19 January 1997

Q. That must be even better than Toronto, mustn't it, last time?

A. It was a little bit quicker this time. So yeah, it was better.

Q. Just take us through, as far as you were concerned, the various parts of the match, particularly when you were down in that second set and had to claw back?

A. I think definitely the first set coming out, 4/0, I think Steffi made a lot of errors and she really gave it to me in the beginning, and lifted her game immediately after the first set. I was 4/0 down and I think just the crucial game was one at 4/2, it was a long game and I felt at that point that if I won that game, that I had a chance to get back in the match. Luckily she played not a great game again at 5/2, and that really gave me a chance to get back again in that second set.

Q. She seemed to be struggling a lot with the heat, going into the shadow. Did you feel it very badly?

A. I definitely felt it. It was very hot and you really feel it on the court, but I felt pretty good. I tried to ice down a little bit on the changeovers, just get a bit of ice on my neck and face, but I felt good.

Q. Did you sense Steffi was in trouble before she requested treatment?

A. No, I didn't really. I mean, it was very hot. I felt that both of us would probably be struggling a little bit, but I tried not to think about it too much. She was playing fairly well at that stage, and I tried not to get distracted too much by it.

Q. Have you played in heat like that before, or much like that?

A. I think probably the last time we played was a very hot day, and I've done a lot of training in very hot weather, so I felt fairly prepared for it.

Q. Where was that training, Amanda?

A. We've done a lot of training in Florida, this type of heat, and probably a little bit worse humidity than this.

Q. With Melbourne specifically in mind, with a day like this specifically in mind?

A. Any type of day. I mean, probably in the summer in the States, you can get yourself in quite a lot of trouble. I think Melbourne is a little bit different because you get these hot afternoons, the courts get really hot in the late afternoons, where other places it's probably a little bit worse just around midday for a couple of hours.

Q. Do you feel it coming through your feet?

A. Yeah, you feel it quite a lot on your feet. But I trust my shoes; I'm wearing a great pair of new shoes, so they were really good.

Q. You seemed to play a lot to Steffi's forehand, making errors on that side. Was that a conscious effort to do that?

A. Yeah. I felt comfortable playing forehand to forehand with her, and she definitely was making quite a few errors off that side and her backhand has probably been vulnerable in the past, but she slices it really well, keeps it really low, and she doesn't make that many errors. I was just reacting to what she was playing and I wasn't really playing to one specific side.

Q. Was there any point in the match where you sensed that you had her, that you were going to win?

A. I think the last shot that she hit and I saw it coming through the air, it looked like it could go long, and that was probably the last one. She played a great point on my first match point, 40/15, she hit a great forehand down the line. You never know with her. It was so close in the second, that you never can really tell.

Q. What was it like watching it going long at that moment?

A. It was just a great feeling, probably a little bit of relief, but just a really good feeling.

Q. You said that game at 4/2 in the second was very important. What was going through your head once you lost that game? How difficult was it to get back up and keep that effort going?

A. I was prepared to play a third set from there on. I knew that if I can get to 4/3, I'd probably feel pretty good. But I was prepared at that stage to go into a third set.

Q. Do you think the game before that was pretty important, too, you served three double faults and still won that game. That must have hurt Steffi?

A. Definitely. My service was very shaky at that stage and, coming out of a game like that it really lifted me up and probably it really - she had a lot of opportunities and I just felt really good coming out of that game.

Q. Were you feeling nervous at that point or cool or both?

A. As an excuse to why I served that many double faults? No, I think just we have done a lot of work on my serve and I think it's come a long way, and I feel really good on it, but it's still not 100 per cent. You never really know. I just lost a bit of feeling on it, and you never know.

Q. Before this match you were at 40/1 to win the championship. Do you think they're fairly good odds?

A. Yeah, obviously a good bet. You know, I wouldn't have put - well --

Q. Is this the biggest win of your career?

A. Yeah, it's always great to beat somebody like that for the first time. But to do it twice, really makes me feel good, it gives me a lot of confidence. Because a lot of times it looks like a bit of a fluke, but it feels great to do it twice.

