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WIMBLEDONJuly 2, 2007Laura GranvilleLONDON, ENGLAND Q. What would you say? How do you feel? LAURA GRANVILLE: Well, obviously disappointed. But yeah, I mean, I think she played really well, though. I mean, she definitely won that match. You know, I could have played a little better, but she served really well and I had some break points, but I think on a bunch of them she hits aces and good serves. You know, I give her a ton of credit. She played great. Q. Has this overall Wimbledon experience told you anything about where your game is or changed your feelings about what's ahead for you? LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah. I mean, I definitely -- I'm very happy. I feel like I have more belief in myself, more confidence. You know, I did -- in some of the matches I think I proved a lot to myself. I just have to take a lot of positives from this and take that into the summer season in the U.S. on the hard courts. You know, I really want to do well in the U.S. at those tournaments. Q. Do you live in Miami or where do you live right now? LAURA GRANVILLE: Well, I have a place there, yeah. Most of the time I'm on the road, but I'm in Miami not very often, mostly in November, December. Q. I'm from the Miami Herald, so just to say you spend part of the winter in Miami? LAURA GRANVILLE: I have a place there. Q. So you snowbird? LAURA GRANVILLE: Basically. I go back usually to Chicago in between tournaments the rest of the year? Q. Will you play any like Challenger or anything the rest of the year? This summer what do you plan to do? LAURA GRANVILLE: This summer I'm playing the tour tournaments: San Diego, LA, Toronto, and the Open. Q. Not Stanford? LAURA GRANVILLE: No. I don't know. I haven't played that for a few years. Q. Why is that? It would seem like a natural. LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know why. I feel like -- I think I maybe feel a little extra pressure going back there. It's hard for me. But I should play that, and I think probably next year I'll play it for sure. Q. Did you happen to watch -- I don't know what time exactly, but did you happen to watch the Serena match and all the drama that went on with her? LAURA GRANVILLE: No, what happened? Q. Do you have an hour? LAURA GRANVILLE: (Laughing) I was watching it until 1-All I think in the third. Q. Well, she went down with an injury and was writhing in pain and screaming and she had a calf -- well, they're not sure exactly what it is, but she was down and then she got up and then she tried to play and she could barely walk. She was just kind of standing there and everyone thought for sure she was going to -- thought it was going to be over. Then it rained just exactly at the right time? LAURA GRANVILLE: So what was the score? Q. She ended up winning. LAURA GRANVILLE: What? Q. 6-2. LAURA GRANVILLE: 6-2 in the third? Q. Hantuchova just completely -- LAURA GRANVILLE: -- mentally lost it. Q. Does anything surprise you about Serena? When you see the replays you'll see what we're talking about, but there was no way she was going to win that match and she did. LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah, I mean, she's a fighter so that doesn't surprise me. You know, she's great for tennis because she brings a lot of drama. That draws the fans in. So, I mean, I think -- I don't want to say it's fun to watch, but I think the fans probably got really involved in that. Q. In defense of Hantuchova, I shouldn't have said that. But seriously, have you ever had to play an opponent who's visibly injured? I assume there are other emotions of empathy and ruthlessness. How do you sort that out? LAURA GRANVILLE: Well, I can't remember the last time, but I think that's really difficult because automatically you tighten up a little bit because you feel like you should be winning. You feel like you should be killing the person. Then when you start -- when you're not and you start maybe losing, it's really hard to deal with. So it's a tough situation to be in. It's really tough. Q. Did you notice the extra security? You were dropped off across the street and had to walk over. Do you feel like -- what did you notice or not notice? LAURA GRANVILLE: I definitely noticed that just in the beginning -- I also noticed some policemen with dogs, but once we got in the building it was the same. So it was just being dropped off across the street this morning, but otherwise not really. Q. Have you thought about it at all, with this weekend and all the stuff that went on in London? LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah, I definitely heard a lot about it, but I really didn't think about it once I got here, and I don't think a lot of the players did. I mean, not a lot of the players were talking about it. I think we felt pretty secure here. Q. Do you already think of this as a big tournament in your progression? LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah, I mean, I definitely think so. I have to -- I'm going to take a lot of positive things from this tournament. You know, it's helped my confidence a ton, and it's shown me that I can beat top 20 players, and that's huge. So now I'm going on to hard court, which is one of my favorite surfaces, so I'm really excited for that. Q. And those events you mentioned, they're part of the US Open Series? LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah. Q. Is that part of the appeal to you? LAURA GRANVILLE: The appeal of playing in the U.S.? Q. Yeah. Has that done anything -- the creation of the US Open Series, has that done anything to the affect the tournaments you would choose, or is that just a nice marketing bonus? LAURA GRANVILLE: Well, I don't think it affects me as much because it's the top three finishers. So I think maybe for the top players it's a bigger deal. But I think it's just great for the fans so they can follow along. Q. Do you think it's had any impact? Do you think fans are following who's leading the US Open Series, or is it just fancy window dressing? LAURA GRANVILLE: You know, from what it sounded like the last few years the fans do follow it. I think it's also fun at the Open because then they kind of know which players are first, second, third in that, and maybe they follow them a little bit more or are interested because they make more money -- I don't know. I don't want to say they make more money. But I think they definitely mention that a lot, so I think the fans do follow that. Q. Given you have sort of a different biography from a lot of the players here, you're 26, right? LAURA GRANVILLE: Uh-huh. Q. Do you think like 26 could be the new 20 as far as you're concerned? LAURA GRANVILLE: Well, I hope so (laughing). Q. Do you think of it that way, like you're a lot -- feel fresher at this stage than maybe you thought you would have? LAURA GRANVILLE: You know, I've learned so much that I -- I really do feel like -- even though I'm 26 and that sounds really old in tennis years, I really don't feel old. I feel like a lot of -- especially the other American players like Jill Craybas, Meghan Shaughnessy, I don't think they feel old, either. Jill is in her early 30s, and I think we all feel like we have a lot left in us. We've learned a lot, and I feel like I'm still getting better. You know, I think that if I keep on improving, my late 20s might be the best years that I have. Even though at 26 I hate hearing it, too, because I just turned 26, I still feel like I have a while. Q. I'm so sorry. LAURA GRANVILLE: (Laughing). Q. Just wait until you're 42. LAURA GRANVILLE: Yeah (laughing). Thanks a lot. End of FastScripts |
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