MONICA SELES INTERVIEWS

New York, New York August 31, 1992 Monica Seles defeats A. Keller 6-1, 6-0 Q. In view of your having lost three tournament finals in a row, what is your mental state of mind, Monica, coming into this tournament? MONICA SELES: It is the same as when I was winning all the matches. To me, mentally, it really doesn’t make a difference whether I’m winning or losing. Only thing that I think losing the Wimbledon finals was a lot different than losing the two finals over there. It pretty much, you know, was a different case. Q. Do you feel,

New York, New York September 02, 1992 Monica Seles defeats L. Raymond 7-5, 6-0 Q. You said you had seen her play; she was a tough player. In that first set, did she play better than what you expected of her? MONICA SELES: Definitely. I think it was the same type of match as yesterday when I watched Martina and Stafford. I just went out there without any pressure and just played some great tennis. I mean, whatever she touched just went in, fast, and I mean she hit about four, five shots, just really great shots. Even when you

New York, New York September 04, 1992 Monica Seles defeats C. Porwik 6-4, 6-0 Q. Monica, you were just sort of slow getting started tonight. Is that — MONICA SELES: It was really humid out there. At the beginning it was kind of hard to see the ball. I just– one or two points that I played really bad. I doublefaulted on a breakpoint. Just missed easy balls that I shouldn’t have. And then 4-1, I just told myself I’ve really got to lift my game if I want to pull out this first set. Q. Martina and Jennifer both

New York, New York September 06, 1992 Monica Seles defeats G. Fernandez 6-1, 6-2 Q. I noticed your drop shot twice in a row there in the second set. Were you hoping her leg was going to fall off? MONICA SELES: No, I mean, she tapes it always when she plays. I don’t think it was major– she was standing so far back that I thought, you know, if I just keep hitting, you know, try to mix a few up, that, not much– it was pretty– 5-1, so it was easy to see to drop shot then. Q. The

New York, New York September 08, 1992 Monica Seles defeats P. Hy 6-1, 6-2 Q. Was it easier than you expected, Monica? MONICA SELES: I have a problem with my voice, so I am going to have to go very low. It was easier than I expected, but I still think a lot of long points there could have gone either way. I was just lucky. I wasn’t just feeling too well out there. So, didn’t want to go back into the match in the second set, just try to finish her off. That didn’t work, like Hy, in the

New York, New York September 11, 1992 Monica Seles defeats M. J. Fernandez 6-3, 6-2 Q. How are you feeling? MONICA SELES: I am feeling a lot better since two days ago, but it’s still, you know, bothering me a little bit when I am — my nose is clogged up a little bit and my throat, but otherwise, I seem better than two days ago. Q. What is the sickest you have ever been when you have played and won? MONICA SELES: What is the best? Q. The sickest, when you have played and won? MONICA SELES: Well, I

New York, New York September 12, 1992 Monica Seles defeats A. Sanchez-Vicario 6-3, 6-3 Q. Monica, congratulations. What were you thinking of winning the two sets when she came back? MONICA SELES: I was not too happy, but– and in the first set, I was up 5-1, I should have closed the match, but in the first set I felt I didn’t have many chances to put the first set away. But the second set, I had 40-15 on her serve and then 30-Love, then again, 40-15. I just felt it slipping away, probably a little bit more nervous than

New York, New York September 09, 1995 S. Graf defeats M. Seles 7-6 (5), 0-6, 6-3 Q. What has the whole experience been here? You have come within one point of being the champion again and you are not. MONICA SELES: Yeah, well, the first set I think I thought about it too long a little bit although the second set was 6-Love, but I reminiscing so much about that one serve, but — oh boy, well, there is so many emotions out there today. All through the two weeks, I think both Steffi and I played so well. Running

London, England June 24, 1996 M. Seles defeats A. Grossman 6-1, 6-2 Q. Monica, how did it feel to be back on the Centre Court?A. It felt great, I was really nervous at the beginning, pretty much throughout the whole match, but it was good, and coming from Eastbourne, just having a day in between was really good to refocus. Q. How satisfied are you with your game?A. Well, I think I played pretty well down in Eastbourne. I had some good match play, and obviously the grass courts, it’s a totally different thing here, so it was great to

