US Open 2001 Interview #3
September 1, 2001
Q. Congratulations, first of all.
KIM CLIJSTERS: Thank you.
Q. Just wondering if you could, sort of, generally assess the match. She played well, she gave you a run in the second set. She was serving well. If you could speak about the match and how you felt?
KIM CLIJSTERS: I was feeling like -- it was the first time since New Haven I was feeling pretty well and I was happy with that.
It was for me, like in my first two matches, to sort of play with like -- with the tape and still feeling a little bit of pain. And yesterday I didn't practice at all. I think that was a very good decision for me. Just I went like to the gym, I road the bike like for 15 minutes and that was all I did.
So it was a good decision. And today I was feeling very well. This morning I tried to warm up without a tape or without a bandage over my leg. So I could still feel a little bit, but not the stitch that I was feeling all the days before, and so I could still -- it's pretty tight still. It's a bit sore.
But I was pretty happy with the tape. I was feeling a lot more safe, like in my warm-up I wasn't moving very much. Just to get used to the movement again.
But, no, I mean today was, I think, my first match that I like actually could play 95 percent of my skills I think; yeah.
Q. You have to look at the tournament maybe differently now, huh? You're feeling better. Do you think you maybe have a better shot?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah, of course. I mean, the further you get in the tournament, the harder it's going to get. If you're not feeling 100 percent or like even if you're not feeling 90 percent, it's very hard to compete against those top players that are feeling fit.
So, yeah, I mean I was pretty happy with the way I was moving today. And then I think in this -- the beginning of the first set, I did quite a far slide and it was really low. So I was -- and I didn't feel anything after, like I tried to get my leg back. So that was pretty good. I was pretty surprised at that. I was a bit -- like that was like actually the first time that I really tried to slide and I didn't feel anything. So that was pretty good and I was really happy with that.
I've been in the trainer's room the whole day yesterday. So it was nice, yeah.
Q. Before you went in to the slide, were you thinking, "Be careful, don't slide too hard?"
KIM CLIJSTERS: That's the thing. In practice you're sort of thinking about not doing too much. Once you're out there and once you're playing the match, you know you want to win every point. Even if she like hits a good backhand down the line or a good forehand cross court you always want to go for it. Especially me, I'm not gonna stop myself. If I know I can get to the ball, I'm not gonna stop myself because of my leg. So I was pretty happy that I -- maybe I was a little bit scared doing it, like right before I did it. But I didn't really think about it. But I was really happy afterwards. It was a relief, yeah.
Q. Do you want to talk about Lleyton a little bit, what happened last night.
KIM CLIJSTERS: Well, I think it's -- we're two different players. It's not because I'm his girlfriend now, I don't have to say much about it. I think he handled it well in the press yesterday. When he came to the room as well, he said he didn't mean it like -- like he's not a racist at all and I'm not at all. We've got friends that are -- that have a different color as well, so we're not racist at all, yeah.
Q. How do you feel about the heat of battle and how much a player should control himself or herself in the heat of battle? Is that important that, you know, you don't get in trouble with anything you say? Are you allowed to let a little steam off?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Well, I think you're allowed to let a little bit steam off. If you're standing on the court -- if you're standing like a plant on the court, that's not gonna be like good -- that's not gonna keep you motivated either. I think what happened with Lleyton yesterday is like -- like what happened as well with the two foot calls that was called was also was -- I don't know if it was an incident. So it's hard to say.
But -- and I know that Lleyton and even I, like I like to get involved in the match and I like to get motivated. Those are things that pump me up. And a lot of players.
I mean, you see a lot of players that say stuff to the umpire and say stuff to themselves to get themselves pumped up, so, yeah. That's how I feel, yeah.
Q. You think he was completely misinterpreted as to what he said?
KIM CLIJSTERS: He even said when he -- he even said, "It wouldn't have mattered if I was playing in Tokyo, I would have wanted that linesman to go off the court." He made me cost those two -- like the break that happened. I wasn't there when it happened because I was having my massage. So it's hard for me to like go into what happened.
But like what he said afterwards was like he even said, "Even if I was playing another American who didn't have a different color, like I would have still wanted the guy to be removed from the court. Because what he did was wrong. I hadn't made a foot fault the whole match."
Q. How can you be certain it was wrong? The guy calling the foot faults? You said it was wrong. How can you be certain?
KIM CLIJSTERS: No, I'm not saying I'm certain. But it's pretty -- I'm not saying -- I'm not going to say anything. But it's pretty funny it only happens on one side of the end and it happens on break point like for a guy to have a break point. I mean, I wasn't there so it's hard for me to say what happened because I left when he was a break down in the second set. I left for my massage. So it's hard for me to say what happened. But, yeah, I mean it's -- yeah, that's why I can't say anything about that.
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