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WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2007

Katie O'Brien

LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Looked pretty frustrated playing out there. How did you view the match?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Yeah, a little disappointed because I didn't feel like (indiscernible) justice today. I mean, it was pretty difficult. I mean, getting quite far down where I lose my serve early on, it was a struggle from there.
Yeah, just so frustrating because I knew I'd been playing much better the last couple of weeks and I just wanted to try and prove myself. In the end she served really well. It was really difficult to break her serve.
I think I actually probably beat myself through most of the match. Made a few too many errors. Serve let me down as well, so...
Just a disappointing day.

Q. How do you mean you beat yourself? Was it sort of mental?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Not necessarily mental. But I think off the ground, she wasn't really putting me under that much pressure. I was the one making the errors myself. I mean, obviously she's a step up in class to what I've been used to, so maybe I was a little bit kind of overwhelmed by that.
But she wasn't really putting me under that much pressure. I think I was maybe just pressing too hard. Maybe I should have been a bit smarter, you know, bided my time a bit more, been a little bit more patient.

Q. When you lost the first set 6-Love, what were you saying to yourself?
KATIE O'BRIEN: I was just trying to regroup. It was so important to get a good start in the second set. I mean, I held my serve early on, but then just too many loose points in the match.
I mean, I played a few good points. But, I mean, at this level you have to play consistently point after point at after point, not just one winner, two errors, double-fault.
But it's definitely a level I aspire to get to. I mean, she's pretty good on this stuff. She knows what she's doing.

Q. Were you aware of how eager the crowd were for you to get into the match?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Yeah, I wasn't nervous. I was really grateful for them because they were -- even when I was a set down and down in the second, they were still right behind me.
Yeah, it was nice to have them behind me.

Q. Were your family all there today again?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Yeah, they were there. They've been here all week.

Q. The LTA officials have been very critical of British players this week, made comments about comfort zones. What is your reaction to that? Do you think it's justified?
KATIE O'BRIEN: I think so. I mean, the LTA have given all the players fantastic opportunities. I think some people just sit there and take it, don't put in the hard work themselves. I think you can use it either way really.
I think I want to try to use it as positively as I can because I realize this is the greatest opportunity I'll ever have and they're doing everything they can to help me.
Yeah, so I think it's down to the players. I think it's good that the LTA have been tough on the players maybe moaning about things which isn't really justifiable considering the funding they've had over the years.

Q. Did you come away from the match today thinking you have to train harder, work harder to reach the level your opponent was at today?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Definitely. I think things really have happened so quickly the last two weeks, but I think today was a bit of a reality check, to be honest.
It's not disheartening at all because I know it's pretty clear there are a lot of things I have to work on. After this, I'll be 120 in the world. After I finish here, I'll have a good couple weeks' training. Hopefully I can crack into the top 100 sooner rather than later.

Q. Specifically what in your game do you have to do to make that leap?
KATIE O'BRIEN: My serve, it has improved a lot, but my second serve can let me down, particularly at crucial stages in the match. I think I'm developing quite a big forehand, but my backhand breaks down too often. Also physically I'm just going to have to keep working hard.

Q. One of the areas Roger Draper spoke about this morning was conditioning and fitness. He says a lot of the players are reluctant to get in the gym. Do you think that's a fair comment in terms of the British ladies?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Perhaps. But I think definitely they've recruited a lot of top conditioning coaches pretty recently in the last couple weeks. I think that's all going to be good for us.
For me, I could definitely be in better shape. But I'm in much better shape than I was earlier this year. At least I'm moving in the right direction. I know it's an area I need to work on. Yeah, I'm pretty determined to do that.

Q. You have your own coach?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Well, over the grass court season, Damien Roberts and Nigel Sears have both been helping me. They've been giving me tactics, giving me advice. Every match they've been there whenever I needed them.
Before that time, not as such. I mean, there's always been top LTA coaches around at Roehampton for me to get advice from, but I don't have an individual coach as such at the moment.

Q. I think it's 22 years ago that Britain only had one player left in the draw at this stage. What is your comment on that?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Yeah, I mean, that's quite a depressing thought really. I think the other four British girls, they had pretty tough draws this year. I think we're in a better situation than we were maybe like last couple of years.
I mean, I'd be the first to admit there's still a long way to go. And I really hope that with all the changes in the LTA, I think I'm pretty positive for the future.

Q. Has your family been affected by the floods?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Not really. I mean, they came down before the floods happened. I think my grandparents are still up there. I think my village is pretty badly affected. My road specifically is not too bad because it's on a hill.
Yeah, I mean, I've been quite shattered from all the news back home that I've been reading in the papers every day. It's quite shocking. I can't really believe that's happening in my area, and I hope people aren't too badly affected.

Q. Friends and family, have they been affected?
KATIE O'BRIEN: No one personally close to me. Yeah, I don't really know.

Q. We haven't had a British woman's winner for 30 years. Why do you think that is?
KATIE O'BRIEN: It's difficult to say really. I mean, there's definitely been a drought of women's players at this level. There's nothing more I can say. I think we all know that we've got to put the work in.
I think the LTA being tougher on us and just telling us, Look, you can't get there with half-hearted attempts; you've got to throw everything at it.

Q. Do you think more can be done to support you through it, to help people like you get to the top?
KATIE O'BRIEN: I'm pretty fortunate. I've had LTA backing since I was pretty young. I'm very grateful to them for that.
Obviously I've had coaches -- I've had advice from top coaches last couple of weeks. But it would be nice to have a bit more continuity or the same coach throughout the year. But we'll see what happens after this.

Q. Is it financial reasons you haven't got a coach?
KATIE O'BRIEN: No, not at all. I think the LTA, they said to me if I get top 25 in the world, they'll give one-on-one coach, no problem. I think that's good because it gives me something to aspire to rather than having this cloud of uncertainty about coaches. Yeah, in the past they've just given players coaches when they haven't really warranted it. It's shown that we've got to work for it. Maybe that's why I've done well the last couple of weeks because I feel like, you know, I've got to prove a point, prove I'm worthy of some assistance.

Q. Where do you go from here?
KATIE O'BRIEN: I've still got to discuss my schedule because my ranking will have jumped quite a bit after the last couple weeks. As opposed to before I was maybe looking at playing challengers, now I'm quite excited because it opens a whole set of windows for me. I can play much better tour events.
I think I'll probably head to North America before the US Open and play a couple tour events over there. That's where the big ranking points are. If I can have maybe one or two big tournaments, yeah, I'll be top 100.

Q. Do you think tennis isn't as important enough to the British? Is that why we're in the state we're in?
KATIE O'BRIEN: Perhaps. I mean, we're lucky in this country, there's so many different things that we can do. I mean, even I had the option of going to university at one point. Yeah, I mean, it's easy to get financial security. You can just have a 9-to-5 income and guarantee an income all the time. I play for the love of the game. I think all the other players do.
Yeah, I think it's no secret that Eastern Europeans, they've had to fight for everything they've had. It's the best opportunity for them to make something of themselves.

Q. Some of the other No. 1's in the world earn some serious money. We don't think you earn the kind of money the No. 1's earn. Would you call more money from the LTA, a full-time coach?
KATIE O'BRIEN: No, I don't think I can -- I'm not top 100 yet. They give me financial assistance. I can't ask for more than that really.
I don't think it's the financial side letting us down. It's more just the hard work, me myself.

End of FastScripts

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