London, England June 26, 1996 K. Studenikova defeats M. Seles 7-5,5-7,6-4 Q. Monica, was it a case of her playing too well? Did you feel like you were just off to- day? A. Well, I mean I felt I had some chances definitely to win the match and I didn’t take them, and she was hitting awfully well her backhand slice, and I was having a lot of trouble with that today, I wasn’t attacking as much and she played better on the key points, that’s what it came down to, and I didn’t. Q. How did she play differently

Miami, Florida March 22, 1997 M. Seles defeats Sawamatsu 6-3,2-6,6-2 DEBBI EDWARDS: Questions for Monica.Q. How is your finger, Monica?MONICA SELES: It’s doing okay. I started practicing about two weeks ago. It’s fine. There’s no pain; just a little bit if I’m turning fast. That’s about it. Q. And your shoulder?MONICA SELES: My shoulder is great. It’s been really doing great the last four, five months, so. I’m happy I don’t have to have the surgery. Q. Were you staggered that you had to take so long off with the finger? Is it something you thought would heal up pretty

April 01, 1997 M. Seles defeats Shi-ting 6-3,6-3 QUESTION: Monica, how do you feel like you played today? You got down 2-0 in the first set and sort of picked up your game after that.ELES: I took two days off after Family Circle Cup, and it was really the first time I got to play some points on the clay, and I was pretty rusty starting off. She has a good forehand, and I was just trying to stay in the point, and we had some nice rallies in there, so it was a good, comfortable second-round match. QUESTION: Seemed

April 02, 1997 M. Seles defeats M. Gersi 6-2,7-6(4) QUESTION: Did you get frustrated at all in the second set?SELES: Definitely. My serve went nowhere, and my ground strokes also, but they weren’t as bad as my serve just let me down a lot. QUESTION: Would you answer that question again?SELES: Yes. I think mostly my serve let me down in today’s match, especially in the second set. All the double faults they came at pretty key times, and a couple of unforced errors that didn’t come at the right time. QUESTION: It seemed like she was able to get

April 04, 1997 M. Seles defeats Huber 6-3,6-0 QUESTION: Monica, it seemed like today you were sharp right from the start, much better than you played the other day. SELES: I wanted to come out really strong early on and try not to get into long rallies with Anke. And I was pretty lucky in the beginning to pull that far ahead, and in the second set when I broke her, then I felt I was in pretty good shape. QUESTION: Your serves in particular today were effective. SELES: That helped a lot. I think a few times I was

April 05, 1997 M. Seles defeats Martinez 6-3,6-4 QUESTION: Monica, you’ve had a lot of success against Conchita in the past. Why do you think that is and what were you able to do against her today? SELES: I wanted to come out very aggressive today against her, try to take control of the point. I was pretty successful, and on a couple of key points I just went for them and they went in today, and I tried to just play my game really yesterday and today. QUESTION: Monica, how are you feeling right now? You don’t sound very

April 06, 1997 Hingis defeats Seles 3-6,6-3,7-6(5) COLLINS: I’m sorry I grabbed you away from kissing that ball girl, but we had 30 seconds before we were off the air. QUESTION: With the way you’ve been feeling the past couple of days, how were you able to get out there today and play the way you did?SELES: I just wanted to go out there and take it a point at a time and go for my shots, and I did that most of the times, and in the key points I didn’t do that. I had some great points, and

May 05, 1997 Q : You were in Rome in 1992. What do you remember about the crowd, about the city?A : I don’t remember many things. I remember two great finals with Gaby in 91 and 92. I’m glad to see a new court. This is a new start for me. Q : You lost two finals to Martina Hingis. Are you sorry that she is not here?A : I’ll meet her at the French Open, anyway. But I don’t like to think about the future. I prefer to think about my next match. Q : Monica, can you

