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ROGERS CUP WOMEN

August 8, 2011

Marion Bartoli

TORONTO, ONTARIO

G. VOSKOBOEVA/M. Bartoli
6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously not the start you were looking for. Just talk about what didn't work for you today.
MARION BARTOLI: Oh, well, a lot of things didn't work for me today but obviously it happens. It was really just one of those days where nothing is working.
I tried my hardest, but I commit so many mistakes it was really hard to win regarding the number of unforced errors that I get, and it's very unusual for me, especially in the last two months or so I have been playing extremely well.
So obviously I'm very disappointed, but Galina as well played a great match, so all credit to her. On my side, yeah, it was really a day with nothing was working at all.

Q. You were having some problems with your hand. Was that a factor today?
MARION BARTOLI: No, not really, no. I don't want to come up with some excuses.
It was just -- I don't know. I was not feeling the ball. My legs was not moving. I was late on everything. I was committing a lot of mistakes, especially on the backhand, which is normally my best shot.
So, I mean, it was just really -- I was mistiming the ball so many times, and I didn't really understand why because I was playing well in practice. So, you know, it's one of those days when you try your hardest, and it's just not going your way.

Q. Without looking at today's match, just talk about what the problem turned out to be and how the recovery has gone. Is it okay now, or is it still...
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, I had a hematoma in the palm of my hand. So I had to take two days off and then play with a glove so to make sure the pressure on my hand was limited.
But, you know, I decide to go on court without the glove and try to play this way, and I didn't feel the pain during the match.
It's really not why I didn't play well today. I mean, it reminds me a little bit two years ago the match that I did here where I lost also to Alona Bondarenko and I played a really bad match. Seems like, I don't know, something is not going well here in Toronto.
I don't know if it's the surface or humidity or something, but, you know, it has been two years' gap, and it's some of the same kind of matches that I have played, so it's a bit weird. But I have to bounce back, move on, and try to be ready for next week. That's all I can do.

Q. Voskoboeva has had a successful year so far, but you've always had success against her. What can you take out of a loss like that against a player who you've always had success against?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, I don't really remember when was the last time I played against her.

Q. You have gone 4-0 against her.
MARION BARTOLI: Can you just tell me where I play against her? I just don't remember.

Q. Specifically, I'm not sure.
MARION BARTOLI: Well, to be honest with you, I don't think it's really her game that caused me problem today. It was more like on my side I was not able to produce any kind of play.
When you commit so many mistakes like I did today, it's really hard to win a match, to be honest. It was really like my game was not at the level I'm supposed to play regarding my ranking. That was the main problem.
And obviously she played two matches in the qualification, so she gets some rhythm here and I didn't. It was my first match.
But you have to -- I have to go back to the practice court and practice hard. That's all I can do. I mean, it's happened to everyone to have a bad day. I just have to bounce back and be ready for the next one. That's really all I can do for now.

Q. I read that you came to Toronto a bit early. Can you tell us when you actually did arrive, and was the purpose just to try to get acclimated to the weather and the city and all that?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, I don't know if it was a good plan, actually, regarding what I did today, but I decide to light up a bit my schedule during the summer.
Usually I was playing every single week, and I thought it was a bit too much. So especially this year, because I already play so much before the summer series, I really thought I need to play less than usual.
So I played in Stanford, I made the final, and I flew on Monday here, get a day off on Tuesday because of my hand, and then started practice on Wednesday.
But really I don't think -- I mean, I practiced every day extremely hard. I was extremely focused, and I was really trying my hardest to be ready for this first-round match. Obviously I had a bad day today.

Q. Can you talk a bit about the dropshots that she was making? That seemed to have some success against you.
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, I think she could have done anything today, honestly. You know, as I said, I was trying to put some power into the ball. My ball was flying two meters outside of the lines. I was trying to put the ball inside the court, and my ball was so slow she was dropshotting me.
So the main problem to me today was my timing. I was not able to feel the ball. So I was almost -- before I was hitting every shot, I was almost not sure if the ball was going to go two meters out or dropping so short that my opponent would be able to make a good dropshot.
So when you have those kind of feelings, you can't really, you know, prepare a point or do something with the ball. It's very hard on the court, because you're almost getting scared to just -- before hitting every single shot.
So it was really my main problem. My groundstrokes were just not working. I was making so many unforced errors. It was just so unusual.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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