Mesh Tennis

Sunday, 6 July 2008

ROGER FEDERER and RAFAEL NADAL on court interview

SUE BARKER: Roger, I know this must be so difficult for you, but you must know how popular and what a great champion you are to the people here. They’d like to hear your thoughts on the match, because you played such a part in such a wonderful final.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, tried everything (smiling). Got a little late and everything.

But, look, Rafa’s a deserving champion. He just played fantastically.

SUE BARKER: And I guess it was just the emotion of it all and all the drama, all the rain delays. You had so much to put up with today.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, didn’t make it easier, but you got to expect the worst. And it’s the worst opponent on the best court.

No, but it’s been a joy again to play here. A pity couldn’t win it under the circumstances, but I’ll be back next year.

SUE BARKER: That’s all we wanted to hear. That’s fantastic. I know it’s difficult.

ROGER FEDERER: Thank you.

SUE BARKER: Rafa, can you describe what you felt when you just fell to the floor, when you knew you were the Wimbledon champion?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, is impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, no? So just very, very happy for win this title, my favorite tournament for me. It’s a dream play in this court.

But win, I never imagine something like this. So very happy. Thank you very much, everybody.

SUE BARKER: But you really won it the hard way, didn’t you? I mean, how did you get yourself back having lost the championship points to keep yourself so mentally strong?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, disappointing for me I am in the same time like the best player of the history, Roger Federer. So is very tough always play against him, especially here. I have lots of chances for win before the match.

But just congratulate Roger, because he always fight unbelievable. His attitude is always excellent when he win, when he lose. So just thank you very much Roger. His attitude is very good for the tennis.

SUE BARKER: And the fact that you beat Roger here on Centre Court in arguably one of the greatest finals we’ve ever seen. Does that make this even more special?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, for sure, you know, win Roger here after five years, I lost the last two finals, close finals. But he’s still the No. 1. He’s still the best. He’s still five‑time champion here. Right now I have one, so for me it’s very, very important day.

SUE BARKER: I know the first thing you wanted to do was to run up to see your father and your uncle that’s been your coach and such a support to you. What did they say to you up there?

RAFAEL NADAL: Just thank you very much for his support, for their support all the time, coming with me, my uncle, my family. The rest of the family are there. So everybody, thank you very.

SUE BARKER: Big celebration planned?

RAFAEL NADAL: No big celebration. I forgot one thing. Just thank you very much the Prince and Princess for coming watch my final today.

Sad Federer.

Nadal in action.

Mirka seemed to have faith in boyfriend Federer throughout the match.

Nadal wins it!

More sad Feds.

Third time is the charm.

Even more sad Feds. Can I make this one my desktop background?

Oh, I’m going to use Nadal’s win for all it is worth.

There is now, finally, an official end to many of the (admittedly amazing) records that Federer was building up. He had 65 grass courts wins straight, 40 of those from Wimbledon. He has 5 previous Wimbledon titles and was looking to break into six to beat out Bjorn Borg’s record 5 straight Wimbledon titles. Federer was looking to also add a Slam title to his collection of 12 to try to break the Sampras record of 14. That record will not fall in 2008.

But much of that is over now - the 4 hour 48 minute match put the first Spaniard in the Wimbledon champion position since 1966 (Manolo Santana, who attended the match today), and the first man to win both Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back since Bjorn Borg in 1980. Borg was there to watch this match, and had previously predicted that Nadal had the edge in this final. I’ll see if we can dig up any video of Borg’s reaction - he was very calm throughout the match.

I’m fairly certain that the police will be visiting me soon because of all the screaming I just unleashed on my neighbors - but I have been waiting YEARS to write this very blog post, and I honestly didn’t think it would be happening today. Rafael Nadal took the match in 5 sets, 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7. I will obviously be posting video, interviews, photos, and anything else I can get my happy little hands on.

I think John McEnroe is seeing the decline of Federer in this match - he is nearly in tears interviewing Federer and asked for a hug from him! He claims Feds was nearly in tears too…

I’m, of course, fully behind the theory that Roger has already peaked - what do you think? Is this the proof?

