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U.S. OPEN

August 30, 2014

Martina Hingis

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

MARTINA HINGIS

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Belinda, yesterday she talked so much about you and said all she knows about tennis she learned from you and the mom.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I have watched all her matches so far in this Open. She surprised myself. Honestly, the first match I think already I practiced with her on Sunday and I'm like, Wow, she played really good. So I was, you know, expecting her to do well, but not as well as she actually did in the Wickmayer match. I think after that she just started to believe. Yesterday it was a great match. I'm very happy for her. It's nice. My mom did most of the work the last ten years, so she's finally proving it. You know, very good tournament so far. Hopefully another one.

Q. Do you see similarities in your games?
MARTINA HINGIS: You're the pro, right?

Q. You're the professional.
MARTINA HINGIS: Why me? You're the pro writer, no? You have to see it and judge.

Q. You had the same coach. Do you think there could be similarities?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, obviously there are. The technique, my mom puts a lot of attention to that. So the game, I mean, she's got a great backhand, as well. But also she's stronger, so she can work with other weapons that I had. I mean, maybe I was more maybe a little better mover, but when she hits a shot it can be a winner. Like she's hitting a lot more winners than did I. So it's different a little bit. You know, she has her style like I had mine, but she improved a lot. Every three months you can see improvements. Also, the big difference is like the belief that you can actually win against big players, great players, seeded players in Grand Slams. I'm very happy for her that she was able to do that yesterday.

Q. Do you think she can be the future of Swiss tennis?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, hopefully. It's not only that she can be, hopefully she will be.

Q. Do you have the chance to watch CiCi Bellis?
MARTINA HINGIS: I only watched a few games. I wasn't able -- from that first match, right? I saw the last couple of games against Cibulkova. I didn't see the other match. You know, I saw her walking around and I was like, Oh, she's pretty tiny. She's not like a big hitter, but she has great explosivity in her strokes. So it will be nice. It will be nice for American tennis to have, you know, another great player coming up. See what the future will bring in her game. I think always when you're young you have nothing to lose, so I kind of miss that kind of 15, 16 year old players on the tour that can actually produce very good tennis.

Q. There have been a whole slew of upsets on the women's side, not just today, but throughout the tournament. Do you think there's any particular reason? What are your thoughts on all of the upsets on the women's side and more or less on the men's?
MARTINA HINGIS: I think that the depth is really strong. I don't know. In the last Grand Slams it's been everywhere pretty much. Like Eugenie has been unexpected and made a couple of semis and a finals. She beat some players on the way to get there. There is some breakthroughs in the women's tennis. Definitely there are some youngsters that are coming up. Who would have that Mirjana Lucic with all she had to come through to beat Halep. It's like congratulations on that, because she's been battling on and off the court and she's come a long way. To be here and beat the No. 2 seed, you know, I'm happy for her.

Q. We were all talking about CiCi a day or two ago. What are your tennis memories from being 15 years old?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, no, it was like that in '96, right, with Anna Kournikova. I'm like, they forget about me (smiling). I was like 14 playing fourth round here. So, no, like I said, I think there is opportunities. There's options for young players who have the game and can produce great tennis and actually show they can beat players out there. It's not easy for the top players to play a youngster, too. There is a lot of pressure and you have nerves, you know, and whoever comes through, and she was able to do that. So I think there is always openings like that. It's a shame that there is the rules like this. I have always been saying that in the past years, because it's nice to see -- I mean, you see the American fans came out there and support her, root for her. There is so much less pressure on her, because she can come here every year for the next maybe, you know, 10, 15 years. There is no pressure today or tomorrow.

Q. How good do you think Belinda can be? How far do you think she can go in this sport?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think there is huge potential for her. I mean, I definitely think she can be top 5. She's on the way to get there. How far, it's up to her. You know, nobody can play the matches for her and win matches, win the tournaments. But she showed yesterday that she can win a big match when she has to. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the near future. Maybe here, you know.

Q. How about yourself? How much are you satisfied with your performance so far?
MARTINA HINGIS: Mine? Today was pretty good. I don't mind playing like this (smiling). Today was a good match, definitely. I played my second match in one week only, so I have been like pretty fresh going into it. Flavia is a great partner to have, obviously. She's very experienced. Been there, done that. She was No. 1 ranked player in doubles before. I'm very fortunate to have her by my side. She's been playing well in the singles and so that helps. I just try to keep it nice and short.

Q. How important is picking the right partner when you're such a good doubles player yourself?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, the chemistry is the most important thing that has to work, the teamwork. At the end of the day you're never there alone. If you have a great day, can you help your partner. If you have a bad day, there is someone to help you and pick you up. That I always said about TeamTennis or team sports. Doubles is already a team sport. It's nice. You have more responsibility. I mean, like I feel like I have more responsibility toward my partner.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about doubles and also mixed doubles and kind of how, as a player coming into a Grand Slam, you juggled the responsibility. The prize money is lower and it's obviously exhausting.
MARTINA HINGIS: Not as exhausting as singles. I don't do that. Well, I can't really talk about the mixed doubles, right? We didn't get to play that yesterday. Yeah, things like that happen. Injuries happen. Unfortunately he wasn't happy himself. So now I can focus on the doubles and help Flavia hopefully.

Q. Do you feel like you and Flavia complement each other well? You have done well in all the tournaments that you two have played.
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, we played Safarova/Pavlyuchenkova three consecutive weeks. That doesn't happen too often. No, definitely the last couple of matches have been very nice. We trust each other. We know more and more what to expect from each other. That's very important. I think right away the first tournament we played we beat three good teams on the way to the finals. Unfortunately we didn't win the tournament, but we were close. Hopefully, you know, we will have a good tournament here and also the ones we're going to play in the future, like Asia tournaments.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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