Virgine Razzano - 30.05.09

Q. You know Samantha Stosur. What do you think of your next match?

VIRGINIERAZZANO: I've already been asked thisquestion today. First of all, I wouldlike to say that I'm very happy to have played today and that I won. That's what counts. And to talk about what I did today, I'm veryhappy today.

And for yourquestion, I haven't thought about it. It's not the issue today. It'stwo days away, so I still have time to think about it, to prepare myself toplay Samantha. I don't want to projecttoo far. Yes, it's true that I'm goingto face her in two days. You know, it'sneither today nor tomorrow.

TodayI'm very happy about my match, and that's what counts. I want to enjoy this victory. You can ask me the same question aboutSamantha tomorrow. Yes, why not.

Q. Congratulations. You frightened us during this match. There was turbulence in the first and secondsets, and then you reversed steam. Howdo you explain it? Was this simply anoff moment, or was the Italian simply playing better at that time?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, it was not easy for me today, becausethe conditions were more difficult. Thewind was swirling. Sometimes you wouldhave the wind with you, sometimes against you. Yes, it was blowing quite hard.

Maybe thepeople out there, the crowd on the stands, didn't realize. But then if you're down there on the court, Ican tell you that it's difficult for both of us.

Sotoday, that was it. I had to be morepatient, and I had to better negotiate these points, because I played against aplayer who played really well, and I said, Be careful.

It's notbecause I played against Tathiana Garbin that it's going be easy. On the contrary, it's a pitfall, because shedefeated Marion Bartoli. Maybe that wasnot an excellent match for her, but still it was the third round against metoday, so it was not something to be taken lighthearted.

I didn't dothat, by the way, because I knew she could play excellent matches. I mean, Tathiana, she showed that today. Today I can tell you that as far as I'mconcerned, my game was not perhaps extraordinary. Perhaps not my best game.

If I lookat the past two rounds when the conditions were more difficult, you know, it issomething that bothers me, something that bothers me when I serve. For instance, my first serves were not asgood as usual. I was a bit bothered, andI think it's the same for my opponent.

We have thesame conditions, I mean, both of us. Sowe had to be mentally strong so that we could both overcome these trickymoments.

Q. Was it different types of wind comparedwith the wind you have in Nîmes?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, you know, in the south ofFrancethe wind blows a lot more strongly. It'scalled the mistral wind. But here,what's different is that we are in a bowl. You know, the wind goes swirling around, and each time the balls aredifferent.

You know, todayagainst Tathiana, I can tell you that her game, like, neutralized mine. Not to start with, because I was up 5‑0, andwith my game she couldn't do anything.

Thenthat's when perhaps I started playing not as well as before, and that's whenshe seized this opportunity to do what she does best, and that was toneutralize my game. I made more unforcederrors or errors, you know, the way I played.

Andtherefore, that's when I thought to be more patient. You should remember, as well, that today theconditions are different, I thought. SoI didn't want to rush in for anything, but I remained serene.

Q. Was that a problem for you when it was 3‑0? You asked for someone to come in, and you discussed.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: No, I didn't ask this person tocome in. I was starting to think, can'tshe stop for a while? It was somebodyfrom the WTA. I had a patch, you know,on my polo shirt, and it was not positioned correctly. The problem was this woman wanted me tochange my shirt. It was 3‑0. We had started the match, so I was a bitpissed off.

I said, I can'tchange my polo shirt, because all my T‑shirts are patched exactly thesame. It's sewn on the T‑shirt. She wanted to use a pair of scissors toremove it. I said, You're going to ruinall my T‑shirts. I had my three white T‑shirtsin my bag, and they were all with the same logo at the same place. It was sewn this morning.

It's mymistake, I know. I knew I couldn't placeit exactly here. It had to be placed onthe side, on the shoulder, almost. Shesaid, Well, you have to use another T‑shirt, otherwise you might be fined. I said, Please try and find me a T‑shirt,because I said I have no other T‑shirt. Either it's bare chested or naked or this way, and never mind the fine.

You knowwhat she said? Well, she went away. It was 3‑0 and I had something else to thinkabout, I can tell you. I was thinkingabout the match. I didn't want to botherabout this. I didn't want to get angryabout this. I appreciate thiswoman. She's kind. I was well into the match. I was playing okay.

The onlything I wanted was to be on my own, and this is when I was up 5‑0, and I wasstill, you know, how can I say, thinking about this. It was at the back of my mind. I said, Never mind the fine. I'll have the fine. I'll play. I'll play. It was not easy, youknow.

And thenafter playing the match she came back to me, and she said, Well, you know, it'sa near miss. You're not going to befined, but you could have been fined. You have the right to have this logo, but not at this place. I said, Well, sorry. I didn't know.

Andyesterday evening people said, Do you mind wearing this badge on your T‑shirt? I gave to Cedric and Stephane and I said, Canyou have them sewn on my T‑shirts? And Igot ready. I said, You can place themhere and there. I didn't know the rule,I can tell you that. Sorry about that.

