THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 20, 1995

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario

Q. What about your serving today; can you tell us about your faults?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: Well, first of all, I make a lot of doublefaults and my serve was not very good. But it wasn't only that. I think Marianne played very well. I mean, she anticipated really well, and she is a dangerous player. But I think I was not on my best today, and every time I have, you know, wanted to come back it was not working. Maybe I left the ball a little bit short so she took advantage. But she played better than I did and that is why she won the match.

Q. Is there anything physically bothering you at all? Are you fit; healthy?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: No, I am healthy. I mean, I can lose a match. I mean, I think she played well and maybe, you know, I didn't play as good as I wanted to. Maybe -- I don't know -- I was thinking, you know, too conservative or something in the case of just going more for the shot, but she played very well and that is what happens.

Q. How much did the wind bother you?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: Well, I think it is bothering both players. Everybody knows the conditions here are much more windy than any other tournaments, but I don't think that that was the key, you know, of losing my match. I think maybe I was -- I tried to win, you know, very badly, the match. I knew I wanted to win this match and that maybe affect me a little bit more; but the wind was for both sides.

Q. What does she do that prevents -- you only had ten winners in the whole match. What does she do that keeps you from --

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: First of all, I say -- she took advantage. My balls were very short, so she knows -- she loves to go for the shot and I didn't make so many winners and I make a lot of unforced errors, but maybe, you know, -- maybe a little bit of the pressure that you have to win, that was the key of winning, you know, the match today on my side. But she just took very good match and she have nothing to lose so she go for the shots and she is also dangerous if you let her play when I just maybe missed many more shots than the normal. But maybe at the second set I have little more chance, but, always I was behind and she was kind of more relaxed to hit the ball. It would be more close; maybe it would be different, but she took more advantage of the shots more than I do, and that is why she, you know, the score was like that.

Q. Did the balls come up short for you because she was hitting out into the corners so you were on the run a lot?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: Well, I think we have to be careful with the wind because you can -- the shorter the ball can fly to, but I think any shot that I tried to hit, you know, was not long enough and deep enough. I mean, normally I can hit good angles, but today was not exactly my good day to do that, so she took advantage, but I let her play and feel much more comfortable and in feeling the ball.

Q. In that second set, what went through your mind when you finally went ahead 5-4; did you think at that time you could start moving along and running it into three sets?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: Well, I was always behind and so just tried to, you know, hang on to the match and try to keep thinking to do something different and finally when I was 5-4 up and I have set point, my ball just fly a little bit, but I never feel comfortable on the court. It is something that you know when you sat down and probably in the second set I loosen up a little bit more and I start playing better, but I think it was too late. I let her have too much advantage and in situations like that, I think it would be different if I was from the beginning, but it happens and she played better so she deserved to win.

Q. She said that she watched how Mary Pierce played you at the Australian Open and that is how she kind of felt she played today. Did you see any similarities to how she played today and Mary played you at the Australian?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: Not really. I think -- I mean, every match is different, but I mean, I played Marianne a couple of times and she plays always the same way. I think she -- I think she served much better today than she did on the other past times so she gets more free points on her serve. That is something different that I saw. But the kind of game I just think that she played the same as she did against me in the Australian Open, but I was not so consistent as I was there, so that was the difference.

Q. I notice you favored your right ankle?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: I strained my ligament on the first day, before I came here, so it was bothering me, but it was not the key why I lost. I mean, it was bothering me a little bit even in the first match the other day, but I have to put tape.

Q. I noticed the tape.

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: It was not something why I lost the match.

Q. Since the Australian Open, do you find the season so far a bit disappointing?

A. SANCHEZ-VICARIO: For me? Why? I mean, I think some players go through some stages that they are not as good as you want to and I didn't win a tournament, but I don't think it has to be disappointing. I think I am just keep working and, you know, I want to continue improving and play my best and that is all I think, but I am not disappointed because I didn't win a tournament. I think if I continue working this way it will come the time that it will change and I just have to think positive, I think, but it is many more tournaments to play. It is only the beginning. You cannot win everything, I mean, that is the way I see it. Maybe now with the clay season it will be different.

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