|
WINNERS
INTERVIEW (Australian Open 99 Quarterfinal)
Amélie MAURESMO defeated Dominique van
Roost
6-3
7-6
(26
January, 1999)
Amélie
MAURESMO defeated DOMINIQUE VAN ROOST
6-3 7-6
26
January 1999
Q.
Was going this far in a Grand Slam something you
expected
coming in here or?
A.
Sorry?
Q.
Was going this far in a Grand Slam something you
expected
a week or so ago?
A.
Not really. I was expecting maybe a good tournament,
but
not so good. So I'm
glad that it came up at this
tournament, and I
hope it's not going to stop.
Q.
Why do you think it has happened here?
A.
I think that all the conditions are coming together
for
me to play well here,
so, yeah. I think I'm far from
France, it's also
a good thing - - -
Q.
Why?
A.
Far from Paris - because, I don't know, I mean,
I'm in my
little team and it's
going well.
Q.
Do you feel pressurised in France though?
A.
I think you can feel it more, yeah, compared to
here.
Q.
In what way? Public expectation?
A.
Yeah, public expectation.
Q.
What was the strapping on your left thigh?
A.
It's just a little stretch that I had in my last
singles. I don't think
it's something bad, but - - -
Q.
Did it get any worse during the match?
A.
No, no.
Q.
Was there a certain match in this tournament where
you
felt things coming
together, where you said you could do
it, you know, confidence-wise?
A.
Yes. I think the match against Pratt was a very
good
one; physically, I
felt really good. And also the last
one against the other
French was good. I think mentally
it was a good one
because playing against another French
is never easy, so
these two matches.
Q.
How much do you think French players of your age
and
slightly above benefit
from the fact that there are so
many of you pushing
one another? How much benefit is
that?
Q.
How much benefit is that?
A.
I think it's good, because we are pushing each other,
you
know, pulling each
other, I would say, and I think we all
want to be the best
in our category, so it's a good
thing.
Q.
Do you have any theory as to why so many French
girls
have come through
at more or less the same time?
A.
Sorry, I didn't get that?
Q.
Do you have any idea why these last few years -
has there
been one particular
thing which has helped this happen?
A.
That there's so many French girls?
Q.
Yes, because two or three years ago you had outstanding
junior teams, and
they all seem to be coming through
well?
A.
Yeah, we will all coming through the juniors very
well
into the seniors.
I don't know. I really don't know.
Maybe because we are
a lot, and we are pushing each
other. I think that's
the reason why.
Q.
Amélie, what strategy did you have today?
You seemed to
mix the ball up very
well?
A.
Yeah, that was what I was thinking of doing. I didn't
make her play the
same ball each shot. I sliced, I put
some spin on it. So
she just couldn't really get into
the match, I would
say.
Q.
Also she said that she watched your last match,
and
thought you were a
little bit scared of winning that?
A.
Yeah.
Q.
And then you didn't appear to be scared at all?
A.
Yes, last time I was as 5-2 in the second set and
I had
match point and my
opponent came back to 5-All. So I
think today I corrected
that, and I played really well
this time in the second
set, and then I wasn't scared of
winning, so - - -
Q.
Can you talk a little bit about your tennis
inspirations? Have
they been French players or have they
been the great female
players?
A.
I started to think about playing tennis at the age
of 4,
when I watch Yannick
Noah in the French Open in 83, and
then, well, that was
it. I started to play at 5 and,
well, I followed my
road.
Q.
But you sat in front of your television set at home
and
watch Noah win?
A.
Yeah, yeah.
Q.
Do you do a lot of work on your physical condition?
A.
Yeah. I work both physically and mentally.
Q.
What sort of things do you do?
A.
Secret. No, I do a lot of things. I don't know,
just
for the speed, for
the resistance. I mix it up.
Q.
Do you feel as though you are physically stronger
than a
lot of the girls out
there?
A.
Yeah, I think I'm physically very well, maybe stronger,
against Pratt. I think
I won this match because
physically I was better
than her at the end. I feel
really good these
days, physically. It gives me
confidence, so I think
I'm, yeah, today I was may be
better than her.
Q.
How would you compare yourself with, say, Lindsay
or
Venus? Are they much
stronger than you?
A.
No. No, no. I think I'm not; I would say I'm the
same,
or maybe better.
Q.
In a non-tournament week, how many hours a day would
you
think to work in the
gym rather than on the tennis court?
A.
I think - I don't know. You should ask my coach.
I
don't know. Maybe
one or two hours.
Q.
A day?
A.
Yeah, one hour in the gym, yeah.
Q.
Would that be weights or would that be - - -
Yeah, weights and
- depends, depends on the day.
Q.
Do you think because of your strength you are not
as
intimidated by these
top five players as maybe some of
the other players
are?
A.
Yeah, I think it gives me confidence also.
Q.
Do you consider the serve as your best weapon or
- - -
A.
Yeah, it's one of my big weapons. Yeah, I served
really
well today, to stay
in that second set. She had a few
break points, and
I came up with some good serves, so - -
Q.
Does the surface here suit your serve as much as,
say,
grass, do you think?
A.
Sorry, I - - -
Q.
Does this surface suit your serve as much as, say,
grass
would? Does it give
you a - - -
A.
Not as much probably, but it's fast enough to be
effective, yeah.
Q.
Could you talk about playing Lindsay or Venus in
the
semi-finals?
A.
Well, I think they both play about the same game.
They
hit the ball really,
really hard, and they are tough on
the baseline, I think.
If I have to play one of them, I
just have to play
like today, mix it up a little bit.
Against both it's
going to be, I think, the same.
Q.
Are you the sort of person that would be intimidated
by
reputation before
you went on the court?
A.
Of my opponent?
Q.
Yes?
A.
No, not any more. I used to be, yeah, but not any
more.
Q.
What has changed?
A.
What has changed? I beat a few of them. That gives
confidence and - I
don't know. I trust in myself a bit
more.
Q.
When you beat Lindsay in Berlin, I mean, do you
see
Lindsay as playing
so much better now than she was then,
or do you think that
what you did then will help you if
you play her on Wednesday?
A.
Yeah. It will help me for sure, yeah. It's good
for the
mental. I have beaten
her last time, so I think I have a
chance, I play her
or Venus. I haven't seen her play
since Berlin, so I
couldn't say.
|