Venus. Williams def. Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4

Q. Could you talk about the primary emotion you felt when you won it?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, obviously that first match point she hit a serve that was untouchable. So, of course, I mean, that’s classic Serena Williams.

But in that last one, I mean, I had a chance at a second serve: the ultimate opportunity. So I just stayed tough in that opponent, and she was going for it until the end. Of course when I saw it go wide, I’m thinking, Oh, my God, it’s five. Wow.

Q. Five titles?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Five titles. Just five titles. It’s the first thing that popped into my head.

Q. How concerned were you early? She came out in a ferocious mood, playing well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: To be honest, this is the Wimbledon final, so of course I expected her to play that well. And, of course, I mean, she’s Serena Williams. She can pull out anything. I did expect her to just be all over anything I put out there. But I didn’t really think a lot; I just kept playing, and it wasn’t looking that great, you know. 3-1, 4-2, but then when it got to be even it was closer.

Q. Can you just talk a little bit about the conditions, which were obviously pretty awkward. I mean, you kept pulling out of your serve. Serena didn’t seem to pull out of her serves at all.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was windy, and the wind kept blowing and swirling. The longer the match went on, it kept changing directions. At first, it was only windy on one side, then it was windy on both. I could see the wind blowing on her side, but it wasn’t windy on my side yet. So, you know, it was tough out there, but I just needed to take my time until I got a good toss.

Q. What is your approach to the post-match celebration on court, and how does it differ when you play Serena versus anybody else?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, because I think that — when the match is that close it’s obviously more exciting to win. And, of course, if it’s a 6-2, 6-3 win, the celebration isn’t as elated because you’re just cruising to glory. But I was pretty excited about that win because it was so close. You know, I’m definitely more in tune with my sister’s feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose. Of course the celebration isn’t as exciting because my sister just lost.

Q. To what degree, if any, does that detract from your enjoyment of the moment?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I mean, you could never detract from winning a Wimbledon (smiling). So, of course it doesn’t detract from that. But I’m definitely thinking about how my sister’s feeling.

Q. With the exception of the early part of this match, your serving throughout this tournament has been very dominant. Could you talk a bit about just how much emphasis you put on your serve, and with particular reference to the number of body shot serves that you’ve hit in this tournament.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, body is my favorite here. You can’t defend it, I mean, especially if — I mean, I’m hitting it with a lot of pace. My second serve, I hit it with a lot of pace, too. So even if my opponent knows where it’s going, if it’s on the line, close to a hundred miles an hour, it’s tough to return. So the serve has been key for me here. I never felt very happy about my groundstrokes here. But my serve, I felt like any time I needed it, it was putting me out of any bind. As long as I could get a return in, then, you know, the win was coming for me.

Q. You’re only the third, if I’m correct, along with Martina Navratilova and Graf, to win as many as five Wimbledons in the modern era. What do you think of that? Does that make you think, I’m up there with the all-time greats, anything like that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think definitely winning this tournament so many times definitely puts you in the stratosphere, to be honest, just because of what this tournament means. I think had I had this achievement at any other tournament it would have been awesome, but not nearly the same meaning at Wimbledon. I think the difference is just because of the prestige of this event.

Q. Serena had more aces, more winners.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Really?

Q. You played bigger in the big points. She was 2 for 13 on breakpoints; you were 4 for 7. How were you able to be bigger on the big points?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I felt pretty relaxed out there today. I mean, when the match points came, I mean, I was a little tight, but that’s normal. But mostly because her serve is so good, I’m hoping that I can get my racquet on it to be in that point. So it’s a lot of not pressing too hard ’cause you know if you get a chance that you have to do something with it. But I think I was maybe a little bit more relaxed than her.

Q. An all-Williams final. Is this a start of a second era of dominance for the sisters at the top of the women’s game?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I would love that. The main goal for both of us is to stay healthy. We’ve both worked really hard this year, and I think the results showed here, both in the singles and the doubles. So the goal is to stay healthy so that way we can play singles and doubles and have a lot of fun with it.

