M. TU/A. Harkleroad
6-4, 2-6, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Ashley, please.
Q. That was a really intriguing outfit you were wearing today. Could you describe it for us and perhaps explain why you decided to wear it?
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: Well, Nike is my sponsor, and I went to the Nike room earlier this week and I tried on all the clothes and they liked me in that outfit best, so...

Q. Did you think it was too revealing?
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: I think it was a little revealing, but I like that sometimes. So it was fine with me. And they liked me wearing it, so that's why I wore it.

Q. What was the story of that match from your point of view?
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: I think I played -- I think I played pretty well considering the pressure that I had, the press and all eyes were, you know, on me of all the wildcards. And I played all right in the first set. And in the second set, I played really well. Then in the third set I didn't play that bad, it's just that I had a couple breaks early and I didn't take them and she got on a roll. And she got really confident after that. So it was basically I was trying everything I could, but nothing was working in the third set. Disappointing for me, but...

Q. You talk about the pressure from the press. Do you wish we would sort of go away?
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: No, it's fine with me. I like the attention. But, you know, it's my first US Open. I was a little bit nervous going into the match, and I think I handled the nerves pretty well. I just have to go and learn from the match. If I don't learn from it, then it's not a good experience. But if I do learn from it, then it will help me in the long run.

Q. You mentioned that Nike said that you looked great in the outfit and you felt pretty comfortable. Did you realize the crowd that was there to watch you, did you feel that they were watching you? Do you think that maybe that outfit brought even more attention?
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: I haven't even seen the outfit really (smiling). I think that the outfit was -- it was tight and it was short, but I like things like that, and they liked it on me. That's why I wore it. And possibly the crowd maybe was on my side a little bit from that outfit, but I can't really -- I don't really know if they were.
I just, you know, I guess they like me as a player. I'm an upcoming player, so I think they were just on my side for that more than the outfit.

Q. As a follow-up, can you just talk about your first game of the third set, though. It seemed like that that was when everything went away.
ASHLEY HARKLEROAD: Yeah, that was a crucial game. I think I had a game point in that game. I think if I would have gotten that game, it would have been a different match. I'm not saying I would have won the match but I think it would have been closer in the third set. It was pretty close, considering the 6-0 loss.
If people would just hear it and not watch the match then, you know, they might think that I would have gotten killed. But really, I didn't. I mean, you know, I had a lot of close games in there, but that first game was crucial.