CHASE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE COREL WTA TOUR

November 18, 1997

Iva Majoli

Q. How difficult is it? You played two tiebreak sets, it was just a matter of a few key points in there that made the difference.

IVA MAJOLI: Yeah, well, to play Anke, it's always a difficult match, because she beats me so many times. And I just beat her here last year in the Garden and this year in the Garden, and now I haven't been playing so great last two months. After Wimbledon I didn't play so great. But I felt really comfortable coming into this tournament. And I really worked really hard last week, and I was feeling confident. And I think my serve helped me a lot in some important points. I would serve great. I think she was struggling a little bit with her serve. I was putting a lot more pressure on her than last week when she beat me.

IVA MAJOLI: For sure it was not distraction. I mean, it's what every player wants, you know. It's everybody's goal to win a Grand Slam or reach No. 1. So, it is a new thing for you, you know. You have more responsibilities. More people want to meet you. And I guess after Wimbledon, I was like -- I took a break and I couldn't come back, really. When there was more pressure, everybody expected you to play really well, like I did at the French, and I wasn't feeling well. Then I started practicing again with the Bollettieri. Next week I want to really work hard and. I think we've got to fight to get to the No. 1 position, because we are all so close and Martina is ahead of us pretty far. But I feel if I work hard, I just want to focus. And if I give a hundred percent, I have a good chance. So, I decided, you know, to try to play this tournament the best I can, not to think about the last tournament, and just take a little break and start preparing for the Australian for next year.

IVA MAJOLI: I'm sure Steffi won't come back if she is not 100 percent fit, and if she didn't practice a few months before, she won't come back. I think when she comes back, it's going -- I think maybe it's tough first few matches because of not playing tournament for a long time. But I'm sure she's going to be fit, and I'm sure she's going to be tough to beat again. Because when we're playing Steffi Graf, it's very difficult. If she stays fit and healthy, I think she can also be at the top again.

IVA MAJOLI: Well, I played Martina last year in the semis, and a lot of chances also against her and, you know, hopefully I'm playing against Nathalie Tauziat next match, and I really want to focus on that one. But, you know, if me and Martina get to the semis, I think it could be a great match. And, again, she's the one that has to win. And if I serve well and I if I play well, I think we have a chance.

IVA MAJOLI: I would love that. I never played because it's only the finals of this tournament. The finals are so far. So I think we all have to concentrate match by match and just think about it. I think it will be fun if we played on clay court against some Spanish person. I don't think it would be so much fun. But at least this is hard court and the points are a little bit shorter, so I would love that.

IVA MAJOLI: I don't know, because there's so many new players, you know. And, actually, I think right now in the women's tennis has much more good players than men's do, because like Becker and all these famous players are retiring and, you know, our tour, I think, is very good right now with Hingis and Lindsay and Jana and Kournikova and everybody coming, it's -- I think it's one of the best years that we had. And, you know, with Steffi it would be really -- you can't ask for a better tour.

IVA MAJOLI: No, I wanted to stay home for Christmas and New Year. And probably maybe Sydney, if not just Melbourne, because I have so many tournaments to play after Australia like six, seven in a row, so I need a break. I just -- I just wish we had off season like every other sport. I feel like we are the professionals and they are the amateurs, because everyone gets off-season and time to get ready, and we're off for one week; we finish our year on December 5th, 6th and you have to leave during Christmas for Australia and get ready. So we have one week to rest, and it's not enough to handle, like, whole year. So I'm -- we decided to skip Hopman Cup this year. Probably play next year again.

IVA MAJOLI: Yeah. Just, I still have to find somebody. Mary wanted to go, but she decided oh, we go, we go. But I do want to do it in the future. Maybe Anke would like to do it right now, so... Only kidding. It's tough playing because we are very good friends. And last three tournaments we played so much against each other. It's been difficult. But on the court we both want to win, so...