Q. Besides the number of Wimbledon titles, can you let us into any of the things that motivated you tennis-wise in the recent past that raised your level between the French and now to do so well?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Uhm, I just feel like a lot of times I’m unlucky at the French. I come in with a sickness or injury, and I try to win, but I’m just not lucky. I find that happens a lot at the French and the Australian. A couple of times here, too, when I had my early losses. But, I mean, obviously coming off those losses I’m just like, This can’t be my life; I have to do better. So I think that’s what motivates me.

Q. When you play Serena, do you look at her as playing and African or playing a Russian that you need to trash?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. At no point am I ever able to forget that it’s Serena, because I have the ultimate respect for her game and I have a lot of respect for her serve. If I was playing anyone else I wouldn’t have to face what I had to face today, so it’s impossible to forget.

Q. There was the critical let call. What are your thoughts on that? Could you imagine any of the other girls on tour giving you the point?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. Serena is the ultimate sportsperson. We both are. I think we play, we keep playing. We don’t take injury timeouts. We just play. We don’t question too many calls. And I would expect from her to be the ultimate sportsperson. I was confused as to what was happening. I didn’t know if the ball was in, out, or what had happened. So I had no idea what the call was, to be honest, until the umpire told us.

Q. Have you had a chance to have a chat with Serena? If you have, can you share some of that with us?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No, we didn’t talk so much because I was on the court for a minute there. You know, there’s a lot of people in the hall when you pass by, so I’m going to see her after and we’re going to get ready for doubles.

Q. Can you share what you’re going to say to her?

VENUS WILLIAMS: No plans. Just the usual.

Q. You now have five titles. Can you allow yourself to dream of targeting Martina’s nine?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, my God. That would be the ultimate. That’s not easy. Her career also spanned like three decades, so I’m not sure if I have that much time. If I did, I think I would definitely dream of that. So, you know, tennis is so much different now. You know, tennis is a big business now. You know, all the tournaments, the draws, and the players, it’s just so different that the pressures are different.

Q. You seem to be able to keep yourself fresh not doing as many tournaments.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I’ve had my fair share of downtimes. I try to stay as fresh as I can, with God’s blessing.

Q. You’ve earned the right to go home and put the racquet down and indulge yourself for as long as you want before Los Angeles. What are you going to do?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, I can’t wait to see my dog. I love that little guy. He’s my favorite. My favorite dog ever. I have to play TeamTennis, so I’ll do that. I want to take a break from eating five meals a day. I’m gonna cut back and eat a light breakfast and maybe two meals, not five and six meals like every day I have.

Q. We can see you’re getting real heavy.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I can tell (smiling).

Q. It’s hard to judge when you’re playing sometimes, but where would you put the level of play today compared to the other matches you all have played over the years?

VENUS WILLIAMS: You know, uhm, I think the level of play was really high. I think a lot of the times one of us was overpowering the other. So I hit a hard ball on the line, she can’t get it back. Or, you know, I tried to go for too much because I’m anticipating that she’s gonna run my shot down. Or I hit a huge serve, she hits one I can’t return. So in between us overpowering each other we had, I think, some really competitive rallies and intense points, you know, where one player would come back and take the point, when it looked like the other player was gonna win. So, you know, we’re both very powerful, and I think it showed out there.

Q. Can you tell us a little about your morning, the day before the match. Did you spend some time together with Serena?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, we said, Okay, we’re eating breakfast. We always have lunch for breakfast to stay fueled. We’re both trying to choke it down. Okay, only two more matches. This is the last time we have to do this. Just encouraging each other. Just that, you know, we’re eating lunch again, two lunches before the match. It’s like, It’s the last time. It’s okay. That’s pretty much the atmosphere beforehand. Just still encouraging each other, not with specific advice like, Yes, serve me body, okay, because that’ll work good for you. None of that. But still encouraging each other to eat and be healthy.

Q. In the middle of winter when your mind turns to Wimbledon, what is the one thing or vision that comes to your mind?

VENUS WILLIAMS: In the middle of the winter?

Q. When you’re far away from here.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don’t think about Wimbledon that much. It seems so far away. I have my eye on the Australian, obviously. Just hopefully healthy enough to play, which in the last few years I’ve been hoping that more than anything.