May 08, 1997 M. Pierce defeats M. Seles 7-6(8),7-6(6) Q : Why do you think you lost?A : I don’t know what happened. I was up 6-3. I had a few chances. That’s what happened today. Q : How can you explain that?A : I don’t know. I’ve never seen someone being down 6-3 twice winning the match. Things happen. I wish I knew! Q : Were you unlucky?A : No, sometimes I felt I should be playing more safely and close the match. Q : She never took a set from you. What was the difference today?A : I

Key Biscayne, Florida March 21, 1998 M. Seles defeats A. Lorenzo 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 Q. Three months since your last match or four months? MONICA SELES: Four months. Q. How did it feel being back on the court? MONICA SELES: Oh, it felt pretty strange. I kind of couldn’t get my rhythm. Obviously the wind didn’t help much. Haven’t practiced too much in the last two months. I had a problem with the timing. I pulled it out. I hung in there physically. I was pretty happy about that. Q. Did you enjoy being out on the court today? MONICA

Key Biscayne, Florida March 23, 1998 A. Kournikova defeats M. Seles 7-5, 6-4 Q. Monica, what do you think about Kournikova’s game? MONICA SELES: It’s hard for me to say what I think, just coming off. It’s really fast. I haven’t played too many balls. But she played really good, both sides very good, running very well, all-around good game. Q. I saw that you were dropshotting her, like she was dropshotting you, instead of usually hitting the ball hard. Is that a change of game? Is that something new you’re starting to do? MONICA SELES: Not really. I just

January 13, 1999 Seles Answers Questions Before the Australian Open INTERVIEWER:Well, Monica, welcome back to Australia. You certainly must be looking forward to coming here, having 28 victories, I think, never losing here? MONICA SELES:Definitely. I’m still a little bit jet lagged, so excuse me if I’m giving funny answers, but definitely it’s very exciting finally coming again after not being here two years. I was looking forward to coming here. I was nervous, nothing happening, but everything went well, and I’m here. INTERVIEWER:What about the fact that you have done so well in Australia? What do you put it

Melbourne, Australia January 19, 1999 Monica Seles defeats T. Krizan 6-1,6-0 INTERVIEWER: Monica, you must have had an urgent dinner appointment? MONICA: Well, my agent, it’s his birthday today, so I kind of had one. But I was just really so happy to get on court after waiting all day following the Kiefer match, I wasn’t sure if it will finish, and obviously I didn’t want to follow the Kiefer match. I was just so happy when they moved us. INTERVIEWER: Any problems with the game, Monica? MONICA: Sorry? INTERVIEWER: Any problems with your game? MONICA: Well, I think, it

Melbourne, Australia January 21, 1999 Monica Seles defeats A. Dechaume-Ballert 6-1,6-4 INTERVIEWER: Monica, well done. What happened at the end of the second set? MONICA SELES: I don’t know. I think at 5-1, I think I just let a couple of balls slip by me, and then I lost my concentration totally, and I slowed down on all of her slices, and as soon as I started doing that I got into trouble. So in some ways it was a good thing to happen, to keep me on my toes next time. INTERVIEWER: So how do you spend the rest

Melbourne, Australia January 23, 1999 Monica Seles defeats S. Appelmans 6-3,3-6,6-4 INTERVIEWER: Monica, quite a battle out there today? MONICA SELES: Yeah, definitely. I just never felt I had my rhythm, even, really, after the first set. I had a very hard time out there today, so I just need to really work on that. INTERVIEWER: When you didn’t drop a point in the first three games of the third set, you must have thought it was probably going to be slightly more easy than it eventually became? MONICA SELES: Not really, because I didn’t feel like those first three

Melbourne, Australia January 25, 1999 Monica Seles defeats S. Testud 6-0,6-3 INTERVIEWER: Monica, you have played Steffi six times in Grand Slam finals. Does it feel strange to be meeting her so early in one now? MONICA SELES: No, because I met her in the quarter finals of the championships also. So obviously Steffi hasn’t played last year and her level of play isn’t perfected, and I think the same thing maybe for me, I haven’t played the first three and a half months of the year, so it’s expected. INTERVIEWER: Is that a special match, I mean, do you