Sandrine Testud's interview after defeating Elena Bovina
June 1st
Q. One victory, two victories on central court. It's becoming a habit.
SANDRINE TESTUD: I'm just waiting for the third one.
Q. You were just out of the court when people start talking about the next match. Not too difficult?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Well, the match is behind me. I won. I knew that I would play tomorrow. It's fine. I'm quite ready to play tomorrow.
Q. What's the problem with your right ankle?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Nothing special. Just to cool it off.
Q. You've reached the Round of 16. It's the second time of your life. How do you feel?
SANDRINE TESTUD: I'm very happy to have managed the three first rounds, and very excited to play tomorrow on central court against Hingis.
Q. Can you talk about your husband/coach, and in which way has he helped you?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Well, she happens to be a friend, a friend of my husband who asked the question.
Q. In the last few months you've done a lot of work on clay court?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Yes. I rested a bit after Key Biscayne. I had two very long weeks on clay court to start the season. I had good feelings on clay. It was a good preparation for the French Open. I think it works.
For me, the French Open is the most important tournament as a French players, and I'm very happy with my results so far.
Q. To get back to your husband, your relationship as coach and player, can you tell us what are the advantages and disadvantages of the combination of husband and coach?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Well, we share the same life. We travel together. We share the victories, the defeats. The negative part, quote unquote, is the fact that we spend 24 hours together, which is not always easy. So you have the pros and the cons. You have to take it in stride. When we need, we take a week break just to put things back in perspective. It's not always easy.
Q. Getting back to Martina Hingis, what can you say about Martina? You've lost 14 times against her. Have you started thinking about the key to win against her?
SANDRINE TESTUD: I might have the key tomorrow. We've had very difficult matches. Last year on a clay court, Berlin, I lost in the third set 6-4.
But tomorrow's going to be another day. Tomorrow's going to be different. Tomorrow we are in France, the crowd will be with me. Therefore, I hope that I will have the guts to play very well. I hope it's going to be a good match. I hope that I will be in a position to finish the match properly, which I haven't managed to do so far.
I hope that the crowd will help me and that it will be a victory.
Q. I'm sure you don't want to give away secrets, but do you have a strategy against her?
SANDRINE TESTUD: Yes. There's no secret. I need to be more aggressive against Martina. Her weak point is the second serve, so I need to be very aggressive there. I need to move her on the court, which I have done in the past against her. I have to do that as well as I can. I think this is the key to the match.
Q. How did you organize yourself in Paris? Where are you staying?
SANDRINE TESTUD: I'm staying at the California Hotel. I will not give you the number of my room. I've been here for a week. This has been going very fast. I'm playing singles. I'm playing doubles. It's a fairly heavy week. I didn't see the days go by. I get back home late. I eat late in the restaurant around the corner. I go to bed as soon as possible, but it's not very early.
I leave the hotel next morning for training, for playing matches. Normal routine for a tennis player. A very simple life.
Q. They asked you on television, what was this little heart you're wearing.
SANDRINE TESTUD: I wore it at the beginning because my husband was not with me, and it brought me luck. I thought it was a good idea to keep wearing it, even if my husband was not in Paris. But it's not quite that, anyway.
