Mara Santangelo Quotations

It was a lot tougher than I expected. What proved significant was that I was right there in the contest despite losing the first set.

I'm thrilled to be in the final. It's not a great way to win a match, but I'm so happy to be in my first final.

It's going to be very tough for me. I've never beaten her and she's full of confidence as this is her second final in two weeks. I'm going to have to play my best tennis for sure.

I tried to be aggressive after losing the first set and also concentrated better. I am happy with the way I played.

I knew it was going to be a tough match and it was. She is so hard to play against. I know I was up and then lost the first set, but I don't think I did anything wrong, it's just that she gets everything back and fights so hard. I had to really concentrate and I tried hitting a little harder and in the end that made the difference.

I wasn't sure of this after losing the first set, but I remained positive. The first-set loss actually prompted me to become more aggressive.