I was thereplaying on the court. I thought, I'm notgoing to let it bother me for two sets, no. She was great with me, because I was not fined.

Q. Why were you not fined?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: I don't know. I didn't ask that many questions after thematch, you know, because, well, I won this match. It was not easy, as you know, today. And in addition to this, had she beenstricter with me, she would have fined me. I would have paid it, of course.

But, you know,she didn't give me this fine, because I think she knew I didn't do it onpurpose. It was not my intention toplace the logo where it shouldn't have been placed.

Q. How often have you already played on thecentral court or equivalent courts in your career with that many people?

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: How many times? Let me see. It's the 11th year I've played here in Paris. I played Anke Huber, Justine Henin once or twice, Mauresmo here atRoland Garros, the French Open. Icouldn't really count. I think I playedmostly on the Suzanne Lenglen, like against Zakopalova last year first round.

Otherwise, thecentral court, I didn't really know the central court before. The landmarks are different. The atmosphere is different, too.

You see,I have the impression that on the central court, the atmosphere is specialcompared with Suzanne Lenglen. It's different,or different from No. 1. They're allreally great, but this one, you feel like in the arena, like for a corrida, fora bull fight.

Q. I have another question concerning thematch point. Everybody wasstanding. Could you tell us more about this? The Italian kissed you just afterwards. It was a great moment.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Oh, yes, match point. This match point was the best I've everplayed, ever. It was extraordinary, andshe was well into this point. Shereturned several times. She would runhere and there. She would return all thetime. I had to volley.

I was almostlike jumping onto the clay, to the ground, I mean, and then I had this nicevolley at the end. But it was somethingvery difficult I had to fight for, and I was very happy. I don't know how long it was, how manyvolleys we played, but then she lost after many volleys. It was extraordinary.

Then thewhole crowd decided to stand up and put their hands together for me for thismatch point. It was something I deserved,really. We deserved because we foughttill the very end, and to end with such a match point, this is like a dream.

Q. Cedric has said that you didn't feel anystress when you got on the court, and then stress is something that you feltlittle by little because you started realizing you were on the central courtwith the crowd around you.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, I was a bit excited, likeit's been, you know, for the first two rounds and today, as well. It was tension like anybody else. We always have this in our stomach before westart playing a match, otherwise it would mean we're too relaxed and we don'tgive a damn about being here. It's notnormal.

I was a bittense before I got into the court. Youknow, it's my job. After this, I managedto unwind a little to relax until 5‑0, and then maybe I was a bit tense, that'strue.

I don'tknow if the conditions were more difficult as the set was developing, but Ithink I was slightly taken aback by these conditions. It was difficult for me to keep my focus andto be accurate enough not to give points. Tathiana played well.

On thecontrary, it was always the same type of game. She had moon ball shots, and also kick points. She did whatever she could. I'm not used to playing with these playerswho have such a variety of shots.

AgainstMedina Garriques, it was not an easy game. She varies so often, and she's also very much an attacker. Today it was different, because she attacked. But not always.

Also, sheplayed not too quickly and a bit too soft, so not much weight in theballs. I had to be careful not to rushphysically, I mean, so that afterwards I could negotiate the upper hand. It's not always easy when you have a verysoft type of ball that's not strong enough to adapt your game and react.

Also, shewas quite surprising, because her forehand, she would move around and then shewould hit really strongly. I couldn'tsee the ball. I can tell you it's thepace, the rhythm, and to adapt my physical condition, I had to change all thetime. That's what's difficult, not to bealways playing fast or to have the same tempo, the same pace.

Sometimes Ihad to go slowly, to adjust. I had tochange my position, and it was more difficult to manage.

And Cedricis most certainly right. I didn'tdiscuss this with him after the match, but I think that ‑‑ well, yes,afterwards you're a bit tense, which is normal because the other girl was goingup. That's when you have to win thesesets and remain aggressive.

Q. Do you know the name of this woman from theWTA or not? I'm curious. I'd like to know this woman's name. I have nothing against her, and I haveanother question, which is: TathianaGarbin said that you played a lot better when it was important, because you hadmore courage. Do you think she's rightin saying this? She said, I was too weakwhen it was an important moment. I hadnot taken as many risks as Virginie.

VIRGINIE RAZZANO: I think she's right. I played well at the most importantmoments. At the right time I was moreaggressive, and I won these points. That's when I could stand out.

I think that asTathiana has said, maybe she was not bold enough. She was not daring enough to win the game orto surprise me with something she wanted to do at important moments; therefore,she was always trying to neutralize my game.

Sometimesshe would aggress me a little. That'sher type of game, and I could stand out because I used a more varied game and Imanaged the important moments better than she would. Yes, absolutely. That's how I could stand out. That's very important.

There wasthis, and then...