|
|
5/26/2008 6:43:00 PM
James' Roland Garros Blog
Q&A with Corina Morariu
She's Tennis Channel's roving reporter, appearing like a ninja in flats wherever news is breaking. I turn the Mic on Corina Morariu to get her thoughts on Week 1, today's Big Upset, and her shiny new career. – James LaRosa
JL: First things first. Serena's out. What's the vibe there when a favorite leaves early?
CM: Shock. I think especially in this case because she has been playing so well coming into this. She had that 17-match win streak. She's the only woman in the draw who's won this tournament before. I think she was the favorite for a lot of us.
JL: I don't know if she was your top pick coming in—
CM: She was.
JL: So judging by what you've seen this week, who might pop up in her place?
CM: You know, it's tough to say. I've been on a lot of the outside courts. I watched Ivanovic play a little today. There's Sharapova. She won in Australia, she won her first clay court tournament this year. She still hasn't looked that comfortable in her first couple rounds, so that's cause for some concern. Ivanovic, Jankovic, this is probably their best surface and their best chance with Henin out. Someone to watch although I don't know if she can win the tournament is Safina. She's set to play Sharapova [in the] fourth round, and I think that's going to be a really good match actually.
JL: What's the story of the tournament for you so far?
CM: Obviously it's been nice to see the Americans do well, Odesnik and Ginepri, and that's been really fun for me to watch. It was super fun watching Odesnik beat Canas. It was an unbelievable match. But for me personally, it's been the retirement of Gustavo Kuerten. I interviewed him about a week ago. It's sad to see him go. I think especially at this tournament, he brought so much passion and so much heart to this place, and to be able to sit down and talk to him, and watch the crowd's response and his response in playing his last match on Center Court. That was something very special.
JL: Have you had a chance to interview your good buddy Lindsay (Davenport) since she's been back and you have this great new gig.
CM: I have. I interviewed her a couple times at Fed Cup. I talk to her by either email, text or phone pretty much on a daily basis…
JL: So is it strange getting into that sort of like, "I'm going to interview you now" and she's just sort of looking at you…
CM: (laughs) It's funny, I think we're both more serious than we usually are because we kind of put the professional face on. Probably not even consciously doing that. But that's one of my favorite parts of this job. I get to interview the players. Like Wayne Odesnik after his match. Everybody's emotions are different. As much as I know what it's like to play, every match is a different experience, and I get to delve into how they feel, how they were feeling out there or what their general perspective is.
JL: You've been # 1 in doubles. Do you ever feel like going up to the other girls and screaming "In your face!"?
CM: (laughs) No. It feels like a different lifetime that I was #1 in the world. I keep things in perspective pretty well, and it's pretty humbling to go from being a pretty successful tennis player to doing something that you don't nearly have the experience in as far as the broadcasting, so I'm at like the bottom of the totem poll here. But it's been a great experience for me. I'm around people I enjoy. It's just a new life. I look back on my career and I appreciate it for what it was. And I'm very lucky to have had the career that I did. But, you know, I'm trying to look forward and trying to have fun with something that I've never really done before.
James' Previous Roland Garros Blogs
|
|
|