ROGERS CUP
Date: 2005-08-16

ROGERS CUP

August 16, 2005

Amelie Mauresmo
TORONTO, ONTARIO, A. MAURESMO/D. Randriantefy 6-2, 6-3

The Moderator Questions in English.

Question You changed from Nike to Reebok for the French Open, is that right?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yes.

Question Can you talk a little bit about what attracted you to Reebok and what was important for you in a clothing company.

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I think -- well, it's Reebok and now adidas, as well. No, I think it's been -- I've been with Nike for about nine or ten years, and I think that probably our road, the road together, was coming to the end. You know, Reebok was very interested in working with me, so I had a look at what they were doing, how they want to get involved in the tennis, especially come back pretty strongly on the European market. It seems to me that it was, you know, a pretty interesting challenge. You know, hopefully I'll try to help them go back very strong in Europe. And I think they're doing a great job. I mean, I'm getting to know the company as the months are growing. But I'm already impressed by the way they reacted to my opinions on their outfit, you know, and it's going to improve not this year because it's too early, but 2006 and so on.

Question What changes did you ask them to make? Were there fashion things that were important to you or was it more technical?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: It's few different points. Technical and fabrics. In terms of fabrics, you know, they're on the right track, but maybe I can help them in the feeling I have on the court and also in terms of fashion, the cut of the products. Can you say that? Yeah, you know, I'm giving some feedback, as much as I can, on the shoes as well, to help them and make sure I like what I wear and they're happy to work with me.

Question You have had a bit of a layoff; haven't played since early July. How were you feeling out there in your first match in four weeks and what did you think of the match?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Well, some up and downs, you know. As you say, it's been more than four weeks, you know, out of competition for me. So I guess I -- you know, I need a little time to really get my rhythm back. I have, of course, as you've seen, a few adjustments to make in my game. A few things worked pretty well today - I'm thinking about the serve especially. Other things, you know, I'm still looking for, you know, the right timing on the court. But that's the way it is. You know, competition, you cannot replace competition even though you practice for three or four weeks. It's still very different. You know, I'm happy to go through and have, as I was saying on the court, the opportunity tomorrow or the day after when I will play to improve on these few things I have to adjust.

Question So you're pleased that you took the time off?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I needed it. I mean, if we want, we can play 11 months a year. But I'm not capable of doing that. You know, we had -- I almost didn't stop during the first six months of the season. You know, at some point I had to, you know, rest a little bit and then get ready for the second part of the season, for the last three or four months, because I'm not a machine. I need to rest sometimes (smiling).

Question Did you need the rest because your body was having wear and tear or you were just tired?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: It's the body, it's the mind. It's a little bit of everything, you know. You need to get out of the tour sometimes a little bit. You travel, airports, hotels, tennis clubs. Sometimes you have to really take the time to relax a little bit. It's a bit of everything.

Question How did you relax?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Well, I had two weeks completely off, going to the beach, do whatever I wanted, and then I practiced for three weeks.

Question On paper it looked like an easy win.

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Not so easy, especially the second set. I think the first set I was, you know, very effective on the game. And then the second set, started to also -- physically I had a some trouble to keep the rhythm and making way too many errors to really finish it off the way I wanted to.

Question You've turned your game into a really serve-and-volley type player. Did you make a conscious decision to work on that today?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: Yeah, I think, you know, it's been working well for me at Wimbledon on grass, which is very specific. So now I'm trying to adjust this type of game. It's not a hundred percent serve and volley because I don't think it would be that effective on hard court. But I still want to, you know, come forward and come in to try to make the points easier.

Question Your opponent today was pretty creative with her shot-making, a lot of drops, maybe a lot of unorthodox type shot selection. Can you talk about that?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I think especially in that second set, I think in a way I let her do this because I step back a little bit in the second set, really starting to play some short balls. So then, you know, she has different choices to make. You know, she can dropshot, she can hit it hard and come in. I think I really let her back into the match today.

Question You're a bit known for that in terms of playing a lesser opponent, really kind of taking it down a notch, not really stepping up your game. Was that the case today where you were just waiting and seeing and working on a couple different things?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: I think for today it's really something to put on the lack of competition for me because, I'm not sure, with three or four matches under my belt, I don't think it would have happened this way.

Question How about the fitness? There's a lot of opportunities where she dropped it, you played it back, and the next shot was a high lob. How was your fitness?

AMÉLIE MAURESMO: It's okay, it's good. I feel good on the court. You know, I think I still need to be a little faster. But it's going to come. If I'm capable of playing, you know, a few more matches here, then it will come very quickly. I'm sure about that.

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