| Q. You started very confidently -
congratulations, by the way. Well done. You started very
confidently, but then slipped back. When did it occur to
you that you were going to win this match? A. I think in the third set, when
I broke back, I knew I had a really good chance to win
this one. So I kept fighting till, till the end, and I
broke her last game.
Q.
What does it feel like to be in a Grand Slam final?
A. I think I don't really
realise it now. I'm going to play the last match on
Saturday, and think about it after the tournament.
Q. Amélie,
it appeared you did not get nervous at all late in the
third set. How did you keep your composure?
A. I just kept my mind
clear, you know. I was - I had the tactical side, so I
knew what I had to do. I was concentrating on this, and
at the end I - you know, I have nothing to lose, so I
just play my game, and do what I have to do.
Q. What
was your strategy against her?
A. I think mix it up a
little bit, make her run, make her move a lot, try to use
that slice backhand that I play really well, and push on
her forehand.
Q. Lindsay
said you were very strong. Do you work out a lot in the
gym?
A. Yes.
Q. How
often?
A. How often? I don't know.
I mean, almost like three times a week, when I'm in the
practice period.
Q. Is
that work designed to make you the most powerful woman
player in the game?
A. Well, yeah, the one that
stays longer on the court. Yeah, and for the serve and,
really powerful, and also for my whole game I need to
feel very strong physically.
Q. Do
you practise with any of the other French players?
A. No, no. I, practice
alone, with my coach.
Q. Amélie,
in 96, as soon as you finished winning Wimbledon I asked
you, "Are you happy now?" You said to me,
"I'll be happy the day that I'm among the top ten
players in professionals". So are you happy now? You
are going to win now, it looks like it?
A. Not yet. Yeah, I'm happy.
Of course I'm happy to be here today, to have this great
two weeks. Now I know I still have one match to go, and I
will play it to the end.
Q.
When did you know that you were going to become a
professional tennis player? When did that come to you?
A. I was dreaming about
it, I would say, when I was five or six. But then, more
precisely, I knew it when I was 12 - well, that's what I
wanted to do. I was sure, so I wanted to do that.
Q. Who
are the players that inspired you most, when you were so
young?
A. I said last time, I
started to play tennis watching Yannick Noah winning the
French Open in 83, so I think if I play today it's also
because I saw him. I want to do the same thing.
Otherwise, no, I don't really have a special idol, or
whatever.
Q. Lindsay
said out there before that she felt like she was playing
a man at some stage. Did you feel that she was
intimidated at all?
A. She was intimidated?
Q. Yes?
A. The fact that I'm strong
physically maybe is impressing her. I don't know; very
powerful, so, yeah.
Q. Do
you regard that comment as a compliment or a slur?
A. As a - - -?
Q. As
a compliment. Do you regard Lindsay's comment - - -
A. Yeah, it means I'm very
solid player in all the areas of the game, so, yeah, I
take it as a compliment, yeah.
Q. How
much did you learn from playing her last time, even
though it was a different surface?
A.The first I knew I could
do it. And then it was different match, different
surface. It wasn't a Grand Slam, so it's different. But,
you know, the bigger thing was I knew I could beat her.
Q. Who
would you prefer to play out of Monica and Martina?
A. I don't care, just - I
don't really care. I think I will have a tactic for both
of them. So I know how to play, I have played Martina
twice last year. I have never played against Monica. But
I know how she plays, so, whatever.
Q.
Amélie, you barely won your first round match. You came
back and it was very tight.
A. M'mm.
Q.
After you won that match, did you feel like this
tournament was a special place for you?
A. Yeah, when I came back
from match point, my coach told me that usually when it
happens like this, players are winning the tournament, or
are going very far. So I guess he was right. And of
course I thought about it, and now I play very, how you
say - I just let it go, yeah. And it's going on well.
Q. How
will you keep your mind off tennis over the next couple
of days?
A.Sorry?
Q. How
will you keep your mind off the tennis and getting
nervous over the next couple of days?
A. Just, my girlfriend is
there, my coach, we are going out to do other things. We
just - we don't stay here. We go and practise tomorrow,
for sure; but otherwise, I don't know - nothing special,
really.
Q. Will
you be nervous in the final?
A. Yes, I guess I'm going to
be a little bit nervous, that's for sure. But I take it
very well, improve and, we will see.
Q. Do
you remember the last two points against her?
A.No.
Q. Is
this your first trip down to Australia?
A. No.
Q. You
have been here before?
A. Yeah, I played as a
junior, and in 96, when I came back, I was here last year
as well, the third round and - - -
Q. Is
there something about the place or the climate that
agrees with you?
A. I think the surface is
good for me. It's in between clay and grass, so it's not
too fast, not too slow; it's good for my game.
Q. You
used to wear sun glasses all the time. Why the change?
A.They were prescription
glasses. Now I have contacts, so I don't need them any
more.
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