UNITED KINGDOM: TENNIS - Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo hold news conferences at the All England Club

Record ID: 784663

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: TENNIS - Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo hold news conferences at the All England Club
  • Date: 25th June 2007
  • Summary: DEFENDING WOMEN'S CHAMPION AMELIE MAURESMO LAUGHING WHILE WALKING INTO PRESS CONFERENCE ROOM REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENDING WOMEN'S CHAMPION AMELIE MAURESMO ANSWERING THE QUESTION IF SHE GETS A PARTICULAR TINGLING FEELING WHEN SHE WALKS THROUGH AND SEES HER NAME ON THE HONOUR BOARD: "I don't know if you can really put some specific words on that. Just an overall good feeling. You feel proud and happy and really enjoying the moment. Yeah, what else can I say. I'm just really looking forward to start the tournament. That's now what I'm really looking forward to." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENDING WOMEN'S CHAMPION AMELIE MAURESMO SAYING: "Yeah I'm definitely looking forward to find some confidence, some rhythm again. Obviously, it was much better this week in Eastbourne, looking at how I felt on the court. Yeah I'm just hoping that the grass season can really put me back to where I should be." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEFENDING WOMEN'S CHAMPION AMELIE MAURESMO ANSWERING THE QUESTION HOW PLAYERS COPE WITH RAIN DELAYS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO PRACTICE OUTSIDE: "It's okay for me. It's not so much of a problem. Yeah, It's not obviously the best conditions to get ready for those guys that haven't played so much. I'm going to be able to hit indoor a little bit today, not so much. Patience. That's sometimes a key word here at Wimbledon."
  • Embargoed: 10th July 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA76T39N71K1TJLXHT7PYR28CZ9
  • Story Text: Roger Federer of Switzerland and Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo held news conferences at the All England Club ahead of the defence of their Wimbledon titles on Sunday (June 24).
    World number one Federer begins his pursuit of Bjorn Borg's record five successive Wimbledon titles on Monday (June 25), six years after wrecking Pete Sampras's dreams of achieving the feat.
    The Swiss burst on to the scene in 2001 when he snapped Sampras's 31-match winning streak at the grasscourt grand slam in the fourth round. Now the world number one hopes nobody will ruin his bid to match the Swede.
    "There's a huge excitement for me every time walking. Kind of dressing up, then walking through the corridors, down on Centre Court, seeing the pictures, the board on the left-hand side with the names, see the trophy behind you. It's just an incredible walk. It gets you totally excited about The Championships. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy tomorrow and hopefully play a good match on the court," Federer said on the eve of his opening match against Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.
    Federer has been unbeaten on grass since a first-round defeat here by Mario Ancic in 2002. Keen to protect a 48-match winning streak on grass, he opted to skip his usual warm-up tournament in Halle after his defeat by Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the French Open final earlier this month.
    "Well I feel more rested of course, because I had more days off. But then at the same time missing matches maybe a little bit. That's why the early round is obviously very important. That's always the same, no matter if I play before or not. You just want to come through the first couple of rounds then hopefully start playing well. So, yeah, in practice I'm hitting the ball fine. Transition to grass is always very easy for me because it feels so natural. But I am very confident looking ahead of the next two weeks," said the Swiss.
    As he begins his pursuit of an 11th grand slam trophy, only the foolhardy would bet against the 25-year-old picking up the Challenge Cup on July 8.
    With no one coming close to toppling Federer on grass in recent years, the Swiss could be forgiven if he started to think he was indestructible on the slick surface.
    Meanwhile Mauresmo hopes Wimbledon will provide the perfect antidote for a wretched 12 months.
    Since lifting up the Venus Rosewater Dish last July, Mauresmo suffered a dip in form and has entered the winner's circle just once, in Antwerp in February.
    The 27-year-old's fortunes went from bad to worse when she was diagnosed with appendicitis in March. The setback meant she had to make do with following tennis as a mere spectator on television for two months while she recuperated from surgery.
    By the time she had finally regained her fitness, she was forced to make her comeback on clay, the most taxing of surfaces and one that Mauresmo has never managed to feel totally at ease on.
    She won just six matches on red dirt and was happy to stash her claycourt shoes away at the back of her cupboard for at least another year when her French Open campaign ended in the third round.
    Now back on her favourite grass, she feels her body and mind are once again on the same wavelength.
    She was also encouraged by her run at Eastbourne, where she lost a tight final to Justine Henin of Belgium, as last year she lost her opening match at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
    "Yeah I'm definitely looking forward to find some confidence, some rhythm again. Obviously, it was much better this week in Eastbourne, looking at how I felt on the court. Yeah I'm just hoping that the grass season can really put me back to where I should be," said the Frenchwoman, who is scheduled to begin her title defence against American Jamea Jackson on Tuesday (June 26).
    On top of that list of favourites sits French Open champion Henin with the Belgian taking an 11-match winning streak into the grasscourt grand slam.
    Tennis players and fans are keeping their fingers crossed for good weather in the next two weeks. Today's practice had to be moved indoors due to the rain.
    "It's okay for me. It's not so much of a problem. Yeah, It's not obviously the best conditions to get ready for those guys that haven't played so much. I'm going to be able to hit indoor a little bit today, not so much. Patience. That's sometimes a key word here at Wimbledon," Mauresmo revealing her secret of how to cope with rain delays.
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