U.S. OPEN

August 31, 1993

Gabriela Sabatini

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't think it was easy, especially the first set. It was very close. I think she had many chances. She had them the first set too. I think I played a little bit better in the important moments. That is what made me win the first set. Then the second set, she started-- I don't know, she tried to do something different. She tried to come in a little bit more. She didn't -- she did more errors, I thought. I don't know, it seemed like she was trying to do something different.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't know. I didn't hear that. I don't think it was anything in particular, I mean, it was a tough decision for everybody to talk about that. Me and my family, we thought that maybe to give her some more time, but it was a tough situation.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I just sent her a fax saying that I was really sorry about what happened.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah, it was very hard to play there. It was very, very humid. The atmosphere was really heavy and I was playing against Sanchez and I got a little bit dizzy. I started to feel tired, so I couldn't finish the match, but today I felt very good. I am very satisfied with my form. I thought I was moving very well and playing really well, so I am very happy with that.

GABRIELA SABATINI: This tournament is very special to me for a lot of reasons, because I won here; because I like to play here. I like the crowd. It means a lot to me. So I am very motivated with this tournament, so even that I didn't win any tournaments this year, I am playing good tennis. It is not that I haven't been playing good. I didn't have any good results and I lost a little bit of my confidence, so, that is what I need right now. I look forward to having a good tournament here and I just want to play match by match and hopefully I will get confident each time.

GABRIELA SABATINI: He didn't make any big changes; probably the small details in my serve, especially. But nothing really big. I am serving much better, I feel a lot better. I am mixing my serve a lot which I didn't have that; trying to do different things and, you know, it makes a big difference sometimes to, you know, to have a good serve or to play a smart serve.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Today I went to the net a lot. I felt very good. There are going to be players where I am going to have to come in more. I am working on that. It is much better.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I have known him for a long time, since I was, I guess, 13, 14, so he is very special that he comes and watch my match. I admire him a lot for what he did. He was a great tennis player.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah, sometimes I ask him how he thinks I am playing.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yes.

GABRIELA SABATINI: Not for the moment. Not for the moment.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't know. Who knows, maybe.

GABRIELA SABATINI: She went off a little bit in the second set, I think; especially mentally. It seemed like she was trying to do different things, she was trying to change her game. She was trying to come in more. I thought she did many more errors too.

GABRIELA SABATINI: If I look at this year, I don't think it was a bad year. I didn't have any moment where I played bad. I got sick at the beginning of the year and that was very hard for me to come back again. It took me awhile. I started to have my rhythm, my level when I played -- when I started to play in Europe and I did very well there. I lost a couple of finals. That match against Mary Joe, it was very tough for me; especially mentally. So you know, at Wimbledon I played okay and now I feel good. It is just I didn't have any good results. That is what I feel, I need to have a good win.

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't like to be there two, three hours, if I can win easier. Those two matches were very different. Against Mary Joe I was winning very easy, 6-1, 5-1, so you know, after that it changed completely. She started to play very, very well. I just kept fighting. I think that is what I do; one of my strengths is to fight until the end.