if there was maybe something sweet about it, but just take care of myself and do the things I wanted to do.

Q. Coming into this tournament, what were realistically your expectations? Did you come in to win it?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No expectations really. As I said, come back into the game and win a few matches.

Q. Do you think you can beat anybody?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, yeah. I mean, I think so. I've beat a lot of players since the beginning of the year. You know, I don't see why should not continue.

Q. Do you feel physically at a hundred percent?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, I'm fine.

Q. Today did you ever think, "I might lose it"?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, yeah (laughter). I mean, yeah, I thought about it. I just kept playing the game. That's all you can do.

Q. Did your mind go back to the French Open?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, no.

Q. If you lost, would you have taken another ten days off?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, I don't think so.

Q. Do you think it's easier for you to come into an event with a lot of expectations like you had in the French or perhaps come here where people are focusing on other players, not talking too much about you?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Of course, it makes it I think a little bit easier. You know, get the attention on some other players is good for me. But I think at the French Open I have to get used to that anyway.

Q. In your character, to have a lot of things said about you before a tournament adds a lot to the pressure. Perhaps here everyone's talking about the Williams sisters, Capriati. They're not focused on you at all coming into this event.

AMELIE MAURESMO: I think for this period, I think it's much better for me, yeah.

End of FastScripts....

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