Q. Would you say this is the best win of your career?

A. I think so, and especially at a Grand Slam. You often tend to see the top players come out of tight situations at Grand Slams, so this is very important for me.

Q. Does this give you the confidence to say take that next step and win the title?

A. I think it's a long way from here, but I'm going to take it match by match from here. You really never can tell what you do after a win like this. But it gives me a lot of confidence to go ahead.

Q. You must be feeling pretty confident in regard to your next opponent?

A. She's done really well lately. It's a little bit difficult. I haven't played her, we haven't played each other for a while, and it's always hard, you don't know exactly what to expect. I know somewhat what type of game she has, but just match by match, it's another match and I have to go out and concentrate hard.

Q. In a previous round, we spoke to you about Steffi's record at this tournament, that she has gone behind in the first set and it happened again today, and we asked what you thought, how you could possibly exploit that.

A. Yes. Definitely she came out and she gave me quite a few points in the beginning, but I think it was really important for me to win it at 5/2, to win that set, because right after that she went on a bit of a roll to go up 4/0. So if I'd lost that game right there, I would have been in big trouble.

Q. Do you plan a match strategy with Gavin or does he --

A. Sorry?

Q. Do you plan a match strategy with Gavin, or does he just look after your fitness?

A. No. He's been my coach for the last two years and we have done a lot of work physically, but he's probably been one of the best - probably the best coach that I have ever worked with. Technically, tactically, he's been really good and I have a lot of faith in him.

Q. Did you talk about this match before you went out?

A. Sure.

Q. On what to work on?

A. Yeah.

Q. Is there something about this tournament for you, because semifinals last year and now you have beaten Steffi. Is it the surface?

A. Yeah, I really like the conditions, I like the surface, and I think it really suits my game. I like coming down here this time of year. I always go back to South Africa for the month of December and the conditions are fairly similar, so it's also a very relaxing time for me, I enjoy all the tournaments I played before. So I really enjoy coming here.

Q. You have been a very consistent performer in the last four or five years, your ranking has finished around 15, 16 or 17. What has stopped you from going on to finish in the top 10 and taking that next step?

A. I think matches like these and just consistently being able to beat the top players, setting yourself up against them. I've put myself in a good position to play Steffi because I've had some not easy matches before, but they have been all two sets, so I think I have given myself a good opportunity to play her and I think that's really important for me right through this coming year, to be able to put myself in a good position to beat the top players.

Q. Has the time finally come for you to break into the top 10 this year?

A. I hope so. I'm really not going to get too caught up in the rankings and all that. We have a different ranking system, and I don't know what is going to come of it, but I know I have to perform consistently every tournament. So that's what I'm going to be focusing on.

Q. Does playing in the Hopman Cup, where you get an opportunity to play with some men there, would that have helped you in today's match to combat the power?

A. Yeah, that and a few other secrets up our sleeve. I think that's a great opportunity for the women, to get to play with the men. I think it's a great tournament and it's really great for women's tennis. I think the men enjoy it, too, to some extent; but it is definitely great for us.

Q. What did you discuss with Gavin? Can you be more specific? What did you work on?

A. Just basically my game plan was to go out there and to work really hard, not to try and go out and hit too much with her, but to work hard on every point, and a few tactical things that I felt I could exploit. I felt like I could go out and see how good she's hitting her forehand and see if she might make a few errors, and then just to use my topspin and that type of thing, and a few things on the serves and returns as well.

Q. There has been some criticism of women's tennis. Now we have three of the top four seeds out of the quarterfinals, what do you think that says about the game?

A. I think it says that the depth is really grown quite a bit in women's tennis and I think it's good that some of the top players - some of the other players can come up and beat some of the top players. I think it will make it a little bit more exciting in the long run, to see a bit more competitiveness out there.

Q. You played great tennis today. Do you think this is one of your memorable matches?

A. Definitely.