Amelie Articles

Q. Have you ever played this well at a Grand Slam, three or four matches, that you're playing now?
AMELIE MAURESMO: No, not like from the beginning to the end, probably not. Yeah, it's true, I played a very good match, very tough, very solid from the beginning. I really didn't want to let her get into her rhythm, you know. She likes to dictate and be aggressive and control the points.
So I really, you know, wanted to do that myself. That's what I did. I didn't let her do her thing, yeah.

Q. How have you managed this year to keep your confidence level so high through the first week?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, it's just maybe experience. I'm learning a little bit from my past years here at the French Open. I also think I have much more confidence in my game, in every shot I'm playing. So it's a big difference, too, when you can really rely on a high level of tennis.
So it's little bit of everything, yeah.

Q. Was it possible for you, say, last night and this morning, to avoid thinking about playing Serena in the quarterfinals?
AMELIE MAURESMO: I didn't think about it at all in the match, but before I thought about it little bit because I watched little bit of her match against Ai. But really wasn't a big point for today. It was really the match and how I would handle it, really.

Q. So I'm guessing your level has been very high, but that will be an entirely different level of match both emotionally, physically, technically.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah.

Q. Talk about that and what you have to do to win.
AMELIE MAURESMO: It's gonna be very interesting match. She hasn't lost a match in a Grand Slam for I guess a year now. And, you know, so it's gonna be tough match and very interesting, so we'll see how it goes.

Q. It's your first time to the quarterfinals in this tournament. I'm wondering if that gives you a sense of relief, having made it this far in your home championship, or if it actually adds pressure?
AMELIE MAURESMO: No, it's more relief, you know, to go this far. Probably, now I'm going to maybe be a little bit more relaxed for the next match. But, yeah, it's really good feeling, good emotions, good -- yeah, good feeling (smiling).

Q. Probably at any other tournament you would go in against Serena with really nothing to lose. Can you go into this match feeling like you have nothing to lose?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, I think that's the case. I think as I just said, you know, she's won the last four Grand Slams, so obviously she's the favorite here - even though I beat her a few weeks ago. You know, we'll see how it goes. I'll take my chances and we'll see.

Q. You seem to be hitting the ball with great precision. You seem to be able to place the ball nearly perfectly on the court, which is different than the last several years here at the French. The consistency is much greater. Can you explain how you view that?
AMELIE MAURESMO: How do I do that?

Q. How do you view it? How do you feel about your precision and your consistency of precision?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, it's, again, something with confidence. You know, having won a lot of matches for these last few weeks gives you confidence. It gives you really -- when you hit a shot, I really feel that I really want to -- can put it anywhere I want. You know, sometimes doesn't work, but most of the time, especially today, it worked very well.

Q. Do you find at this point that you would be preferring to play Serena here at Roland Garros than somewhere else, maybe Australia, Wimbledon, US Open? Do you like the idea that you're here at your home?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, yeah, I like -- I mean, I like the idea of being in the quarters here at the French Open and playing against Serena, yeah. That's for sure.
But I would take, you know, anybody, just enjoy it, play my best tennis, try to play my best tennis, and, you know, again, try to take the opportunities that I will have. So I will enjoy it, yeah, that's for sure.

Q. A lot of people say that wins in tournaments on the way to a Grand Slam aren't always important when you get to a Grand Slam. But last year Serena won the Rome tournament. She came on here and won here. So beating her there must have given you quite a lift really?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, it gives you confidence, of course. First time I was beating her was an important step, I think, in my career.
Now, as I said, at that time it's not because I beat her once that I'm gonna beat her every time I'm gonna play against her. So, you know, we'll see.
Having confidence in the tournaments before a Grand Slam is always important, but doesn't make everything, that's for sure.

Q. I remember when you came here after doing well in Australia that time a few years ago. So much was expected of you, really big expectations, posters everywhere. Things didn't go well for you that time. Do you feel now that you're gradually sort of got used to the idea that you will be playing at the French Open and it's something that you'll enjoy rather than fear?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, that's -- I think that's what I do very well this year, and what I wasn't really doing well for the past few years is handling maybe the pressure . Don't think too much about the expectations and just do my thing match after match and not really pay attention to what's going on around me.

