WIMBLEDON - June 21, 2004
Emily Webley-smith WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND
Q. Emily, how do you feel to win here at Wimbledon?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Oh, I'm really, really excited. It's
fantastic for me today. I felt a little bit nervous when I woke up this
morning, but mainly just excited to get out there. I think once I did,
I played well and put my game on the court. So I'm happy.
Q. Have you played here before in the ladies' singles?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: No, this is my first year.
Q. You played a fair bit of junior tennis here?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, I played Junior Wimbledon a couple of times.
Q. How big a win is that compared to the rest of your career?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: That's the biggest win of my career. I beat
a girl in Eastbourne last week who was similar ranking. But, obviously,
in a Grand Slam, it makes a difference.
Q. Have you played this girl you played today before?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: No, I haven't. I didn't know too much about
her. I watched her a little bit at Edgeweston (phonetic), and so I knew
just only a little bit how she played. But I felt that if I put my game
on the court and played to my strengths, then I'd see how I measured up
on the day.
Q. Any thoughts going forward? It looks like you might have Amy Frazier in the next round.
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, I didn't look, obviously, before I
played. They just told me that I'd be playing Amy Frazier next. I think
my coach has also watched her a little bit. So, yeah, we'll see. See
how that one goes.
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: I'm just gonna do exactly the same - play
the way I know, it's the best for me. And when I get out there, just
compete as hard as I possibly can and make it as difficult for her as
possible.
Q. Obviously, British women have this big carrot in front of
them at the moment for reaching round four. Is that something that
comes into your thinking at the moment?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: No, not at all. It's my first Wimbledon.
It's fantastic to be here. But I, you know, I knew that even being
here, it was an achievement for me. But, equally, I had to go out there
and compete on the court. And fourth round, anything like that, that
doesn't even come into my head once, no.
Q. Did you have a lot of friends and family here today to watch you, anything like that?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, I did. A lot of people came up to
support me, and that was fantastic for me. It was so exciting for them.
And my mom and dad are really proud of me, so that's nice.
Q. Exciting for British tennis. Anne won as well.
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, I think so. Anne did very well to win
her match this morning. I didn't watch too much of it because I was
practicing when she was playing. But for both of us to win today, yeah,
it's been a good day.
Q. What will you do in the next 24 hours?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Next 24 hours, I'll let the result sink in
a little bit, I think. Then just all the usual stuff that I would do
exactly at any other tournament - just, you know, warm down, take care
of my body, and then get some food and then practice a little bit more
tomorrow, and physio. Things like that.
Q. What do you think has helped you to make the step up where you're not just at Wimbledon, but can compete and win here?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: A lot of time out with injury last year.
When I came back from the injury, I felt different about tennis and
about how I needed to be. And at the start of this year I travelled a
great deal to the States and to Mexico on the challenger tour. And I
lost a lot of matches, actually. And from that, I learned a lot. And I
think you learn how to compete in places like that and against players
like that. That's made me stronger, I think.
Q. Can you talk about travelling and coaching away from this country.
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: My coach is currently based in England, and
he's down in Bristol, which is where I live, Pete Russell. So I pretty
much spend time with him here.
Q. According to the LTA, you went over to Queensland and to the Pat Cash Academy?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, when I was 16. I went there for three
months to practice on the Gold Coast for a little while. It was a
fantastic opportunity for me, and I took it. I enjoyed most of it. It
was a great, great few months but, you know, not particularly
significant right now.
Q. Did you have direct contact with Pat Cash at the time?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, he coached me for the three months.
Q. Have you had any contact with him since?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, from time to time. He wished me luck
with my ankle operations last year and gave me some advice on rehab.
But just not so much recently, just we're both doing our own thing.
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: No, not at all.
Q. When did you first start playing tennis?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: When I was seven. And my mom was a PE
teacher, so I played every single sport until I was about 14 - and
loved every single sport pretty much. Then I just chose tennis when I
was 14 because I enjoyed it the most.
Q. How bad was the injury? Was it something that could have been career-threatening?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yes. I smashed my ankle to pieces playing
tennis. I had six months out with that. Then I played for four months,
and I had to have another ankle operation after that where they did
reconstructive surgery. It was a big operation. And, yeah, it was a
tough time for a while.
Q. That injury happened during a match?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, it was 6-All in the match, and I went over on it and fell forwards.
Q. Whereabouts were you playing?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: In Cardiff, in a challenger tournament.
Q. How many operations did you have?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Two.
Q. When was that last one?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: November 2002 is when I hurt my ankle for
the first time. And so after the six months, I started playing in May
of last year. I then played tournaments for four months. But my ankle
wasn't right, and I had to have another surgery in October of last
year. I started playing again in January of this year.
Q. Between the times doing that, you never imagined you might never play here?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, it was -- the first few months of the
first time I was injured were really, really tough. I couldn't hardly
move. I just had my ankle up in the air in a cast. My mom did
everything for me, she was fantastic. And my dad, you know, very, very
supportive and very encouraging. But I got very down because I couldn't
exercise, couldn't do anything. I'm not too good when I'm at home, you
know, cooped up. I got through it. As I said, I felt differently
afterwards.
Q. What are your parents' names?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Jane and Mike.
Q. Any other sports in particular you could have made a profession of?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Hockey. I had to choose between hockey and
tennis when I was 14. I got into the England squad for hockey. And,
yeah, I guess there's a bit more money in tennis. I enjoy it more
because it's an individual support.
Q. That was the age group when you started?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah, under-14. When I was 14.
Q. You said you were born and raised in Bristol?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Yeah. Yep, yep. That's where I live.
Q. So you mentioned money. Is it going to be the biggest paycheck?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Absolutely, by far (smiling).
Q. Anything in particular you're thinking of spending it on?
EMILY WEBLEY-SMITH: Got to pay my coach (laughing). Got to pay
my coach and my fitness trainer. Then that will go straight back into
travelling. As you can imagine, I don't make so much money on the
challenger circuit, so it's always a struggle.