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AEGON INTERNATIONALJune 21, 2013Jamie HamptonEASTBOURNE, ENGLAND J. HAMPTON/C. Wozniacki THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How does it feel to be in your first final? JAMIE HAMPTON: Feels good. (Smiling.) Q. That was quite a match, wasn't it? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah, it was. The conditions were a little tricky today. I have noticed that about Eastbourne. Conditions are a little rougher than everywhere else, but you guys make up for it with the nice courts. But, yeah, no, it was a little windy today. Caroline is a tough opponent. She sticks with it whether she's winning or losing. She made me earn what I got. Q. You're kind of the one who sticks with it, as well, aren't you? JAMIE HAMPTON: Maybe. Maybe a little bit. Q. What do you think you did best today? JAMIE HAMPTON: Stuck with it. I think that I stayed positive even though, you know, I had a few set points in the first and kind of choked them away a little bit and got down a break in the second and was almost down ‑‑I think I was down Love‑40 on my serve. And just to get the hold there and stick with it and stay positive was definitely a plus. I'm definitely proud of myself. Q. Did the rain break in the second set help you compose yourself? JAMIE HAMPTON: No, I don't think so. I think I just went out there and knew I was going to have my chances to break her, and knew I could play a good game coming off the bench. Q. So the rain didn't bother you? JAMIE HAMPTON: No. Q. Just the wind? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah. (Smiling.) Q. When you came here just to play the qualifying, what were your expectations? JAMIE HAMPTON: Well, I didn't come just to play the qualifying. You know, I try to enter every tournament and think to get deep in the tournament and to look to win the title. So coming off my Roland Garros run, you know, I had a good amount of confidence and I was hoping to get deep into this tournament. Q. There were 14 breaks of serve today. What do you put that down to? JAMIE HAMPTON: I'd like to say the wind, but, no, I have been struggling with my serve a little bit. My ball toss has been a little hectic. It's something I probably have to address right before, well, tomorrow. Q. Can you explain how low you felt in Brussels? Obviously you had an issue with your racquets and luggage. Compare that to how you feel now. Has that helped you at all, that incident? JAMIE HAMPTON: Yes, definitely, a lot. Just, you know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so to have everything just go off the walls was really hard for me. I just dealt with it really well, I think. You know, I cried. I got it all out. I just went out and remembered why I like to play tennis, which is to go out and have fun, you know, to play with the ball. It helped me to just go out and compete with a clear head, and that's what I have been struggling with I think the past couple of months, you know, trying to lift the expectations off myself, because I'm pretty hard on myself. So I think that coming into these last few events I have had a much clearer mind, and it's definitely allowed some of my better tennis to come out. Q. Could you explain the circumstances? JAMIE HAMPTON: In Brussels? Q. Yeah. JAMIE HAMPTON: Okay. Well, I had lost a few qualifying matches in a row in Madrid and Rome, so I wasn't feeling too good about my clay court game. Then I went to Brussels, and they lost my bags. I didn't have any racquets or string or shoes or anything, clothes. I couldn't practice for the first three days or so there. Then a few days later I developed an eye infection. I was ready to go home and not play the tournament. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I didn't have a great attitude about it, but I spoke to my coach. Wilson managed to send me two racquets before the tournament started, so I went out to the matches with just two racquets and was just able to go out and compete and just play tennis and not have any expectations on myself and no pressure. Q. It's unusual for players to check their racquets. Normally they take them on the plane with you. JAMIE HAMPTON: Yeah. Q. Was that a learning process? JAMIE HAMPTON: No, in Rome they told me there was a strike at the airport and there was a possibility of me not being able to get my stuff. So I asked them if I could take my racquets on the plane and they said no. I tried to fight them for it, but it didn't go too well. Q. Did you get everything back? JAMIE HAMPTON: I got my clothes the night before I played, I think. So I did have match clothes. Then my racquets ‑‑no, I didn't get them. Three weeks later when I was ‑‑right before I left for the French, or left for Birmingham, my mom called me, and she was like, Why is there a tennis bag at my house? Shouldn't you be having the tennis bag? I was like, Okay, great. At least somebody got it. (Laughter.) Q.Have you seen the draw for next week? JAMIE HAMPTON: I have. I got on Twitter. Saw it. Q. What do you think about playing Sloane? JAMIE HAMPTON: I mean, it's a bit of a bummer that two Americans have to play first round considering we both had great French Opens, but I'm going to treat it just like every other match. But we're not there. I have a match tomorrow to worry about yet. Q. Back to Vesnina tomorrow, you haven't played her before. Do you know much about her? JAMIE HAMPTON: No. To be honest I haven't watched too much of her this week or any other week. I know she's a good ball striker, has a good backhand. I know she won her first title earlier this year. But that's about it. My coach watched her semifinal match, so I'll have to get his point of view on how she plays. Q. Do you think there is a player out there that plays tennis like you do, your style of game, that's similar? JAMIE HAMPTON: No. Q. When you look back on other players who have played the game before you, is there a player that kind of stands out, like maybe Mauresmo or someone like that that has kind of a similar, you know, sense of variety and attacking tennis? JAMIE HAMPTON:  Yeah, but I definitely ‑‑there are some similarities, I think, maybe with Justine, as well, but I definitely have not tried to model my game after them. I mean, like I said, I grew up playing with a lot of boys, so they liked to toy with me and they would like to pick on me and stuff, so I had to find a way to fight back. That's where all of that kind of came from. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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