Q. Serena said before that when she's lost this year, it was her fault, that she felt like she played badly and made too many unforced errors. When you played her in Rome, do you feel like your best game matched up against her? If she plays well, when you play her in two days can you actually beat her?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I think if she plays her best tennis ever and with no mistakes, no, I cannot win that.
But obviously she cannot do that every day all year long, even though she does it very often. So, again, I just take my chances here.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. Haven't you passed the most difficult moments, haven't you already left them behind?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, that's possible. The quarterfinal against Serena I believe will be a different level of tennis. She is an opponent who has nothing to prove, particularly in Grand Slam tournaments. So in terms of tension, possibly I have left the most difficult bit behind. But in terms of game, I think it's still ahead.

Q. Were you relieved on that last point, the point of victory, and were you satisfied with the standing ovation from the public?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, yes, of course it's very emotional. I was very much relieved to see the volley go in the court. Again, I think I never reached the quarterfinals here, so I'm very satisfied. I think this proves that I manage everything that happens around me perhaps better and that I've been doing good work.

Q. You had some slight worries concerning your service, a few details to fix. Are you relieved?
AMELIE MAURESMO: I hope so. I think I've been doing, indeed, much better today. We've been working on it yesterday and this morning. I think that I found the right rhythm from the beginning of the match, and that was important today.
Of course I need to stick to that and do the same on Tuesday.

Q. Do you have the feeling that you were playing the end of the first part of the tournament for you today?
AMELIE MAURESMO: No, I think it's -- each match follows the preceding one. I think we need to adjust slowly as much as possible. I change between Berlin and Rome a few weeks back.
I need to see what it is that I'm not doing perfectly and work on it. I think each match is just a new match, and at some point you need to face players, and in my next match it will be the No. 1 player.

Q. You said you would be feeling more relaxed. Why is this? Because you will be allowed to lose?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I'm always -- I always have a right to lose. That is possibly why I'm feeling more relaxed this year.
I think there will be tension, in any case. But I need to use every chance I'll get. I watched the beginning of the match against Ai, and she made a few mistakes. It wasn't her best tennis. So I know today that I have the weapons to beat her.
Of course I won't beat her every time, but I think I can hope, I have hope for the match of Tuesday.

Q. Could you tell us what you remember of your match against her in Rome.
AMELIE MAURESMO: What I remember most is the end, the victory. Because the beginning of the match, I wasn't playing very well. She really dominated the first set. Then, I managed to come back.
But it was more emotional. It's more the emotional factor that I remember rather than the game itself. We'll probably discuss that tomorrow.

Q. How many players on the circuit can beat Serena?
AMELIE MAURESMO: How many exactly, I don't know. Possibly five or six of us can beat her.

Q. Is it a matter of physical power?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, of course. If you are not physically strong, it's difficult. But at the same time, I think you need something more than that; you need to vary your shots, as Justine has been able to do in Amelia or Charleston, where she beat her - I can't remember where it was on clay.
So you need this kind of thing. But of course if you're not fit, you'll never make it through.

Q. These two defeats on clay this year that she's had, does that make you think it's her most vulnerable surface?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yes. I think possibly she doesn't move around with such ease as she does on other surfaces.

Q. On clay, her shots are perhaps not so fast.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yes, she likes to play hard. She likes to play fast. So she still plays hard and fast on clay, but you need a bit more time on clay, and that can help.

Q. The two Williams, the two Belgian players, Capriati, are all very strong. What does Serena have that the others don't?
AMELIE MAURESMO: I think it's in terms of physical power and commitment. She is really stronger. She can, in very extreme situations, make winning shots thanks to extraordinary power. Her serve is also very good. At the important moments, she can concentrate on her service, as does Venus as well.
And of course mentally, in order to achieve what she has achieved, four successive victories in Grand Slams, I think she's also mentally very strong. She has no doubts.

Q. You've played four Grand Slam quarterfinals before. Were you as well prepared, and were the conditions as good for you then?
AMELIE MAURESMO: No, probably not. I think that the level at which I am playing today is higher, even compared to the Wimbledon and US Open semifinals. I think that I've improved my game - its strength, its consistency . And the way I play the match of today, from the very beginning, I think has shown this, possibly it will help.

Q. You're looking more athletic. Has this any effect on your game?
AMELIE MAURESMO: I think at the level of my knee, it was important to make this effort because this can be a constraint. The more kilos you have to move around, the more it weighs on your knees. Then of course in terms of stamina, the way you move around, it's a little extra. It might not be much, but when you exercise with two, three extra kilos, you can feel a difference; it's important.