	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2007

Shahar Peer

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: First question.
Q. So close yet so far. Your thoughts on your performance.
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah, I was very close. I started the match very good. The second set, from 2-1 for her, 30-Love for me, suddenly I couldn't put one ball in the court. It was very strange. She started to play better and better.
But I think the third set, also 2-1 when I lost my serve, I was 40-15 up, few advantage. But anyway I came back from 4-1 and I was playing better and better.
My serve was not good in the third set at all. When I broke her serve and I went to serve for the match, it's not that I was tight or anything, I just went for my shots. But still my serve was not good. She was really attacking.
Like I said in my last conference, I mean, she's a champion and she knows how to handle these situations. I mean, I can just say she was playing too good in the end and she was serving very, very good. I wish her good luck.

Q. What was going through your mind when you knew you had the opportunity of wrapping it up?
SHAHAR PEER: I didn't look at her the whole match. I didn't see anything. I was just concentrating in myself. I was not intimidating at all.

Q. What have you taken out of the match for future tournaments?
SHAHAR PEER: I think from the whole tournament, I mean, I was performing very well. I played very good. I won good players. I think I'm improving my shots and everything. I lost 8-6 in the third, a quarterfinal. It's not the best result. It's pretty disappointing.
But I just have to look at the good side: that I am playing good tennis and next time I hope to step out there and take the match.

Q. Is it any consolation to you that you are now the highest-ranked ever Israeli female player?
SHAHAR PEER: I don't know what's going to be my ranking?

Q. It says that you'll go to 14.
SHAHAR PEER: I mean, I'm happy from this. But my goal is not to be the best Israeli. I just want to improve, be better and better. I hope even to be better in my ranking. I think I'm in the right way and I'm happy for that.

Q. What is your military status?
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah, I'm in the military, and they have a special program for athletes. Whenever I have to travel to tournaments, I can travel. Whenever I'm home, I have to go for few hours every day.

Q. Did you do basic training?
SHAHAR PEER: I did, yeah, two and a half weeks. It was very good.

Q. What is your rank?
SHAHAR PEER: In the Army.

Q. Private, corporal?
SHAHAR PEER: I don't know how to explain in English. I'm let's say the lowest. I'm not too much in Israel.

Q. But you can shoot a gun?
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah, I can.

Q. After the match, Serena said on court that she thought she didn't play that well. Did that upset you, or were you not really listening at that point?
SHAHAR PEER: I mean, I don't care. I'm just thinking about my tennis. Like I said, the first set I was playing very well, but still I didn't move her enough. I don't think I was performing my best tennis.
But this is tennis, and she was stepping there, just took the match. I mean, both of us maybe didn't play our best. But still it was a good match, 8-6 in the third. You cannot expect for more dramatic than this.

Q. Were you encouraged by your cheering section?
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah. I mean, they're really amazing. They came from the first round, the first point till the end. It's not only the quarterfinal, they are there from the first day. I can just thank them a lot.

Q. You play well in Australia. Why is that?
SHAHAR PEER: I mean, yeah, I won the juniors. But last year and two years ago I didn't play that well. I lost first round. I lost in quallies two years ago.
I mean, I like Australia. I like to come here. But I'm trying to play good in every tournament. I hope next year I will be better than a quarterfinal here.

Q. You had a lot of breakpoint opportunities. Do you think it was a matter of Williams serving those out, or do you think there's a bit of inexperience? Do you feel you coped with the pressure well today?
SHAHAR PEER: I think. I think it was 4-All in the third. I had three breakpoints. She aced me every time, or two breakpoints. You can do nothing. You can just clap hands for her, that's it.
She was coming up with huge serves in the important points. I think this is a lot of experience to come out there, just serve so well in these points.

Q. I understand there was quite a bit of interest in your matches, people up at 4:00 this morning in Israel. Is that something that was building over the last couple rounds?
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah, it's nice they put the match on the television in Israel. They put also the fourth round. I'm really happy people are just supporting so much for me in Israel. I did my best also for them, especially for me. I guess everyone is happy in Israel now.

Q. Now that you've taken the basic training, when you go back, are you actually doing soldier duties or administrative duties when you're back?
SHAHAR PEER: I don't know. I didn't understand the words. When I'm going back, I'm more in the office. I did the basic training for two and a half weeks last year in November, not this year.

Q. How long will you have to be in?
SHAHAR PEER: One more year. I hope so, yeah. Because I'm missing so many days. But in the end usually they cut. Not only for me, but usually for the sports people in Israel they cut what they missed before.

Q. I heard you did well in marksmanship.
SHAHAR PEER: Oh, yeah. I really enjoyed it. The basic training was pretty good. I don't know if it's from tennis or whatever, but I really liked it. I was not bad.

Q. You were two points from the match. Will that bother you for a while?
SHAHAR PEER: No, I don't think so. I think the match three weeks ago against Safina when I was 6-4, 5-1 bothers me more. Today it wasn't that I was shaking or whatever. I went there and she was playing good.
I can give her all the credit. I just did everything I could today. I mean, one day you win. One day I won from two match points down in this tournament, and one day you lose. This is tennis. This is sport.

Q. Do your goals for the year change? Will this give you confidence for later in the year? Will you sit down and think about how it can go better?
SHAHAR PEER: Yeah, I mean, I'm playing well. I have to play next week in Tokyo. I'm going to play there. Not really goal for a ranking. I just want to improve my tennis and just try my best. I think I'm performing well. I hope just to keep on like this.

Q. What areas of your game do you feel like you need to improve?
SHAHAR PEER: I think my serve in the whole tournament was not bad. Today it was not very good. I think I improved it a lot. I need -- I'm trying to come to the net. Doesn't always look like, but I'm trying a lot.
At 7-6 for her, 30-All, I miss a backhand volley which was disappointing. But just to improve everything and try to use my slice, just to raise my level more and more.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297