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Question
- "What is the biggest difference in your game compared
with a year ago?"
Answer - "The consistency is the biggest difference. I've
played at a high level all year and my title win in
Hannover was the best one."
Question - "Was tennis always easy for you?"
Answer - "No, but I've always believed in myself. There
haven't been too many changes in my game. But I'm working
with a physical coach to improve my fitness. It's helped
motivate me to have Hingis always the big deal in
Switzerland. I was amazed to see how easily she beat top
players and I told myself that I could do it too."
Question - "Have you ever beaten Hingis?"
Answer - "I used to beat her in the juniors, so I know
that I can be a top player like her. I've lost to her six
times, but I beat her in an event at the beginning of 1995
when she was already on tour. I was still playing
satellites, but I will never forget it. I remember wishing
that it would be nice to be at home to celebrate it."
Question - "You seem to get better press and public
response in Switzerland than Hingis now."
Answer - "The press in Switzerland do say nice things
about me. I don't know why they are not happy with Hingis.
Probably because she wasn't born there. They don't really
enjoy her victories because they probably haven't accepted
her as their own."
Question - "What is it like playing in the Fed Cup with
Hingis?"
Answer - "It's great, because we haven't lost when playing
together. Sometimes we joke that I should be Melanie's
(Martina's mother's) child because I look more like her
than Martina does. Martina's mum and I have the same wavy
hair".
Question - "In your second year on tour, is it everything
you expected?"
Answer - "I like being on tour. The hotels are nice and
it's never boring. I have a lot of friends. I don't like
travelling a lot, but there's no way I can change that."
Question - "You tried to combine going to university and
playing on the tour. How did that work out?"
Answer - "I went to school for nine years, and I had three
more to go for university. But I finally had to stop
because it was six days a week, until four or five in the
evening, which was too much with the tennis as well. And I
have tennis goals now that I want to accomplish. At first,
I just wanted to be in the top ten, but now I've achieved
that, I want to be top three or top five."
Question - "Has success seemed to have come very fast for
you?"
Answer - "No, actually it came slowly. I had to work my
way up from the satellites. Only this year everything
happened fast. But it took a while to get to this point,
and I'm happy with the success. I've received a lot of
attention from the Swiss press, not worldwide. But I have
been able to handle it and all the requests. I wish that I
had more time for myself and to meet my friends, but I'm
happy with the ways things are going."
Question - "How do you keep yourself occupied on the
road?"
Answer - "I read a lot and go to the movies. I like
mysteries and thrillers the best."
Question - "What would you be doing if you weren't playing
tennis?"
Answer - "I would have been studying languages and have
got myself a "real" job. The Swiss don't consider playing
tennis a real job. To them it's not that big a deal."
Question - "How long do you expect to play on the women's
tour?"
Answer - "I hope that I can play six to eight more years
before stopping and having a family. I have a boyfriend,
but it's so difficult to build up a relationship because
I'm on the road about 40 weeks a year. He's 27 and an
engineer so he can't travel with me all the time. He plays
tennis too but never became a pro. He sometimes travels
with me and gets excited seeing all those famous players."
Question - "How did you begin working with Van Harpen?"
Answer - "Eric wanted to become a coach for the Swiss
players. The wife of the president of the Swiss Tennis
Federation told me to go and play with him for a week. He
was really interested in me and was sure that I could
become a good player. He knows what I need to do to
because he has worked with so many others, like Conchita
Martinez. He's helped me a lot, especially with strategy."
Question - "If you could meet anyone, who would it be?"
Answer - "Brad Pitt of Harrison Ford."
Question - "Is there anyone that you would like to change
places with for one day?"
Answer - "No, I would never change places because I love
my life. I love to be with my family and with my coach. I
love my position in tennis."
Question - "If you had three wishes, what would they be?"
Answer - "I would wish that my family was always healthy
and that nothing happens to them. I also would wish that I
could win a Grand Slam title, preferably the French Open.
And my third wish would be that there would not be so many
injustices in the world. So many people have to live in
poverty and in war. It's traumatic what happens in some
places."
Question - "What are your biggest weapons?"
Answer - "My forehand is my biggest wepaon because I can
play any angle with it. I'm also really calm and realistic
on tour, which is good because you have to survive all the
ups and downs during the whole year. It's easy to get
impatient and want everything at once."
Question - "What has been the low point for you so far
with your tennis?"
Answer - "I haven't really had a low point. Everything has
gone very well."
Question - "What have you bought with your winnings?"
Answer - "A keyboard. I love to play the piano at home.
But I'm always away in Majorca training now so I bought a
keyboard. I like to play "Don't let the sun go down on me"
and other Elton John songs. Then I don't get homesick. The
tennis does keep me busy, but my keyboard keeps me from
wanting to go home all the time."
Question - "What would you need to do to be No1 in the
world?"
Answer - "Of course, there are a lot of things for me to
work on. I have to improve my serve and volley and learn
to be more aggressive instead of just playing from the
baseline. I need to be faster and maybe in better shape on
court."
Question - "Do you think about being No1?"
Answer - "No, not like Martina probably did. She was
probably born with it in mind. But I was never brought up
that way with my family. Tennis was not that big a deal.
At the moment I'm just thinking top five. No1 is a whole
other thing. I think it is great that Martina is No1, but
for me it still seems far off. If it happens, that's
great, but I'm just going to enjoy what I'm doing. And if
things keep going well, maybe I'll start thinking about it
more."
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