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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 25, 2007

Kim Clijsters

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Thoughts on that match?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Mixed feelings. I know she played really well. I had a feeling I played a lot better than yesterday, but still not my best tennis. That's I guess the frustrating part about it.
I was playing well at times, but she always came up with better things, played more aggressive and served a lot better.
Yeah, you know, I think she hit her backhand really well today, very deep, which didn't give me a lot of chances to work my way into the points.

Q. Were you happy with your game, or would you say it dropped off in the quarterfinal and semifinal?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah, I think my quarterfinal was definitely my worst match. But playing a worse match and winning that one was kind of a good feeling, as well. You just have to try to turn things around in that other match, in the next match.
I did. I felt like I was playing better. I was moving better, seeing the ball better. But, you know, not good enough today to beat her.

Q. What sort of sadness is there saying good-bye to the Australian Open?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Yeah, again, like mixed feelings as well at the moment. It's kind of not really sinking in yet. I'm going to come back tomorrow and take my time to say good-bye to everybody, yeah, just get everybody's email address, number.
Like straight after the match, as well, you're just disappointed with the loss. You're not thinking about all the stuff. It was nice to talk to the crowd, say good-bye like that. There's a lot of people I want to talk to face to face. That's what I'll come back for tomorrow.

Q. You will come back tomorrow and catch up with people?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Definitely. I'll come back, with the people who work here, people that I definitely want to keep in touch with, get their numbers. Yeah, so I'll come and take my time tomorrow.

Q. Do you think she can win the final?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Yes. I think Serena can win, too (smiling). But I think if she plays the way that she has been playing, if she plays aggressive tennis, I think she's the favorite. Obviously she's played a lot more. She hasn't been injured.
I think with Serena in a final, you can never expect her to play bad tennis. I think she's going to come out here and fight till the last point. That's what she's done here so far.
I think it's incredible to see how well she's doing. What I love about seeing Serena play at the moment is the natural emotions that she's showing. I think that's just great to see. Yeah, I think it's good to see her in the final.

Q. If you were playing either one in the final, would you change anything you did?
KIM CLIJSTERS: I would answer that question if I was in that situation. Doesn't matter to me any more now.
I'll watch it maybe if I'm not flying on Saturday. Is the final at night or not?

Q. Afternoon.
KIM CLIJSTERS: I'll probably get the chance to see it. Yeah, it will be interesting. I'm not really worrying about my tactics against either one of them at the moment.

Q. Do you have any idea why your level of play dropped in those two important matches?
KIM CLIJSTERS: Well, yesterday, like I said before, it was definitely my worst match of the tournament. Again, you know, you always have a match like that in a tournament. It's a good thing if you can win them. If you play that kind of tennis, I mean, look at Mauresmo, she wasn't playing her best tennis, and she got surprised by her opponent.
Kuznetsova, as well. I think Maria had that match in the beginning of the tournament. I had mine a little bit later. That happens. If there is a reason for that? It's not that I can point something out and say, That's what I did wrong. That's why I felt that way. I didn't change anything in my routine. I can't blame anything on that.

Q. Do you think you could plan a holiday next January and come back to Australia?
KIM CLIJSTERS: No, probably not. Brian will be playing basketball. I'm not going to go on holidays by myself.

Q. In terms of tennis matches, what have been your good memories from your Australian Opens and what have been the disappointing memories?
KIM CLIJSTERS: I have so many great memories from here - tennis-wise as well. All the friends I made in Australia as well. That to me has been very important, has been a great part of my life, something that -- something that will always stay with me.
Tennis-wise, I mean, there's so many. It's so hard to just pick one that stands out. The one that was maybe the most frustrating one, where I was up against Serena, I think, 5-2 in the third, that one was frustrating at the time.
I've never been the type of person who thinks it's the end of the world when I lose a match. I always try to look at the positive things and come back stronger. That's what you learn out of those kind of matches.

Q. Does the media, TV, have any attraction to you at any stage in the future?
KIM CLIJSTERS: No. No thanks (smiling).

End of FastScripts

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