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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP WOMEN'S OPEN

August 13, 2010

Marion Bartoli

CINCINNATI, OHIO

M. SHARAPOVA/M. Bartoli
6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Are you happy with your performance? You got to the quarterfinals at this tournament.
MARION BARTOLI: Well, it's kind of mixed feelings, you know. The overall performance is great. Making the quarters here in Cincy, since a long time I been playing well here, so it's a good result.
But tonight's match was not that well, so I think it's kind of mixed feelings. But's it's happen.

Q. What did your dad tell you when he came out? You were down Love-5 in the first set.
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, you know, I felt a bit sick. I had a headache and I was not feeling very good, so he told me just to try -- I mean, try my best. He knew I was not in the best shape, but just try and see how it goes.
But when you're not feeling that well, and especially in those conditions, it's tough.

Q. It looked like you were stepping way back on your return game. Was her serve more difficult to read at night?
MARION BARTOLI: Um, no, I don't think at night makes it tougher. I mean, I don't know if it makes a difference playing her in the day. But her serve, it's definitely a huge weapon.
Sometimes it can goes down. In the second set when she had this 5-2 lead and 40-15, she start to really goes down and then I get some chances. But the weight that she put on her serve, and the ball bounce really a lot higher than I'm used to.
Especially like Caroline yesterday, the ball was going on my waistline so I could step inside the court. Against Maria, her serve, because she's so tall, the serve is just bouncing a lot higher so I couldn't really stay up because I just didn't have the time to handle it.

Q. Are her serves flatter or does she put a lot spin on it? Is there good variety?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, her second serve had a lot of spin. But the first serve, even if has spin it's bouncing high, so tough to attack it because you just have this ball on the shoulder, you know. So it's make it tougher.
But on the other hand, my serve was really bad, so...

Q. What you think happened there in the 5-2 game?
MARION BARTOLI: I don't know what happened to her. Honestly, I think maybe she get a bit tight. She start to really give me a lot of free points, and then still I think I save one match point on my own serve and came back.
You know, I thought still at 5-4 I had my chance, but then I play a poor return of service game. So I think on my side my performance was not the standard of yesterday. On the other hand, she played great as well, so...

Q. What you tell yourself when a match is going against you try and stay in the match, to get some confidence?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, well, it's tough, of course. But I've played against Maria before. I remember even 2007 I play her on grass, which two weeks later I was playing the final of Wimbledon and I still lost to her 6-4, 6-1, about the same score.
So I think playing her so few also it's make it tougher, because she has a different game. When you are playing more often against someone you get more used to it. Playing her so few earlier I think didn't help also.

Q. Is it hard going into a match when your past history with you person, you haven't gotten a win? Does that affect you, do you think?
MARION BARTOLI: No, not really. I've been able to turn around some matches even when I never beat the players before. I think what was tough today was that I felt not very good. I felt tired and dizzy and the headache. You know, it makes it's tougher because it's so humid and hot.
On the other hand, she plays well, so it's a combination of both. But, um, next time I wish I could play a bit better.

Q. Did you think the conditions really contributed to your feeling? You say you had little bit of dizziness. Was that cumulative over the days?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, I play in the middle of the heat on the three match before. I think even though I won in two sets and I felt great after, maybe also it takes me a little bit.
I practice also very hard to get used to the conditions. So maybe all those times I spent on the court for my matches, all my practice maybe also get me down a little bit tonight.
But, um, I just have to learn from it, and next time make sure I just come out a bit stronger.

Q. Was there any point during the match that you had to change your game plan?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, the things is I couldn't execute and kind of game plan. This was a huge problem. I mean, when was trying to serve like yesterday, I couldn't. My first-serve percentage was, I think, hitting rock bottom. Probably like 20% or something.
So I think play worse than this, it's hardly possible for me right now. But I still managed to won five games, so I just have to now refocus for Montreal and think ahead about the US Open and think positively.
I still have some work to do. This is a good thing. I just have to go on the practice court and practice hard to make sure that next time, even if I have some kind of dizziness or I don't feel that well, I can still be able to put a better performance.

Q. Is this one of those matches where maybe is just wasn't your night and it's easy to kind of forget that and just move on because of all the things you were battling?
MARION BARTOLI: Well, you know, I don't want to find any excuses. I mean, I'm kind of tough on myself, and I don't want to say, Oh, it's okay. I just was sick. I made the quarters, that's fine. That's not the way I want to see.
I want to really look at the match and say, Okay, I still tried, but it was not enough. I just want to go back on the practice court and practicing the same, maybe harder, maybe more, to get better.
I just want not to rely on this performance and say it was just enough.

Q. When you say you want to look at the match, do you look at stats? And if you do, how much weight do you give to them? Which ones are important to you? By the way, your first serve percentage was 62%.
MARION BARTOLI: 62%? But I think I serve 90 miles an hour, so...
Yesterday I serve 105 something, and today was 90 barely, so it was not that perfect.
Well, I think I know pretty well what happened tonight so I don't really need to see the statistics. Sometimes you're just feel like, Okay, I just make ten or fifteen unforced errors. It's not that bad.
But I just really feel like I shouldn't miss -- I miss some shot I never should miss. Never ever should I miss those shots. I have some easy balls, and I just miss it in the net or putting it wide or long or whatever.
So I just think I have to think about what I've done tonight and really look at it like I should have done better. Whatever the condition are, I just should have done better.

Q. Looked like on your first serve you were clustering your shots towards the middle of the court, down the T, or off to each side. You didn't go out wide very much.
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, I think she was returning very well on the forehand side wide. Every time I tried to went there, if it was not an ace, she was really putting a lot pressure on that side. She was returning either very deep or a winner.
The backhand side on the advantage side is her best shot, so I couldn't really go there as well. So I was just trying to cut out an angle and jam her a little bit more because she's tall. So serving to the body was not a bad idea, but the speed of my serve was just not enough.

Q. You had 22 unforced errors and only 6 winners. What do you think caused that?
MARION BARTOLI: Yeah, yesterday I had 30 plus winners and very few unforced errors, so today was just the opposite. Again, I didn't felt good over there, I mean, from the first point to the last one.
So sometimes happens. But I just have to figure out why it happens.

Q. I have a quick nontennis question. I notice that you practice in your tennis dress. Do you always do that?
MARION BARTOLI: Not always, but I just felt like practicing closer for my match -- usually, maybe not tonight was a good idea -- but usually make me be more focus for my match going out there. Felt like the practice, the warmup, was just closer to the match. I can go straight on the court and be ready.
When it's a Grand Slam or whatever and I can't practice that close, and I'm practicing in normal outfit and just changing myself.

End of FastScripts

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