PILOT PEN INTERNATIONAL

August 27, 1998

Julie Halard-Decugis

Q. This has to be a great tournament for you because you were 15, we are talking about -- you come back now. It seemed like you had a bad call last night early in the match really got upset. That seemed to change your whole mental attitude toward not only that game, that set, but the whole match in the tournament.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: Well, I don't know. I play very well this tournament and this week against. Sawamatsu was a tough one, but it makes me play good against Arantxa. I had a slow start, but then for sure the court give me some energy and you make up a little bit and I play better then. But I think it is not only because of the court, but I wanted to be more into the match and then I play very well. And then again today I knew too she had to finish her match this morning, she has a tough match and she won the third set, but she just played the third set today, this morning. And I was careful at the beginning of the match because when you have already played, you start better, the match, so I wanted to be very ready at the beginning of the match against Mary Joe. Then I tried to make her move a lot and it was a very, very tough first set. We have a very long game at 5-4; maybe the longest game of my life. But, it was good for -- it was -- I was very happy to win the first set. It was very important. Then I knew I was more -- I was in a better shape for the end of the match and I feel more comfortable in the second set because she looked tired a little bit and that give me more energy to finish.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: That is why I think we won the Fed Cup last year because there were so many French players playing good and last year it was always a different team because everybody played, like six players played last year in the singles, every time different people, so, I think we are pretty good at this moment. You have some young ones, some juniors and some older ones and some in between, you have a lot of different kind of players. I think the Fed Cup with Yannick Noah give us a good energy and we want -- we all want to play the Fed Cup and it is a good stimulation between us. Well, when we saw the other winning, we want to do the same and things very good like this.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: Yes. (Laughs) I think so. She played very well for sure in Wimbledon, but still -- well, she is No. 3 in the world. She can be No. 1 like Lindsay or Martina, you have like three possible No. 1s at the end of the year. She is one of them. Well, I am going to do my best tomorrow. We will see. It will be a tough match for sure. But I am very happy to be in the semifinal and I have some good wins here and I am looking forward for this match tomorrow and I have nothing to lose and I will try to win.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: I don't know because. (Laughs) I don't know because I won on every surface, first time I won on grass this year it was in Rosmalen. I had some good wins on every surface, so, it depends more on my shape than on the surface I can play.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: Yes, I don't think like I have been injured like more than one year now that I am into the circuit, into the Tour and I didn't feel I stopped so long. I have got the routine now again and now it is like I have been on the Tour like before and, I don't know, I have some great wins and that is the most important for me to be healthy and to be able to do my best in the court.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: For sure we enjoy maybe even more the tennis and to have some good wins, just to be healthy, I think, because sometimes you are healthy and you even don't know and this time I am so happy to play again tennis and to come back and at this level. Well, at the beginning of the year I wanted to be top 50 doubles, singles, just to be able to play again on the Tour next year. And I am already top 30 in the both singles and doubles. Why not better at the end of the year? No points to defend so, --

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: Yeah, for sure. I think I already come back and now I am just playing for myself and in every tournament I just everything --- every singles and to have some good victories and to have the trophy for sure, for everybody. It is always good to win one tournament once a year. I did it in Rosmalen and even some good victories against Arantxa, even Mary Joe because she was a very good player. She is still a very good one and she is coming back.

JULIE HALARD-DECUGIS: For sure I wanted to win this game because it was a set -- well, several set points, so it was a very important game. But I think she was more tired than me and if I continued to fight like this, maybe I will have -- well, I will win, so, then it was important that I break still just after this game I have a good break then and it was good.