Q. There were some shots you hit today that were like 2000 all over again. I was wondering if that's encouraging for you or frustrating to know you can still hit those shots, but the results aren't there for you?
MARY PIERCE: I don't really think I hit that many good shots today, but thanks (smiling).
I don't know. I don't think I really hit that many. Might have been a couple, but I don't remember them.

Q. What keeps you going? You've had so many injuries and whatnot.
MARY PIERCE: Well, just basically there's a few things. The fact for me really is that, you know, when I won the French Open, I really started feeling like I was starting to play my best tennis - starting to. You know, that was very exciting for me to know that I had so much more room for improvement. I know that that's still there. You know, I don't think I've played my best tennis yet.
MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What were your ambitions before you came here? You've been playing quite well on clay in one tournament, then a little bit less well. What were your expectations here?
MARY PIERCE: When I come to a tournament, I always try to do my best, whatever the tournament. It's always the case.

Q. When you heard that you were playing Clarisa, who did quite well here last year, had a good season, what did you think about that? What did you think about the draw?
MARY PIERCE: It's difficult to know the strong points and weak points of your opponent. I always try to play my game and think about what I need to do to play.

Q. When you play well on clay at the beginning of this season, did you find that encouraging? Did you think you could do the same here?
MARY PIERCE: Yes, yes, of course, I thought it was encouraging. I did begin to play well. I had the feeling that my game was really coming back. I had a good feeling. I thought it was very encouraging.

Q. How did you feel physically? We saw you make faces at the very beginning of the game. What was that about?
MARY PIERCE: No, it was nothing physical. It was the shots that were making me make faces.

Q. You just said to an English question that you haven't played your best tennis yet, you have room for improvement. What next? What are you going to do now to make that improvement?
MARY PIERCE: Well, there's no secret. In order to improve your game, you need to work on it, as I've done in the past.

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