I still have it in me to continue — Amelie

DUBAI — Twenty nine-year-old Amelie Mauresmo is still France’s leading sports personality even if she is not the top 10 women’s tennis player anymore.

Her popularity and fame came not just from her phenomenal double Grand Slam title-run two years back.

Her pleasant manners and friendly approach at any given situation, makes her an individual of importance on the Tour.

The $14 million plus winner in court earnings, she is today slightly withdrawn in her outlook towards the game and life in general, due to the drastic loss of form.

Her first round ouster in Doha last week shattered her confidence levels to some extend.

“Losing to Tamarine (Tanasugarn of Thailand) was not the important thing. True, the weather was very unkind with winds and dust I have never seen before during the course of a match,” said Amelie.

“I was upset thinking that I could not handle a pressure situation well while my opponent handled it admirably.”

Today, Amelie does not even bother to keep tabs of her world ranking which is fluctuating between 30 and 40. “I haven’t thought about it for some time.”

“What is it?,” she asked a journalist on hand, “Was it 40, 45?” “All I want to do now is go on court and try remaining calm and just get a win no matter what tournament or situation,” Amelie said.

“To get my confidence levels back I have to win matches irrespective of the stages of an event. It is one day at a time now for me. I am not going to just hang up my racquet all of a sudden. In Doha there was a lot of confusion but I have got over that and I think I am slowly getting my old touch.”

Ranked in the top 30 in women’s doubles in the world, Amelie she reckons the version of the game does take off the negative thoughts of her singles form. “I have Svetlana (Kuznetsova) who is not just a great partner but a friend as well. We do discuss our games but more than that it is the companionship that is important at this time of my career,” Amelie added.

Retiring immediately is out of question for the Geneva based St Germains en Laye born French superstar. “I want to be physically OK now and the feeling of tiredness is not there for long periods, so I feel I still have it in me to go on for some more time. The time to quit is when you feel there is no motivation at all to continue or when one stops enjoying the job,” Amelie said.

“ And like I said before, I have to do my thing and the let the rest take care of itself. I have not given it any thought to what I will do when I quit.”

Amelie will be off to the US for the circuit there after a breather back home. Her fans in the UAE are many. On the second day of the women’s tournament, Amelie was playing a late first round game and there were more than 200 fans of hers at Centre Court at midnight to cheer her, most of them families.

“We love her game and she is great to watch without any arguments or fuss from her side during play,” said a French family from Abu Dhabi.

Amelie is one of the few on the circuit who plays her shots single handed and has a traditional backhand, making her one of the few left in the modern era where such a style is mixed with the entertaining serve and volley approach.