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FEDCUP WORLD GROUP II FIRST ROUND: BELARUS v USAFebruary 4, 2012Christina McHaleWORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS USA – 1 C. McHALE/A. Yakimova THE MODERATOR: Questions for Christina. Q. You were playing really confident the first set, came out strong. Talk about how you felt out there. CHRISTINA McHALE: Yeah, I was really happy with the way I started. Into the second set as well. It was kind of deceiving, the scoreline, because there were a couple games where she was up like 40‑15 and I came back and won those. I was really happy about that. Definitely I started to feel the nerves when I had that big lead in the second. But I was happy that even though I lost a couple of games there, I stayed focused and won those two games at the end. Q. After the seventh game of the second set, you're at 4‑3, you sat down, Mary Joe was animated in talking to you. Can you share with us what you said? Are you a player who benefits from having somebody talk to you or do you need to go inside yourself? CHRISTINA McHALE: No, she told me she wanted me to keep moving my feet a lot because when you get nervous that's the area you stop moving. Then, yeah, she just wanted me to keep swinging out the way I had been in the beginning. It's great having Mary Joe on the court, someone with so much experience and she has had so much success. So I think she helped me to stay calm. Q. When did you find out you wouldn't be playing Victoria? Did you feel more confidence or more pressure that you were supposed to win this match? CHRISTINA McHALE: I found out right after my warmup. No, I didn't really try to think about it too much. I mean, I still had to play a tough opponent. I just kept my same routines and my same mentality. Q. Can you talk about winning a Fed Cup match. CHRISTINA McHALE: Yeah, I've had a couple Fed Cup matches before. I'm so excited to finally win one, and especially at a home tie. It's extra nice. To be able to help the U.S., get a point for them now in this tie, it feels really good. Q.  You live pretty close to here. How many family members and friends are here supporting you? CHRISTINA McHALE: Unfortunately, my family, my sister is at school, my mom is with my grandma, my dad is on business, so they couldn't come. But a couple of my friends who go to school nearby were able to come, so that was nice. Q. I know you woke up this morning thinking you were playing the No.1 ranked player in the world. Every player goes on court believing they're going to win the match. There has to be a different mentality when you think you're playing Victoria Azarenka compared to the match you played. CHRISTINA McHALE: I think it's just different because it's a different player. I have to maybe adjust, you know, like the style of play. I mean, pretty much I have to keep the same mentality, the same focus for whoever I play. Q. How much has the confidence of how well you played at the Australian carried over? CHRISTINA McHALE: I think I've gotten a lot more experience in the last year, so I think that helped me today. Especially when it got tight in the second set, the experience of playing other close matches helped me. Q. What was it like having someone like Venus Williams on the sidelines cheering for you, fist pumping, during your match? CHRISTINA McHALE: It's really cool. It's an honor for me to be on the team with the players, Liezel, Serena, Venus. It's a big honor for me. It's exciting to be able to represent the U.S. with a team like that. Q. Is there anything particularly fun you've done with them this week? I know Serena was showing you how to pose for the cameras yesterday. CHRISTINA McHALE: Yeah, she's really funny. The whole time she's kept us laughing. After dinner we all just talk and have a good time. It's been fun. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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