NASDAQ-100 OPEN
Date: 2006-03-24

NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 24, 2006

Amelie Mauresmo
MIAMI, FLORIDA
The Moderator Questions, please.
Question Obviously, a great win there. I'm from Amelia Island. I was curious, I heard there was a small chance...
AMELIE MAURESMO: (Smiling). I don't know yet. I'm really focusing on what's going on here in Miami. I'll see how it goes here, really, and then I will take some decisions for next week.
Question So there still is a chance?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Very small, I have to say.
Question I know you have a busy schedule recently.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah. But small, sorry.
Question Okay. Obviously, you've been to Amelia many times. You've had a lot of success there. It's kind of a different environment than, say, here, a Tier One event?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Oh, yeah. Well, I think even though I'm being pretty relaxed here in Miami, I think over there it's even more relaxing environment and pretty, you know, quiet and easy. So it's nice.
I mean, it's nice to go there. It's also the beginning of the clay court season so you get used to it. It's not -- sometimes you don't play so well, but it's nice to, you know, see that you're improving day after day.
Well, yeah, I've always -- I mean, I've played that tournament many times and won it once, so I like it there, obviously.
Question Is it a good change of pace in the schedule, maybe two Tier Ones back to back, for people that have a stressful schedule, they go there and have a peaceful environment there?
AMELIE MAURESMO: It's good, yeah. I think it's good, yeah. Not that you take it less seriously or whatever, because when you play a tournament, you always want to play well, you always want to beat the good players and go to the end.
But, yeah, the pressure maybe is less on your shoulder.
Question And you mentioned, obviously, start of the clay court season. Everyone is looking to Roland Garros, probably even more so for you. How does that help compared to the red clay? Is it a good transition to the red clay?
AMELIE MAURESMO: It is. It is actually, because it's not yet so slow, I think, than the European clay, but it's obviously slower than the hard courts and everything. So it's good transition.
I usually, yeah -- I usually had, you know, after the U.S. clay court season, I usually had some good things in Europe. Yeah, it's good.
Question How different would you say the green and red are?
AMELIE MAURESMO: To me, I think it's bit faster, the green, the American one. Also the sliding is different. You cannot slide so much on the green. That's probably the main differences, yeah.
Question Is it still good preparation, or does it feel like two different seasons?
AMELIE MAURESMO: No, it's not two different, no, no. It's still continuing season for us, really, going in Europe.
Question When you look at the results of players like Lindsay, who's had great success at Amelia and has not been a red clay player as much, does that tell the difference there?
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, well, maybe the fact that to me it's a little faster, it helps a little bit Lindsay to put her game together there, when on the European clay, we see her struggling a little bit more.
So maybe that --
Question It plays more like the hard court.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Little bit more, yeah.
Question She's stronger.
AMELIE MAURESMO: I think so.
Question Another player mentioned you play the clay week to week, it's different; whereas hard courts are hard courts. Clay is --
AMELIE MAURESMO: Yeah, you can find very different conditions. Well, I mean, on hard court you can still have some differences, but on clay I have to say, like, leaving Berlin, going to Rome, is pretty different, and from Warsaw going to Berlin, it's also very different.
So the conditions can vary a lot. That's something very tough on the European clay. The green clay, I think, is not so different.
Question How about the win today? Obviously 0-0.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, yeah, I mean, it's Miami weather. I mean, it's Key Biscayne weather. It's always very windy here. And when you come here to play this tournament, you know you're gonna have some wind, you know you're going to have humidity. That's what we get since the beginning. You have to adjust to that and deal with it.
Question Obviously, you did well.
AMELIE MAURESMO: Well, obviously, it was not so bad for me today. Yeah, if I can really handle that this way, the way I did today for every match, it would be great.

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