Q. There were some points today where Serena really ran you from one side of the court to the other it seemed. You kept getting to shots it seems very few people could. When you’re able to get all those balls, get them back strong, do you get any sense that this is demoralizing Serena?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I mean, to be honest, I felt like, I’m not running fast enough. I should be hitting more of an offensive shot. Why am I hitting this shot. You can do better. That’s mostly what I’m thinking. The funny part is when I see the tape. I’m like, Wow, how did I do that? How did I cover that shot? So when I do see the film, then I do have to give myself a little credit. But when I’m out there I’m like, This is not good enough. It’s funny.

Q. How did losing here twice to Serena sit with you, and what does today’s experience do to those memories?

VENUS WILLIAMS: The times I lost, I tried. She put a ton of pressure on me. She hit my best serve back for winners, just was unbelievable, and she just played better. So there was not much I could do. I tried. Obviously today I wanted to try to improve that record, and I didn’t want the same trend to keep happening and then be like 6-1. So I climbed a tiny little notch up, so it’s 2-5. Still behind, but I’m working on it.

Q. If Serena had won today, you being the defending champion, how would that have affected your experience?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think I would have been happy for her. I would have been more disappointed that I didn’t have — about the number. Like five is really monumental. Like last year I thought four was incredible, but now five is — I would have been more disappointed about not being able to make the history than actually not winning the match, if that makes any sense. So more about that.

Q. It’s very impressive the way both of you honor your parents and bond as a family. Do you attribute that to your faith, your upbringing, or is it just coming naturally? Do you recommend that to youths all over the world?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, our upbringing, we’re taught to respect our parents, and also religious upbringing, you know. At least in the Bible it says that you if obey your parents all will go well with you, and I respect my parents. I would never give them a hard time. I would never want them to worry. For me, I feel happy when they’re happy with me, so…

Q. You’ve been training seriously or playing professional tennis for 18 years of your life now. Do you and Serena sometimes sit down and reminisce about the journey you’ve made from Compton, California, to the finals at Wimbledon?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, actually this morning I was just saying — I was asking Serena if she remembered the match when, I don’t know, I was in Sydney playing some match and Serena was watching my match and she finds out that she’s gonna be on court in about 10 minutes, and so she runs from my match to go play her match.

We were just talking about that. That was maybe in ‘98. So we do sometimes talk about the things in the past, just some of the things that have happened have been so amazing that we definitely draw a lot of energy and inspiration from it.

Venus Williams def. Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4

Q. We know that you don’t like to lose. Is it any easier to lose to your sister or is it just the same?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, it’s definitely not any easier. I just look at her as another opponent at the end of the day.

Q. Is it harder in any way?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s harder, but it’s definitely not easier.

Q. But you’re happy for her, aren’t you?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, of course.

Q. What’s going through your mind when she’s celebrating? Did you sense any sort of difference in her celebration because she knows it’s you that she just defeated?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I didn’t see, you know, any celebration. I just kind of went over to my chair, so… I wasn’t paying attention.

Q. You were up in the first set and then something happened. Did you get tight? Did you lose some rhythm?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I just lost rhythm and then I just made a lot of errors. Uhm, I just couldn’t get the balls in. You know, nothing I was doing was seeming to work.

Q. Did you feel tight at all?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn’t feel tight. I didn’t feel tight. I just felt like — I felt good. My balls just started flying, and then she started serving really well, I think.

Q. Can you find any satisfaction that it seemed to be a very well-played match, balls going everywhere, both chasing down shots, or does the result sort of leave you a little numb?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I definitely don’t feel numb, per se. But, I mean, I don’t think I played well. I don’t think I’m satisfied with the way I played today. For me there’s nothing to be satisfied about.

Q. Did she make you not play well with her shots, or was it you disappointed in the way you played?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I don’t think she made me not play well. I think the conditions were really tough out there. I know she was under the same conditions, too, but, you know, it was just really, really tough. She started just playing — she lifted the level of her game and I should have lifted mine, but instead I think mine went down.

Q. So you just played this match with her. You lost; she won. Now you have to somehow, a couple hours later, put that behind you and be on the same side of the court with her to play doubles. What do you think that’s going to be like? How are you preparing yourself for that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I’m prepared. I look forward to it. I’m ready to play doubles, you know. I’m a little tired, but I don’t think it’s a problem.

