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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 9, 2012Jamie HamptonINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA J. HAMPTON/J. Jankovic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. I'm assuming this is kind of your biggest win on a stage like this. JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah, absolutely. Q. How did that happen? Can you take us through the match a little bit? JAMIE HAMPTON: I was pretty nervous before the match, actually. Q. You were? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah. Q. How do you know you're nervous? What is evidence of that? JAMIE HAMPTON: I could possibly vomit. I'm just kidding. (Laughter.) No, I'm just kidding. No, I didn't really know what to expect. I think the fact that I got a match under my belt here, but the round before helped me a lot. Earlier this year in Australia I didn't have that opportunity against Maria and she came out and wiped the court with me. It was a good match and it was a good experience. Q. After you won the first set and were ahead in the second, did the nerves come back or did you find yourself able to not think about what you might be about to do? JAMIE HAMPTON: I was definitely thinking about it. She hit some good shots, and I was‑‑ I wanted the balls in my hands. I was glad I had the opportunity to serve it out again. I came through; it was good. Q. First time back‑to‑back wins on WTA, two good players. Have you felt an advance in your game over the last month or so? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah, last year at the end of the year I went down to Boca Raton and I spent a couple of weeks with the USTA down there. They helped me and my coach put together like a game plan and just some objectives that I need to keep in mind no matter who I'm playing. It gave me like a clear path what I want to do with my game and what it was going to be like if I wanted to play at the top level. Q. What is that plan? JAMIE HAMPTON: Didn't really happen in Australia, but in Australia I got caught behind the baseline a lot. Basically I was back in the shadows. For me to dictate tennis I need to be inside the court. That was one of the things, was keeping my court positioning up. Worked out well today. Q. Is that hard to do or you natural inclination? JAMIE HAMPTON: Is to back up? Q. To go forward? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yes. When you play somebody like Maria or a big player, you feel the pressure of them. So in Australia that was what happened: I started backing up. Here I was very proud of the fact that I didn't today. Q. You played a lot of quallies to get into the main draws. Is there a blessing and a curse to having to go that route? JAMIE HAMPTON: I definitely think it's a blessing. You get used to the facility. These courts are fairly slow, so it was nice to ‑ well, for me ‑ to have the extra match before playing her even on the big stadium. But, yeah, the quallies definitely helps. Q. You don't find you get tired at this stage? JAMIE HAMPTON: No. You train. Q. You like having matches under your belt? JAMIE HAMPTON: I'd rather have the matches under my belt. You train to go through quallies and main draw, to win all of them. So, yeah, physically I'm fine. Q. Looking back on the matches that you played, would you say there are many matches where you played better than this today, or is this the best you've played? JAMIE HAMPTON: No, there are definitely matches where I've played better, playing better. I don't think I've played that well under pressure. You know, my opponent and the stadium, everything, my environment. But, yeah I definitely played the best under pressure. Q. Do you have any specific rankings goals or anything this year? JAMIE HAMPTON: It was to break the top 100. I can set my sights higher now, maybe top 70. Q. At what point did you not want to throw up on court? JAMIE HAMPTON: (Laughter.) When I was in the tunnel I was like, Well, you better get it together now before everybody else sees your breakfast. Q. Easier said than done. So when you start striking the ball, do the nerves naturally go... JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah, of course. In muscle memory when you're out there on the court you're going to do what's natural and what you've been taught. So that kind of went away, and as soon as that went away I started feeling much better. Q. Very much a hard game with obviously movement and retrieving defense, and she said that she didn't feel ‑ you know, she couldn't move today for some reason. Did you sense that maybe she wasn't at the top of her game? JAMIE HAMPTON: I can't really speak for her. I don't really know. I know she's a good counterpuncher and runs a lot of balls down. I tried to, like I said be forward in the court and try to look to take advantage of short balls if I got them. Like I said, it worked out. Q. She says you did that very well. You took advantage of all your opportunities and everything. JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah. Q. Did you feel like you like played above your level today? Were you in the zone or you played within yourself today? JAMIE HAMPTON: No, I definitely played within myself. I don't really know what else to say. I played within myself and that's why I won. Q. If you were to describe your game to somebody who hasn't seen you before in a sentence or two, how would you describe your tennis? Not just today, but in general. JAMIE HAMPTON: I think I can do a little bit of everything. I can play offense; I can play defense; I can take time away; I can give you time; I can serve‑‑ I can serve well. Maybe not today, but I can serve well. I can return well; I have a backup plan if Plan A is not working. Q. Not a lot of people do that. Do you feel like you play patiently enough? JAMIE HAMPTON: No. I think that was one of the keys today. It was playing patiently, because she does get a lot of balls back. She's good at making you play. I thought that, you know, if I needed to go behind her, went behind her, and even if she was there, made me wait for the shorter ball the next time. Q. How many times has Sweet Home Alabama played after you won? JAMIE HAMPTON: I don't think it's ever been played after I won. Q. I know you're good friends with Melanie Oudin. Right now you're moving different directions. Have you talked to her at all about what she's struggling with or anything you can do to help her? JAMIE HAMPTON: Just be a good friend, I think. It's Mel's game. She's going to have to take ownership of it. I can't. She's a good friend. I support her in whatever she does. I think that she will turn it around. She has the capability to do it. Q. Are you still based in Alabama or are you mostly in Boca? JAMIE HAMPTON: I'm actual fully Atlanta. Robbie Ginepri owns a club in Marietta, and that's where I train. Q. How much time do you actually spend in Alabama? JAMIE HAMPTON: Well, my parents and I ‑‑ my mom and I used to drive from Alabama to Atlanta to practice, because Auburn is fairly close to the border. We would just drive back and forth. But I bought a place last year. Q. In Atlanta? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah, and so I'm there. Q. Do you hit with Robert ever? JAMIE HAMPTON: Robbie? Yeah, actually. He kicks my butt. Yeah. Q. Did he ever offer to take you mountain biking? JAMIE HAMPTON: (Laughing.) No, definitely not. I don't know if he does much mountain biking anymore, either. Q. Alabama is not known as a tennis hotbed. Where did you get the inspiration to play and actually, you know, push your game up to a level where you can actually become a pro? JAMIE HAMPTON: I just saw it on TV when I was little, actually. I was about eight; I liked it. No one in my family played tennis. My dad actually played a little bit of high school tennis, but it was in Arkansas, which is less than Alabama. So he took me to the courts and we just‑‑ I started playing and I really liked it. I was pretty good at it. I had good hand/eye, so I took it up. Q. But it's still not easy to get from playing pretty well to playing top juniors and the pro. How did you manage to make that jump to becoming a good junior and moving on? JAMIE HAMPTON: I think I always had the drive to be a professional tennis player even when I was little. It was always what I wanted, and I knew that from the beginning. Q. So you watched on TV. Who inspired you? JAMIE HAMPTON: Pete. Q. Any women? JAMIE HAMPTON: Steffi. Q. Are you a War Eagle or Roll Tide? JAMIE HAMPTON: I have never been to an Auburn game. I have never been to a football game, but if I had to choose I'd say War Eagle. I might get kicked out of Auburn if I don't. (Smiling.) Q. Never beento any college football game or any football game period? JAMIE HAMPTON: I have never been to a football game, period. Tennis takes over. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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