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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2007

Alla Kudryavtseva

LONDON, ENGLAND

Q. Do you live in Miami or train in Florida?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: I was training in Florida -- I mean, my coach is from Florida, not exactly from Miami, from Bradenton. But yes, he's American and he's from Florida.

Q. Do you live in Miami or you have a place in Miami?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: No.

Q. You're listed as Miami.
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Yes, I know, but it was -- I just told them, I changed the coach a little bit ago, and my previous coach, he was living in Miami.

Q. Who was that?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Nick Rybakov. He was Russian. But he was living in Miami, and I was based in his house because he had a family and they had a huge house so I had my own -- how do you say that? Bedroom, bathroom, everything. So I was kind of based there, and I spent all my time between the tournaments there.

Q. How long were you there from?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Well, half a year. I mean, every time after the tournament I was coming back there, and with my new coach Bill Eastburn, he lives in Bradenton, and it's probably going to be the same. I'm going to be coming to his house because he has also a big house and courts right next to his place and a fitness center and everything, so probably going to be the same. I'm going to be coming back and forth. I would love to buy a flat -- apartment. That's how you say it, apartment (laughter). But I should make a couple of semifinals, Grand Slams, before that.

Q. At what age did you first go to Florida?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Oh, my God, actually my first tournament outside of Europe was Orange Bowl, and it was like six years ago. So my first experience in the States was in Florida.

Q. Sorry, I meant to live there.
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: For training, oh. December of last year. I'm very Russian. I was based in Russia and I had a Russian coach, and then I met Nick, and he offered me -- the conditions in the States are way better than Moscow. You have a lot of courts, you have -- way better, yeah. You have a lot of courts, you have great weather, you don't have to play indoors for six months of the year. Well, it's just easier.

Q. What courts did you train at? Where? Do you remember the name?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: No.

Q. Do you remember the part of Miami where it is?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Coral Springs.

Q. Can you talk about the match? You looked really frustrated like you were getting angry with yourself.
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Really? I was like, good girl, go ahead.

Q. Did you feel like you really had a chance to beat her, and what was going through your mind?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: You don't think I had a chance to beat her?

Q. Yes, you did.
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: I think I had a better chance to beat her in the second set actually, even though I was 2-Love up, love 30, then 2-1, 40-15, a couple advantages on my serve later in the set, and I think if I would have used those chances I would have way better chances.
In the third set she played good. She played the way she should play. I played a little bit above my level probably, so that's how I could keep up -- stay the same leg with her.

Q. Did you notice her change something in her tactics later in the match?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Well, I mean, after 2-Love she just started making balls. She stopped going for bigger shots and just started making balls and trying to move her feet better, I guess.
To me, I don't see it from outside. I see it only from my vision. But to me the balls were getting lower and shorter, and probably that's her way to put the balls in when she's out of the rhythm or something. But yeah, I should have taken more chances.

Q. Were you are nervous -- when you saw Venus Williams for your first match, what did you think?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: (Smiling) well, I've got to tell you, before coming here and before playing this, I did well at the French Open, and clay is the worst surface for me in my opinion, and I qualified. I made it to the second round.
And then coming to the grass courts, I love it, and I really think my game pretty much fits to it. If I would have had a bigger serve, which I will next year, it would be just the perfect surface for me because I'm short and the swings are short and I can stay low. I think it's a good surface for me.
And then I'm hitting and I'm beating the top 20 girls and I'm hitting with them, you know, shot to shot, and I feel really nice. And then I see the draw, and I was like, this is the worst draw that could happen because other than she is a great player and she is a legend, and I was watching her matches since a couple of years ago when she was so great, so powerful and everything, other than that, she's a champion of Wimbledon. That means she's playing really good on the grass courts.
And she has a huge serve. It doesn't matter how good she plays, if your opponent has the biggest serve in the world, it's very difficult.
So when I saw the draw, I was like, yeah, right. That's the best draw I could get. Anyone else -- well, not the seeded players. Even some of the seeded players. I really felt like I can beat almost anyone, not Henin and Sharapova and Mauresmo and Serena, those seeded players, the younger girls, or Jankovic, who is just on fire now, well, yeah, that's tough. But other than that, there are a lot of girls I think I would just kill here.

Q. Given that, what you were taught beforehand, was there a point maybe in the second set, you're up a break, you won the first set, then you were up a break in the second, where you thought I'm about to pull off the biggest upset?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Well, when I was 4-1 up against Sharapova at the French Open, then I thought, yes, I can go to the third set. This time I really felt confident and I really felt like I'm on my place, and it's not that Venus is missing everything. She's missing, but I'm playing some good tennis. I didn't think, oh, my God, now I can beat Venus. No, I didn't. I felt okay.
And after it was 2-All, 3-2 she went up, I thought, yeah, probably I just -- not lost it, but I just didn't make it. You know, I had a very good chance, and I thought that this might be my chance, could have been my chance, the only chance.
Then I saw some more chances, and I was like, oh, great, still here. Well, yeah, but I didn't feel like, oh, I can beat her now. I did feel, yeah, I'm here. I'm fighting with Venus Williams, nice.

Q. So you leave with good -- even though you lost, how would you say you leave Wimbledon, up or down?
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Wimbledon is not over for me. I'll see how I do in doubles. If I do good in doubles, certainly up. With singles, I did good, yeah. I did good. Venus is a tough draw, and Venus is great. I think she will do well. I hope she will do well. I wish her all the best. But just a little bit disappointed that I had chances and I didn't use them.

Q. There were some calls that you questioned, argued a little bit.
ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA: Well, you know, at that point of the match, and she's playing so deep, it seems like everything is flying out. I mean, anyone would do that. Anyone would think that. You just really want it. You just really want her to miss. You just really want that ball to be five millimeters out.
I still think one ball was out, and it could have bring me 15-40 on her serve and maybe I could have been 5-3 up. But yeah, the referee is the referee and he knows better. What else can I say, right? I can't say. If I will say, they will find me (smiling). Shh.
Thank you very much.

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