Q. What does this win say about her as a grass court player?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it says a lot about her. I mean, she’s won five Wimbledons now. She’s beaten me on grass now, so that definitely says a lot.

Q. Did you look up at your family at any point during the match? If so, is what you see in their faces any different than when you’re not facing a sister?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it’s kind of hard to look up there because I don’t know what they’re thinking, like if they’re gonna say, you know, do this or do that, c’mon, I don’t know. I just really try to gather strength from myself.

Q. From yourself?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yes.

Q. Venus was serving serves into your body. Is there anybody out there who serves into the body as well as Venus Williams?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I think that was her tactic, was to serve every ball into the body. I’m glad she did it, because next time I know what to expect. I think I did good with getting them back. I mean, I think I got a lot of those in-the-body serves. I knew what she was doing. It was very readable. I knew what she was going to do, so I was able to read it much better. But I know next time playing what to expect, and I’ll be even more ready for it.

Q. What are your expectations as far as the two of you meeting again in finals of majors? How much do you think this is a likelihood in the future?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, well, I mean, if we stay on the opposite side of the draw it probably will be a likelihood. We’re always trying to get to the finals and do better than that.

Q. Do you at any time forget you’re playing Venus?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I didn’t think about that at all today.

Q. How would you rate your game today on a scale of 1 to 10?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Oh, I don’t know. I hate doing scales. I’d rather not.

Q. Third game of the second set, worked really hard, a lot of breakpoints. You finally break her to go up 2-1. The next game you lose your serve. What do you think happened there, and how important was that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I was really hoping to hold serve there, especially since the game was really long. But I didn’t. I just didn’t hold serve, so…

Q. Were you tired at all or…

SERENA WILLIAMS: I wasn’t tired. I didn’t play well. I did not play well today. That’s all.

Q. Part of a lot of your big matches is a kind of free-form expression, fist pumping, talking to yourself. Did you feel like you were drawing back a little bit today since you were playing Venus, there was a limitation there?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I didn’t feel that at all. I felt like I was pretty emotional out there. I didn’t feel like I was — I didn’t even think about that. I just tried to play my game and just do what I do normally. I didn’t change anything.

Q. A few years ago when you and Venus were meeting pretty regularly in finals. Did it feel different five years later in terms of the two of you sort of being more on your own, whereas before it was happening regularly, it felt like it was all in the family, and this time it felt more like, as Venus said the other day, every Williams for themselves?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I felt like that all the time, and I feel like that again today. I mean, I was out there playing for Serena, you know.

Q. What message do you think the two of you have sent about the two of you as competitors and as sisters with the way you’ve shared details of your closeness?

SERENA WILLIAMS: What message did we send?

Q. About your closeness as sisters and how it becomes a competition when you’re on the court.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think they just know that we’re close, you know. I don’t know what message I sent. I just try to send a message that, you know, play your best — do your best at whatever you do.

Q. If anyone else had caught as many or aborted as many service tosses as Venus did today, would you have been irritated enough to talk to the chair umpire about it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No. I think it was just so windy out there. You know, she has a funky toss, so I guess she has to catch it a lot. Uhm, you know, it wasn’t like — I mean, what can you do about it?

Q. What exactly happened on that let call, from your perspective?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know.

Q. Did the ball land in or out? Do you know?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know.

Q. When you came over to the side of the court, did you have a discussion with him?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I forgot about the match pretty much (laughter).

Q. Since the match ended have you been kind of alone to deal with it, or have you been hanging out with Venus after the match?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think she did — you know, I haven’t been hanging out with her because she does her own thing after the match traditionally, as well as I. We kind of do different things, so…

Q. Have you talked at all?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I saw her. I mean, we weren’t involved in a big conversation.

Q. You don’t look happy at all.

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t? I wonder why.

Dare I start to hope that Nadal can close this out? One thing I know after years and years of not being a Federer fan is that Feds can come back and bring out great play when he needs to…

Sunday’s encounter is the sixth Grand Slam title match between the No. 1-ranked Federer and No. 2 Nadal, more than for any other pair of men in the 40-year Open era.

