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MERCURY INSURANCE OPEN


July 22, 2012


Marion Bartoli


CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA

D. CIBULKOVA/M. Bartoli
6‑1, 7‑5


Q.  (Inaudible)?
MARION BARTOLI:  I think the toughest part for me was to play three matches at night and then come to the day session, which is obviously different.  I think Dominika played all her matches during the day, so I think she was maybe more used to me, especially in that first set.
I think I played well to get the lead in the second and get it 4‑1, but from this point I start to feel a bit tired and not moving so quickly as I wanted to.  But she play also very fast and extremely well, so she make me feel uncomfortable as well.

Q.  How does your ankle feel today?
MARION BARTOLI:  It was fine.  It was just preventing.  Obviously on the hard court you have a lot of pressure on the ankle, so it was more prevention than anything, but of course, playing all those long matches at the end maybe kept me a little bit back, but I think it was a great week for me.
I really fought extremely hard on the court, and being back in the final this year obviously means a lot to me before heading to Montreal and Cincinnati, trying to have some wins; and be able to play a final again here in Carlsbad was very important for me.

Q.  You've played a lot of matches and won and lost, but today you were emotional after the match.  Why?
MARION BARTOLI:  Yeah, well, you know, I always want to win.  So obviously I'm disappointed because I was not able to do it.  I'm not going to be happy losing.
But overall, if I look at the big picture, I think it was a very positive week for me.  It was important to bounce back after French Open and Wimbledon, which I have been very disappointed.  So I really wanted to heading back to Europe with a good week, a good strong week that I would be able to build on before Canada and Cincinnati, so it was important for me to really fought hard during this week and find a way to win the matches.  And even though I was not playing my best tennis, I think this mental toughness will help me to eventually get some great results through Canada, Cincy, and the US Open.

Q.  You've met a lot of players on the tour over the years, but I understand she's a good friend of yours.  What makes her such a special person?
MARION BARTOLI:  Yes.  We are very good friends since I think five years, six years, something like that.  I don't know.  We get along very well.  I think we have the same mindset on and off the court.
We are obviously both of us some fighters.  You can see on the court today we are not really giving to each other many things, but I think it's also a great respect to show to your opponent that you're there to win as well.
But we love to practice with each other.  We have the same mentality.  We want to get better, and we never mind practicing, so I think we have pretty much, yeah, the same character.

Q.  What was the toughest thing about switching from playing the night matches to playing during the day?
MARION BARTOLI:  I think during the day the balls are going to be faster and obviously the light, serving when you have this bright sun, it's very different than when you play at night.
But I would say, yeah.  I don't know how many hours I spent on the court in the matches, but it was quite a huge amount, and I started to feel it today.

Q.  What's your perspective about the women's Olympic Games?
MARION BARTOLI:  Well, I will be watching it, which is unusual, but of course I will be able to rest and see all the ones having to switch again and be back on grass before heading back to the States on hard courts.  So that will be, I think, a tough situation for everyone.  But you know, I hope that the French girl will be playing with really well, and obviously I think Serena will have a great shot to get the gold medal.

Q.  Do you expect Dominika to end up as a Top 10 player?  She's getting close to it now for three or four years and hasn't quite gotten there.  Tell me what she has to do to get there.
MARION BARTOLI:  I think the main thing to be inside the Top 10 I know from my experience is consistency.  You have to play a lot of good weeks.  You can have some weeks when you don't play so well, but you have to have a lot of great weeks.
And I think last year I had 90 something matches, so you really have to be physically strong and also be able not only on one week, but maybe 10, 12 weeks have some great, great results, and this is I think the toughest part.
Obviously she has the game for it.  Maybe the thing with Domi is she's not that old, so it takes her a lot of energy to play really well, and maybe she's having some trouble backing up this kind of energy, but I think when she's on, like during this tournament, yes, she is definitely able to be there.  The thing is, again, just consistency, which makes it extremely hard to be there.

Q.  A couple of (indiscernible).  (Question about Australia and being emotional today.)  What's the hardest part about having to stand on court?
MARION BARTOLI:  Yeah, it is extremely tough, especially when you're handed the trophy for the second best.  I think this is the worst spot to be, because obviously you just want to leave the court as quick as possible, but you know, in tennis there is always a winner and a loser and you can't be even.
So the thing is one has to lose, and of course, you don't want to be the loser, but sometimes you are just saying that was a losing trophy, and yes, I think when you're in the final you want to win the trophy.  And I never quite saw a player be as happy as just to be in the final.  So I think we are just practicing all extremely hard and all those hours we spend on the court and off the court and all the struggle, losing is quite hard to take, but I think Andy is quite happy about the whole performance, and I'm sure two or three days after he can appreciate he had a great tournament.  But when you're just right there, it's quite hard to take.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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