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SONY ERICSSON OPEN

April 1, 2010

Marion Bartoli

MIAMI, FLORIDA

V. WILLIAMS/M. Bartoli
6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you talk about the match today? What was the difference today for you?
MARION BARTOLI: Um, well, I think the main difference was other both side the serve. Venus served really well today, I thought, and I get some really bad service game.
I think it's really help her to stay on top of me. I really felt like when he was serving better I was just getting at least equal to the baseline, and sometimes I was getting better than her on the baseline rallies.
I really felt like the two bad service games I had in the first set was really taking me down in the first. In the second I start to pick up my game, and she play also very well.

Q. Have you ever double faulted a game away like that?
MARION BARTOLI: It was all terrible. The more I was thinking, okay, just put your first serve in, the worse it was getting.
I think it's also the part that she's so inside the baseline. I would just put the first serve in, and she would just get over it and kill me on the return of serve. That really put a lot of pressure on yourself.
I think that's also what sets her apart from the other players. Like Serena, when you get her in front of you, it's not like an average player returning your serve.
If you're not serving perfectly, she gonna hit a great return and be on defense.

Q. When you lost the Wimbledon final to her, you remarked about her power.
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah.

Q. Did you think it's increased?
MARION BARTOLI: You know what, usually I have a good memory, but maybe this one I don't want to remember. I just don't remember the way she was hitting the ball in Wimbledon.
I know her serve was huge, and I think it was feeling the same way today. When the serve is coming at you -- and even in the second serve the ball is really bouncing really high.
I think it's also a difference between here and Stanford. Stanford the surface is quicker, so the second serve is not bouncing that high.
Here it's really getting the speed. I was not able to attack any of the second serve because the ball was jumping over my head.
I think on the rallies I was fine. It was just her serve that really I couldn't get back the ball with enough power to put her serve on the defense.

Q. In the second set, she did very well at the net. She was very successful with her volleys. Can you talk about her play and how that affected you?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, I think my passing shot was good. It was in the feet, but she came up with some unbelievable volleys, honestly.
She had two volley really under the net, and she put some dropshot volley that was really too good.
Honestly on the second set I'm pretty pleased wit my level, but she just play better. So if I was able to play the say way in the first set, then maybe it would be different. The second set was really tight.
But in the first set I didn't play that well, so I think also for her to be one set up it helps to be confident.

Q. Did you notice her sister right there?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, I saw Serena before the match. I said to her, It's not fair you're dressing up so nicely. I'm gonna watch more what you're wearing than the ball. She looked really amazing.

Q. Before you served, you had some exercises or whatever you would call it with your legs, bending or a Can-Can sort of thing.
MARION BARTOLI: The thing is, we had some great rallies, but no so much. Especially because Venus is really putting a lot pressure on yourself, you have to really keep moving, otherwise you get mentally tight and your legs start to freeze.
I was really feeling that, especially in the first set when I get those four double faults. Because really my leg were just freezing. I was feeling like I had glue on my sneakers. I couldn't jump, honestly.
So that's why all my serve was going into the net, because I was just not jumping to get the ball high enough. I really felt like I needed to move to get some relief and start to play better.
I think it works in the second set. I was feeling a lot better.

Q. Did you think Venus was impersonating you when you met at the net?
MARION BARTOLI: No, I think it's more the pace of her shot that really tax on you. It's just not the same pace that I am used to playing against. She's really the same as Serena. It's really the pace of her shot that it's taking on you.

Q. No, she met you at the net after the match and she was kind of doing the bouncing. Did you notice that when you shook hands?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, she's always doing that when she's happy, so I guess she was happy.

Q. Obviously you wanted to be in the final and you're probably disappointed, but it will either be Venus/Henin or Venus/Clijsters. Do you think either will be a good final? And how do you think Venus will do?
MARION BARTOLI: Oh, gosh, I think, yeah, obviously gonna be a great final. I think it's gonna be a great semifinal first of all tonight. I think Justine and Kim always have some great fights.
I think they play one this year, and it end up 7-6 in the third. I think Justine had match point, and she finally lost it.
No matter what, it's gonna be great final. I still believe Venus or Serena, here in Miami, it's like in Wimbledon. They really love this tournament, and they're really, really hard to beat, especially when they start to click it together.
At the end of the tournaments they get really better and better, and it's really hard to beat them.

Q. What was Serena wearing?
MARION BARTOLI: I think she had a red dress and some really, really, really high heel shoes. Maybe something like 14 inches of heels. It was pretty high.

Q. And she has a knee injury.
MARION BARTOLI: I think she can manage to walk pretty well. I think from wearing those kind of shoes you don't feel that much pain in your knees. It's just about the ankle.

Q. Did you feel like you had two Williamses on the other side of the net at times?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, probably. Maybe I need some help from Serena to get on my side.

End of FastScripts

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