“I think it’s quite incredible, myself,” Federer said, “that we’ve played each other so many times on so many big occasions.”

While he isn’t exactly sure where their rivalry stands in tennis annals, when discussing it Saturday, Federer did toss around names such as Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Becker, Edberg, Agassi and Sampras.

“I don’t know how it will be looked at in many years’ time, because at the moment, you are right in it, and you try to win the matches that come along against your main rival. It’s hard,” Federer said. “I know it’s something special what we’re going through at the moment.”

Some significant milestones are at stake Sunday.

Federer, who tied Bjorn Borg’s modern mark of five Wimbledon titles last year, is trying to become the first man since the 1880s to win six consecutive Wimbledon championships. When Willie Renshaw collected six successive titles from 1881-86, though, he had to play only one match during each of his defenses because the reigning champion was given a bye to the final then.

Nadal, for his part, is aiming to become the first man since Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season. MSNBC

Serena Williams lost out on her chance at another Wimbledon title when she lost to her sister, Venus Williams.

Reprising their Sister Slam Show in the Wimbledon final after a five-year hiatus, Venus and Serena Williams smacked big serves, hit hard strokes from all angles and chased down seemingly unreachable balls, like no one else does. Overcoming an early deficit, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her second consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh major championship overall. MSNBC

Just a few hours later, the pair defeated Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond to win the women’s doubles title.

Jie Zheng def. Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4

Q. What has gone wrong this Wimbledon?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it’s tough, you know. I didn’t play many tournaments before, so had a little bit of time to adjust. But I think she played really well today. It was tough match for me.

You know, I’m definitely disappointed with my loss. But, you know, still I look at it as a learning experience. And, like I said, she played very well today.

Q. She was hitting some very good shots. Was it very difficult for you to retrieve?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, obviously, you know, she’s a good player and she plays well on grass. She has very powerful shot. She stays very low, so the balls are coming much faster through the air.

I had a little bit, you know, tough time to adjust to the balls with the timing. It was also a little bit windy. I think grass suits very well with her.

Q. Anything waist high you were hitting the winners. Anything lower than that was difficult for you to retrieve.

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it was tough. I tried to play balls higher, to try to get under the ball and play with lot of spin.

But, like I said, I found it hard to get good timing. So, you know, I was a little bit holding back. I made too many miss hits, I think, as well.

She played well. She served also very good. I found it hard to mix my serve. She was reading my serves very well. Even when I tried to kick it and bounce the ball high, she was still there on the ball.

Q. Have you felt any extra pressure being No. 1?

ANA IVANOVIC: Obviously a little bit in the beginning, yes. But I think I adjusted little bit to that. I just tried to go out there and enjoy. Today I wasn’t, you know, nervous or anything like I was maybe for the first match.

But it was just she played well, and I think I didn’t perform as well as I hoped for. But, you know, like I said, it’s still learning experience for me. It was all new situations. But, you know, obviously it’s tough. It’s never easy to lose.

Q. You had the reprieve two days ago. After that match, did you feel confident that you were going to be able to take advantage of that and do well here, or did you have concerns about the way you were playing?

ANA IVANOVIC: Obviously it was tough because from the first match on, I tried to find my game, you know. I felt like I was struggling a little bit. It was very, very emotional past couple of weeks for me. It also took a little bit toll on me.

You know, I didn’t have as good preparation as I hope for because I had to have some time off, as well. It took some time to adjust to the grass.

But, like I said, she played well.

Q. It seems like you still haven’t found the right way to play on grass for your game yet, that you’re still looking for answers.

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I think it takes time. Because especially after clay, it’s completely different game. I had some time off, so I didn’t have too much time to practice and to do all these little specific movements and things you need to in order to adjust to the grass.

Especially you have to accept that not every shot you’re going to hit it’s going to be, you know, perfect. There’s going to be quite a few, you know, bad bounces.

That’s something I found, you know, a little bit hard to deal with. And also coming from clay, it’s completely different mentality you have to have going on court. Because on clay, if you struggling a little bit, you still have time to get into the game.

But here everything is happening so fast. You really have to be there from the first point on, and that’s something, you know, that I found it hard. You know, especially today. She was hitting ball fast and flat. I didn’t have enough time to, you know, get into my game.

