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WIMBLEDON

June 22, 2009

Michelle Larcher de Brito

LONDON, ENGLAND

M. LARCHER DE BRITO/K. Zakopalova
6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you enjoy your first experience at Wimbledon?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: It was very nice. Glad to pull through the match. Second set got quite tight there.
But, yeah, it was really great today and I felt good.

Q. You cruised through the first set. In the second set, things got a lot trickier for you. Your serve seemed to go a little bit.
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Yeah, it got quite close in the second set. I had, like, a couple of bad service games, but I just had to keep focused and keep playing. I managed to pull through it with two sets, which is quite unusual sometimes, 'cause I do tend to get to three sets quite a lot.
But I was happy to pull through.

Q. Did you purposely turn down the voice level today after the complaints made by your opponent in Paris?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, I tried to be quiet for you guys today (smiling).
But, no, I mean, today I played really well. I start off good, and I didn't think it was necessary to really go any louder than I was today. I was playing good.
No, the grunt goes through my intensity, and today I played good and I stayed solid throughout. So I don't think it was necessary to go much louder.

Q. Do you find if you're under pressure, is that when you make more noise playing the game of tennis?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No. It just depends. I mean, you play, and it kind -- the grunt goes itself. Like if my body feels like it needs to grunt more, it grunts. If not, it stays quiet.

Q. Were you asked by Wimbledon before the match not to do it?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, no.

Q. You weren't?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No.

Q. Or even just to watch it?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, nothing. I just went out there. Nobody told me anything, 'cause I don't think it's necessary for anybody tell me anything 'cause it's part of my game. It's something I do.

Q. Have you been upset by the criticism that you've had because of the noise levels?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, if I did, I don't think I would have played so well like I did today. Just winning my match today, it just shows you that it didn't really affect me, or else I would have never played as well as I did today.
THE MODERATOR: Perhaps we could move off the noise question.

Q. There's one thing I don't understand. You said it's the body that kind of makes the noise, but you also said, and I don't know if you were joking at the beginning, that you wanted to keep it quiet for everybody.
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No.

Q. What is the reality? Is it mind over matter, or is it just something that happens? How much control do you have over this?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No, I was actually joking.
No, it's just something I've done at a very young age. And, yes, it is my mind, my body. It's just how the match goes. I just grunt. I have nothing else to say about it.
THE MODERATOR: No more noisy questions. Can we move on to tennis or other aspects of the match we've seen.

Q. Portugal is not a country famous for tennis players. Can you tell us a little bit how you got into tennis, why you chose to play tennis?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, it was actually my father. He used to play for his school. He really loved tennis. He was a big tennis fan. I guess when he had children he wanted tennis children.
I have two older brothers which started playing before me. I just started playing with them. I started competing, and now I'm here.

Q. Is Wimbledon a scary prospect? Were you nervous about coming on court here for the first time?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: No. Actually, well, in a way I was a bit nervous. My first Wimbledon, main draw. I got a wild card.
But I'm really happy that I played well, and just hope to keep going. Every match is gonna be tough, and just try and keep focused and keep playing well.

Q. This is a significant topic, so I would like to ask, in this time period, since the French Open, who has given you the best advice on the topic of the sound and the grunting, and what was it?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Uhm, well, everybody was quite supportive. Everybody just told me, Just play your game, and that's what I'm doing. I'm just playing my game. If it's, you know, inconvenienced the other player, there's nothing I can really do about it, because I don't really want to change anything.
I'm finally starting to do well. I'm finally in the top hundred, and I don't want to change anything because things are starting to fall into place a little bit now. It's not something -- everything that's happened about the grunting, I don't want it to affect my mind or my tennis, 'cause finally I'm doing well and finally I'm starting to get really great results.
I don't want this to affect my tennis, and I don't want, you know, anything to get into my head, 'cause, you know, I'm starting to get confidence. I don't want that to get ruined because of something, you know, a bit ridiculous.

Q. To what degree do you feel you've been treated fairly or unfairly? What is your assessment since the celebrated event at the French?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Well, I think it's a bit unfair, because I don't think anybody's looked at the bigger picture. Nobody realized that I got three rounds of quallies, two rounds of main draw, got all the way to the third round of Roland Garros, you know, Grand Slam.
Nobody realized I beat No. 15 in the world, Jie Zheng, in the second round of Roland Garros at 16. You know, people haven't realized that. People haven't realized the sacrifices and everything I've done.
'Cause I haven't read one article where people say, She beat No. 15 in the world at Roland Garros on her way to the third round. Nobody realizes that, because the only thing they're really focusing on is my grunting.
So it's been a bit unfair.

Q. As you progress further in the competition, the games are only going to get more intense. So do you think you might be losing control, you might get a bit louder as the games get more intense as you go on?
THE MODERATOR: I think we'll have to wait and see, won't we?

Q. Answer the question.
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Yeah, I think so. We'll just see. Definitely if the matches are going to be tougher obviously I'm going to start grunting.
I'm just here for myself. I'm not here really to be quiet for anybody. I'm here to play. I'm here to win. That's it. If people don't like my grunting, they can always leave.

Q. If you were told you have to stop grunting, how would you feel, by the authorities, the WTA or the ITF?
MICHELLE LARCHER DE BRITO: Nobody can tell me to stop grunting. Tennis is an individual sport, and I'm an individual player. If they have to fine me, go ahead, 'cause I'd rather get fined than lose a match because I had to stop grunting. That's all.

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