PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 26, 2004

Mashona Washington

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Mashona.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Right. Uhm, yeah, definitely didn't play as well. Maybe it was just I had the day off. You know, that happens. But I felt I warmed up pretty well this morning. But I think she came out ready because she's probably a bit surprised that I, you know, won my first two rounds. So I think she knew I wasn't kind of like a push-over; she had to come out ready. And I think she definitely was. Yeah, I mean, I definitely had a lot of errors and I was maybe going for a little bit too much, when I maybe just could have maybe tried to keep it in play a little bit more and let her hit winners instead of me missing because that can be a difference. But, you know, it happens. It's a learning experience for me. Just hopefully, you know, I can get it together before next week at The Open.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Well, yesterday in my doubles match, it was cramping, then like I felt it in the latter stages of the second set. It was getting tired or something was going on with it. So it definitely didn't feel too good. I just called the trainer to have her warm it or just rub it out a little bit. She said maybe it's a little bit inflamed because I've played a lot of matches. I'm not complaining on that side of things (smiling). But, you know, a little bit of ice and stim, it should be okay.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Well, you never know because, I mean, if my arm's not a hundred percent, you know, maybe I could have missed a couple of backhands down the line that I was going for that I was making, you know, early on. I think definitely any time you have a muscle or something that's a little bit fatigued, it does affect it a little bit. I mean, obviously I'm thinking about that as opposed to what's going on in the match, so...

MASHONA WASHINGTON: No, at the latter stages of the second set. I'm not using that as an excuse because Elena played well. Like I said, I can just try to get better before I play again.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: You know, I don't know. I think I played last year in Toronto where it was televised in Toronto. I didn't really realize that until I walked on the court. I'm like, "Oh, the cameras are here." It was nice. But I didn't really think about that.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Yeah, left arm. You're thinking it couldn't affect you, right (smiling)?

MASHONA WASHINGTON: I mean, definitely beating Meghann, I don't know what her high is, I know she's been Top 15 for sure, and beating obviously a Top 10, I mean, that obviously tells me that I have the goods. I mean, it's just a matter of, you know, I have the goods, now I got to show it day in and day out or more so on a consistent basis. But I'm happy. You know, as long as I'm getting in the quarters and semis of tournament, showing consistent play, the next step would just be, you know, winning one. But I'm just taking it one match at a time. I've been saying all week I'm just enjoying everything, every moment. As long as I stay healthy and everything I'm just, you know, happy with that.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: I know. I was like, "What?" (Laughter). I mean, that's great. I'm glad they say stars aren't just like 12 years old anymore. But that's the great thing about it. I was actually kind of surprised about that. But, hey, I'll take it (smiling).

MASHONA WASHINGTON: I can't. All I can say is that's when the Lord wanted it to happen. I'm a Christian, I'm a strong Christian, I'm a strong believer. When I decided, hey, I was just going to let Him do things in His own time, I think that's when things started happening. I don't know. I'm not asking any questions, I'm not asking why, hey, I'm just going to leave it at that.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Oh, no, you haven't seen me. You won't see me when I get back to the hotel. I have to look this way for you guys (laughter).

MASHONA WASHINGTON: "Wow!" That's what I'll think. I mean, this is a great week for me, and I didn't even win the tournament. I can only imagine how I'm going to feel when I win a small tournament, a big tournament. I can only imagine how that will feel. I'm happy. I can't complain. I just look forward to the rest of the year really.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: She served pretty well, I think. I think she was driving her backhand pretty well. I didn't have like a real good response to that. I tried to come back with a stronger shot. You can't do that. She's a big, tall player, strong player. I had to be little bit more crafty. I wasn't able to do that today. Maybe the courts are a little bit, you know -- I got some funny bounces. She had some funky spin on the ball for me. Maybe it was just the fact that, you know, it was televised or something. I don't know, a lot was going on. I wasn't able to really get my feet going. Looking at the ball, I think my eyes -- I'm sure if I saw pictures of my match, my eyes are here and the ball is over here.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: I don't remember that one. Glad I don't remember that one. If it did that, I was just like, "Wow, what happened?"

MASHONA WASHINGTON: I don't know. I mean, in the beginning I think we were both maybe a little nervous. I don't think that she was hitting through her ball as much. I definitely wasn't. My balls, I don't think they were as deep as they have been. That's a sign of nerves. If she hits it harder? No, I don't think. I think they both hit a good ball. I mean, yeah, it's about the same.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Yeah, maybe against Maria, because I kind of knew how she was going to play. I mean, I knew how Elena -- I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I just wasn't able to execute. I was making way too many errors to try to do anything in that match. Maybe I could have buckled down a little bit more. It didn't happen that way, so...

MASHONA WASHINGTON: No, not at all. I mean, it's a different grind. It's a better-paying grind (smiling). Yeah, you get to go to the bigger tournaments, it's just nicer. But like the challengers, it's just -- it is a grind. It's so tough. You get matches where people are like gatekeepers; you can't get past them. They know how to win at that level and that's it. It's such a different game up here. This is definitely where I want to be.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: No, no. Wimbledon was I think a couple years, US Open a couple years ago, yeah.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: It has been. It's great. I mean, maybe it was because, you know, he played so well here and people just seemed to love him. I don't know why, but (laughter). No, they seem to love him. That's great. That makes me kind of be on my Ps and Qs, too. But it's great. New Haven has definitely been great for me this week. I can't really stress it more. I've just enjoyed every moment.

MASHONA WASHINGTON: Thank you.