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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP WOMEN'S OPEN

August 12, 2010

Marion Bartoli

CINCINNATI, OHIO

M. BARTOLI/C. Wozniacki
6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In the first set, she went ahead 4-3 and then you broke her to tie things up. Do you feel like that was the turning point of the match?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, the thing is I lost my serve pretty badly. I mean, I was having a 40-15 lead and let it go.
I think, yeah, to break her, especially to get this challenging call when the ball was out and the judge line call it in and actually it was out on the breakpoint, it was kind of a huge turning point.
But I felt like after that I served really well, and it helps me a lot to stay on top today.

Q. How do you feel about playing the winner of the Sharapova/Radwanska match?
MARION BARTOLI: You're a very young journalist. First of all, I want to enjoy this victory. I will think about my next opponent when I will know the name of it.
For sure it's gonna be a huge challenge. I never beat either one, either Maria or Agnieszka, so I'm really looking forward for tomorrow's match.

Q. You were very aggressive today. You hit 32 winners, I think, which is an incredible number for a straight-sets win. When you're playing against someone as defensive as Caroline seems to do mostly, does it make you feel like you need to be more aggressive than usual?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, right, thing is against Caroline you have to find the right balance between being aggressive but make sure you keep your unforced errors low. You don't want to give her too many cheap points, because then she start to play much better as well. She feel confident because she make you miss the ball, and she feel better and better.
So I have to make sure I was playing the right spots and hit the right balls. So I think I did pretty well keeping the ball deep for some few strokes, and then take the right shot to hit the winner.

Q. Do you think that's what her game is built around, waiting for opponent's errors?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I think she have some weapons. Definitely you're not No. 3 in the world for nothing. She made the US Open final last year. Of course she is running very well, but she is able to hit some winners with her backhand. She can serve well as well.
So she's not only a retriever. Of course she retrieve very well, but she can be inside the baseline and dictate if you're just hitting the ball to her.

Q. Do you feel like she's hitting and serving harder?
MARION BARTOLI: You mean over the years or just over the match?

Q. Let's say over the last six months. Do you feel like she's hitting harder?
MARION BARTOLI: I didn't play against her the last six months is the thing. I think the last time was in Stuttgart last year.
Um, yes, I feel definitely especially on her serve. She serve huger than she used to be. I think her groundstroke always been the same pace, but she's trying to come to the net more often and hit more winners from her backhand side than she used to be.
So I think she have a great coach and she's on the right path. She's No. 3 in the world, so I guess it was just a good performance for me today.

Q. This is the sixth player that has been ranked in the top 3 that you've defeated. Can you talk about playing high-ranked players. Does to bring out your best game?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, I loved it obviously, especially, you know, I think the turning point was Wimbledon 2007 when I start to beat Jelena and Justine in the same tournament and really start to believe in myself and knew that I could make it in the bigger stage.
It helped me a lot on my confidence. You know, when you step on the court against those players you are sometimes kind of losing your game before you go on the court because you're just too afraid to play against them.
So I guess to me, I think it was more about the confidence that I had to myself and the belief that I could go on court and beat them.
I think if you can see my record, all those wins came after Wimbledon 2007.

Q. To follow up on what you were just saying about the feeling you have before you get on court, who do you think on tour you would feel like that about now?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I think I'm -- right now I'm not afraid about anyone. I used to be afraid of Serena, to be honest with you, because she's kind of impressive. But sometimes you're not afraid and you're still losing the match because you play against someone who's just better than you on that day.
But I think you have this a bit on the men's side. Like Rafa Nadal, right now I think some players, when they step on the court against him, felt like they already lost before because he just so imposing.
Really for me, the turning point, again, was Wimbledon 2007. Before that, I lost it Jelena Jankovic in the French Open two weeks before 6-1, 6-Love, something like that, 6-1, 6-1, and three weeks later I was beating her.
So it's not about my game change completely in three weeks, it's more about stepping on the court and knew that I can make it. I think that was the huge difference for me.

Q. Not only were you able to beat the top 3 player, but at one point you won eight straight games against her today. What's going through your mind when you're playing someone who is ranked that high, No. 2 seed in the tournament, and really clobbering them?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, of course I was feeling good about it. But also, you know, she turn around some matches when she was down and coming back, so...
And also I lost a match last week when I had three match point and ended up losing it. So I really need to stay focused to the end.
Honestly, when I'm playing against someone on the court I'm not thinking about what her ranking is or whatever. I'm just trying to win every single point no matter what her ranking is.

Q. When you're on a roll like that, especially in weather like this, do you have to fight the urge to kind of like try to close them out real fast so you can get off the court and conserve your energy for the next match?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I think if you start to think like this, I'm sure I will stay there two hours more because you are so stressed. (Laughing.) Oh, my God, I want to finish. I want to finish. You end up never finish it at all, and you stay two hours more.
I'm physically the fittest I've ever been. I can stay there four hours, and knowing that helped me to close it out earlier. But if I need to stay more, I just need to stay more. It's not a matter of time. The matter is to come up with a W at the end of the day.

Q. I know you're a well-known Roger Federer fan. You mentioned Nadal. What are your thoughts on his form lately? Some of his fans are concerned that he's dropped a little in the rankings.
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I'm not too concerned about someone who has 16 Grand Slam titles. (Laughter.) I think if I had that I would be totally fine. You always have to remember he has 16 Grand Slam titles. Give the guy a break. He's the best player probably in the history of tennis. It's not a big deal if he lost one match.

Q. Caroline was impressed about your serving performance today. Did you improve both first and second serve? Did you change mechanics of your serve?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, you know, I worked a lot on my serve during the three weeks timeout I had after Wimbledon. Also, after San Diego and Stanford, I really thought that my serve was letting me down at some point. I was serving well for a matter of time, and then I was slowly decreasing on my speed. My first serve percentage was decreasing as well.
So I came back on the practice court serving a lot, and make sure I keep the same motion no matter what the score or how tired I felt. Of course I practice a lot on the tennis court, and I change a bit my motion. I work also a lot physically to get stronger.
So I guess all these things make me serve a lot better than I did in two previous tournaments.

Q. You returned very good today. You had twelve chances to break her serve, and you took advantage of four. Is it because you return well or because she didn't serve as well as in previous meetings? How can you explain that?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I think I read her serve better than I used to be. You know, against -- it's a combination all the time. I mean, I return better than I used to be against her, and maybe because I return better she start to drop a bit on her serve. It's always a combination of the two.
But, um, I think, yes, I was able to maybe step back a little bit more to give me more time to then step inside the court when I was hitting the ball. Before I thought when I was playing against her I was staying too close at the beginning and she was jamming me a lot, serving to the body, and I was not able to returning well.
So I think this time I make som adjustment and it help me.

Q. What are your expectations, or have you thought about expectations going into the US Open?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, you know, last year I had some great expectations before the draw came out. When I saw Kim Clijsters in the second round, I was like, Thanks. Two times in one month, it's great. (Laughter.)
So I guess I'm the baddest little girl you can ever imagine. I think if I can carry on with the same mentality on the court, the same focus, I will be able to do well. But, again, I need to take care about the business on the court and stay focused and not thinking too far ahead.
So I have tomorrow's match to think first; I will think about the US Open later on.

End of FastScripts

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