Q. What is the one thing that you think you’ve learned about being No. 1?

ANA IVANOVIC: It’s everyone’s going to be so pumped against you and they’re going to try, you know, to perform the best they can. I think, you know, in my previous matches, as well as today, you know, they had nothing to lose. Really I think they played some of their best tennis. It’s something you have to accept.

Also, you know, with the time, learn to deal with it.

Q. We’ve seen people come in here after shock defeats and be really down, really miserable. You’re really still quite bubbly and upbeat. Are you a good actress, or are you philosophical?

ANA IVANOVIC: Trust me, it’s not easy to lose. Obviously, no, I had some time to calm down also after the match. Because I think every loss is disappointing, especially you work hard over achieving some things and then you go out there.

But you also have to realize that the world won’t end. You know, I’m still so young and have many tournaments in front of me. You know, these things make you learn that you still have room to improve, and, you know, areas can you improve on.

So, you know, sometimes you need a punch to realize what you have to work on.

Q. What do you feel you need specifically to improve your game enough to do well on grass?

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, like I was saying, this year was quite hard because I had really a little amount of time that I spent on grass. So maybe in the future we’re going to try to change that and try to spend more time on court, you know.

Obviously, like I was saying, it was very emotional time past couple of weeks. So with my coaches, we try to, you know, cut the practices on minimum just to have time to recover little bit, you know, and have some time for myself.

So that’s something that we thought, you know, would be good. But, you know, we gonna change that maybe next time and spend more time on court and trying to adjust to grass.

Q. Tipsarevic said, in explaining Novak’s loss the other day, that everything is happening so fast to Novak at such an early age. How does that compare to your situation?

ANA IVANOVIC: I think it’s kind of similar. Novak, I think he’s a great player, and he already achieved so much. He has a potential, you know, to become No. 1. He has a great game, you know. So sometimes it’s hard to realize you have to stop and take some time and realize, Hey, you know, I’m actually doing good and give yourself pat on the back and appreciate that.

Sometimes you get lost in that and you just go and try, you know, to play as many matches as you can. You know, sometimes you’re tired, emotional tired, but you don’t realize, you know, why.

So it’s important also to take time and let it sink in a little bit and set your goals again. For sure, he had goal to win in a Grand Slam. So once you achieve that, you’re like, Okay, so you have to set some other goal again. That’s similar for me. You know, it’s something I learned.

Q. Early in the year you gave us such wonderful insights into your thinking about psychology. Have you thought about the psychology of being a champion, of realizing that you’re the French Open winner, No. 1? Have you done any reading in that?

ANA IVANOVIC: Obviously, you know, I like psychology. I really like to read about it. But, you know, lately we took it easy a little bit because I was too much into it. It was, you know, taking some time. Because I also was thinking about, you know, studying probably that. But it’s just too much to combine both things.

But it’s something very interesting. You know, as a professional athlete and also having opportunity to deal with different people in different countries, you learn lot about, you know, other people, you know, the way the human mind works and the way people are. I think it’s really interesting.

Q. And has it sunken in to you that you are the Roland Garros champion and No. 1?

ANA IVANOVIC: I think now it has. It took me a while, I think. But, yeah, I think it’s normal. And, you know, all these experiences you go through, and actually every match you can play you can learn something from it. I’m lucky I have a great team around me that also make me see some little things that, you know, you forget or you can’t see.

Q. What does Scott Byrnes bring to your game?

ANA IVANOVIC: Since I started working with him on my fitness, I improve so much. You know, I lost some weight. I worked hard on my upper body strength because it was always, you know, little weaker point for me. It gave me so much confidence on the court because I had feeling I could play more matches in a row and I could play for a longer time and compete on a high level.

You know, that was a huge step for me. That’s I think when first I start doing well because, yeah, I just felt, you know, so good, you know, being able to compete against top players.

Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 Wimbledon winner, will again be on the sidelines during this year’s Wimbledon final. Serena Williams defeated her today in the third round, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Mauresmo and Svetlana Kuznetsova had withdrawn already from doubles due to injury, as she suffered a muscle tear during the Eastbourne Wimbledon warm-up event.