Day 4 - An interview with Amelie Mauresmo - Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Q. I just wanted to check whether you're reassured now after this first round.

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I'm satisfied most of all. Last Sunday I said I wanted to start with great intensity in this tournament, and this is what I've just done. So I'm quite happy, quite satisfied with what I did, and quite a few positive things in that match.

I had just a small decline at the very beginning of the second set, but this didn't lead to my losing the second set. So I'm very happy.

Q. You had muscular problems last week.

AMELIE MAURESMO: No problem at the moment.

Q. Would you say it's your best match on clay this year?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yes, probably, although I played very good plays in the finals last week. I think there was an extra bit of power in me today.

Q. And would you say it's your best first round in Roland Garros in many years?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, maybe. To be honest, I can't remember all the first rounds I've played, but it's one of the very good matches I have played here.

Q. You had a delay in your starting day because of rain. Was it good for you?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, I was ready to play yesterday, even on Monday, maybe not on Sunday. But, you know, I waited very patiently when I looked at the weather on Monday, realized that my match would be postponed. So it didn't come as a surprise and I was quite at ease waiting for Wednesday.

Q. You arrived in Roland Garros with the physical conditions that we all know. Would you say there is no recipe for you to prepare for Roland Garros?

AMELIE MAURESMO: We always want to arrive in a good physical state with having played a few tournaments, knowing where we stand from a tennis standpoint. I progressed playing in Strasbourg last week. It was a different way of preparing myself. But, fine, I didn't have of any options anyway. So I took these two last months as they were.

Q. Between Strasbourg and today, is there a big change in your approach?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, not a big change, but a big evolution. You know, sometimes I was hesitating a bit, even last week, and now it's getting better and better. I hope it will go on improving.

Q. Next round is Nathalie. Is she a great friend of yours?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yes, we know each other very well.

Q. So what's going to happen?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I think now we're used to playing each other, whether in grand slams or in other tournaments, you know. I play Nathalie, Emilie, and I've been in that situation for quite a few times already. So now at this stage, in our careers, we must be able to forget about the fact that we're friends when we walk on the court.

Q. You said you were feeling a bit tired at the beginning of the second set. Is it something that you can explain?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, you know, when you win 6‑Love and you start, well, sometimes you feel too relaxed, not really tired, but too relaxed at the beginning of the second set. Then she became slightly more confident. She succeeded a bit more and there was no specific explanation. I'm not trying to find any explanation anyway.

Q. And how did you managed to get over this?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I just went back to basics. I used tennis I played at the beginning of the match. And there is nothing to analyze in there.

Q. Coming back to Nathalie, what would you say about your relationship? Is she your best friend?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No. I have no best friend in tennis. I mean, it's difficult. I mean, we've known each other since we were 10 years of age or even before. We played together in the Fed Cup. We've experienced beautiful things and we've been through hard times, as well together, and we played the double together here, as well.

So, yeah, of course it's not easy for me to define this relationship we have. But we know each other very well. We know each other by heart, I would say.

Q. Did you talk to her when things were not going well for her? Did you talk to her? Did you share together?

AMELIE MAURESMO: No, we don't confide very much and we don't talk a lot about tennis. We have our careers. And I know I don't talk a lot. I don't talk a lot, whether to Nathalie or to other French players. I don't tell them about my career. And if players want to talk, fine. Fine by me. But otherwise, if they don't want to talk, fine by me, too.

Q. When you were junior players, would she play better than you?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, she would defeat me on a regular basis. I can't remember what the statistics were, but she would win when we were kids, yes, she would win.

Q. And when you grew up, it was no longer the case?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, no longer the case.

Q. You have Jankovic and Venus, third round. What do you think about this?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, it's a difficult draw. When you've not been playing a lot and you've been injured, that's what happens. You have to face a very good player right at the very beginning of the tournament. In the case of Venus and in the case of Jelena, you know, that's luck of the draw. It's never nice, but that's the way it is.

Q. Very often people have asked you do you feel capable of winning a Grand Slam tournament. Would you say that you're convinced that you can win Roland Garros, and as convinced as when you go to Wimbledon or other Grand Slam tournaments?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, my mindset is slightly different. I mean, Wimbledon is a totally different case for me. It's different with regards to my game, to the way I play, to the tactics I use, et cetera, so I would put it aside. Then Australia, the US Open is very close to clay in terms of speed of the balls and in terms of rebound. So I think I have the capacity. I've been in big tournaments on clay. Now, is it more difficult for me than Wimbledon? Of course it is.

Q. Richard has experienced what you've already been through at Roland Garros, i.e., a day with no success and with lots of stress. Is it something that all French players have to go through at a French Open?

AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, I hope not, because it's not really comfortable going through all this. But people say you learn a lot from your defeats, and it's from defeats that you learn the most. And it's true. It happened to me in the past. And the only thing I wish for him is to learn from this match he lost.

Q. What would be your piece of advice to him for the coming days?

AMELIE MAURESMO: I don't know. Just to go away and to think about something else. I don't know if he's playing in doubles? No. Okay.

So Roland Garros is over, so he needs to ‑‑ he should leave. He shouldn't stay here. It's never fun, you know, when a Grand Slam tournament goes on and you're not in it anymore.