April 18, 2000
Monica Seles defeats Erika DeLone 6-0,6-0
QUESTION: Is that pretty much the A game?
SELES: I was just playing so well tonight. You have some of those nights that you’re just playing well and some nights are not and tonight was one of them and you’re just very happy when everything comes together like that.
QUESTION: You kind of still feeding off the momentum you had last week and bringing that here as well?
SELES: Well, it was really surprising how well I did last week, so that was great, but it’s a new tournament and I just look forward as always to every match. I don’t worry about the past, present, just look forward to playing on Thursday right now.
QUESTION: Do you think having Amelia first this year helped you a little bit to sort of get warmed up on the clay? I know how much you like this tournament. Do you think it got you warmed up? I saw you play last week early. Seems like your clay game is really coming together fast.
SELES: Definitely. It always takes a little bit of time to adjust onto clay, but that’s for every player, too. All of us are coming off the hard courts. It’s hard for everybody, but I think it’s nice that we had the extra week of play coming into Hilton Head and not vice versa.
QUESTION: Monica, what do you think about them moving the tournament up to Charleston?
SELES: Well, I’m sad to see it go after so many years being here. Unfortunately early in my career I never got a chance to come here, but in ’97 when I first came I just fell in love with the tournament, and truly the people who work in the tournament are just unbelievable. And we always look forward to coming back. I hope the same people are going to be involved when the tournament moves, but I sure will miss this area in terms of tennis and I’ll still come back to visit with my mom and I have great friends, but I guess everything has to change at some point.
QUESTION: Does your mother live here?
SELES: No. It’s my mom’s first time here, but we spend a lot of time in Haig Point and just love the place and look forward to coming back again.
QUESTION: Do you come here other times of the year?
SELES: I haven’t got a chance. I tried to come this past December, but with my injury I was just back and forth getting ready for Australia, so I did not, but I hope to come back at the end of this year.
QUESTION: Monica, the match you played against Hingis in the final in ’97 I think a book recently named that as one of the 20 best matches in tennis history. Does that surprise you? Was that that memorable for you? Does it rank among the most memorable for you?
SELES: I don’t really remember too much of that match because the day before I played Conchita I was very sick and I had 101 fever, so maybe I should have more fevers like that high whenever I play Martina. That would be bad, but I just remember just really wanting to finish the match and hop on the plane and go home to see my mom and have her take care of me at that point, but I remember it was a very hard-fought match, and Martina she was up 5-2 in the third or else I was up 5-2 in the third and then came back to the tiebreaker, but I remember it was a very well-played match.
QUESTION: Do you think this is some of the best tennis you’ve played in a while? I know you won at Oklahoma City. That was just your first one coming off the injury.
SELES: It’s so hard to say. I had some matches that I played well and then I had some matches that I didn’t. Probably consistently in a week, yeah. It’s just hard to get up every day, I mean you’re playing every day, to play well. All of us are humans, and really the only two players that have been very stable this year have been Martina and Lindsay and that’s why they’re No. 1 and 2 in the world.
QUESTION: After winning so convincingly you said you were going to practice serving.
SELES: No. I served two doubles in a row, so my serve has been a joke, so I thought about that for a second, but I realized it was not a good option tonight.
QUESTION: Do you feel fully recovered from your injury?
SELES: I’m almost there. I mean I still have little bits and pieces that’s not 100 percent there, but I think the week off after Lipton definitely helped here, and it’s just been so much tennis after being off for five months that I’ve probably overdone it a little bit, but I think once this tournament is finished I have a good two weeks and hoping to take a week off so I don’t come with any injuries hopefully to the European season.
QUESTION: How much do you think a win here would help you kind of propel into the European season?
SELES: Well, any win would be fantastic. I mean this tournament would be nice because it’s one of my favorite tournaments, but really when you start the tournament, I’m a player that just looks forward to the next match. I hate to have my mind wander that far off.