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1999 Family Circle Cup - Hilton Head
3rd Round
Anna Kournikova beats Barbara Schett
7:6, 6:4
April 1, 1999

 

 

QUESTION: Anna, how much did you think about your last match against Schett in the Lipton, going into this one? Did that enter into your mind?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Well, I didn't really think a lot because that happens all the time with us. We play the same players every week, so it wasn't like a big deal, but still of course, I wanted to win.
 
QUESTION: In the second set, I guess midway through you had that call that you thought was long and it looked long, and after that you really played well and kind of took over the match. Was that a motivating thing for you?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Well, on the clay court you can't really, you know, how do you say, you can't really get upset with that or anything, so no, I didn't think that it was something that has to do with that. I just tried to focus and tried to finish the match and play every point just like it's a new beginning, just to work on each point and finish it up, because we didn't want to play in that rain. I was so glad we finished.
 
QUESTION: You were moving very well. Seemed like you almost got to every shot that she hit, at least got it back. Do you feel like you were at the top of your game?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Yes. I felt like in the first match I was a little bit slow in the first set and everything, but I had to get used to clay and now I had a couple of practices on clay since then, played good doubles yesterday. And I didn't practice much. I was a little bit looser, and I felt great today on the court. I felt like all my shots were going in and I couldn't miss.
 
QUESTION: How big was it to win that first set tiebreaker?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Definitely it's always very important to win the first set, especially if it's in the tiebreaker, because you feel like you were winning or you were very close and then suddenly one point and you lost. So of course, it's very important to win the first set in the tiebreaker.
 
QUESTION: Talk about Andrea Glass, your next opponent. How familiar are you with her?
 
KOURNIKOVA: I played her in the Australian Open last time.
 
QUESTION: Any problem she presents, anything you're worried about?
 
KOURNIKOVA: She's a good player, like everybody on the tour right now. They can really play, so you really have to work hard with each player and get ready for the best tennis, and you have to show your best tennis, so that's exactly what I'm going to try to do, get ready and just go out there and play. She's a hard hitter. She kind of plays the game that Barbara Schett plays, so it will be a little bit similar.
 
QUESTION: Barbara got mad there at one point and was, I guess, cautioned about that. What brought that on, do you know? Wasn't Barbara cautioned for profanity at one point? What brought that on?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Yeah. She said something bad in German.
 
QUESTION: This is your first time here. What are your impressions so far about the tournament?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Great. The people love tennis here and that's great to see. Not everybody would stay out here, anywhere in a tournament in the rain and everything, but people really, really like tennis here and that's great to see, and I'm very happy to come to places where it's like that.
 
QUESTION: You mentioned you have a doubles match next. Have you and Amanda played long together?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Yeah. We played before actually a few tournaments, quite some tournaments, and we've done really well always together, so we're going to play here and next week in Amelia Island together.
 
QUESTION: Could you discuss a little bit about the depth in the women's field about the tour?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Well, like I said, yeah, you have to get ready for every player and give your best, and everybody from No. 1 to 100, no matter where they are, they really can play. All the girls can hit the ball back. You just have to play smarter and use your experience, whoever has more experience and everything. And you really have to be mentally prepared and physically, so it's all really, really difficult right now.
 
QUESTION: You mentioned Amelia Island. That will be four or five weeks in a row, four or five tournaments in a row you've been playing. Any concern that maybe --
 
KOURNIKOVA: No, no. I just played Oklahoma and then I had a week off and Indian Wells, week off and then Lipton and here. So it's -- but you know, even if I would be tired, of course I wouldn't go here or Amelia Island or something like that where if I would feel lousy, but I feel like I want to play right now, so I'm very happy to be playing right now and just feeling great.
 
QUESTION: At your age how do you stay humble? How do you do that?
 
KOURNIKOVA: How do I what?

QUESTION: Humble like. How do you keep your head from getting this big when you get all that attention?
 
KOURNIKOVA: Well, why am I here? Can I ask you a question? Why am I here?
 
QUESTION: Play tennis.
 
KOURNIKOVA: There you go. There's your answer.

 

 

 


Find out more at Anna's offical website:
www.kournikova.com