US OPEN

September 3, 2002

Monica Seles

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Monica, please.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, definitely was a good match. I played better on the key points.

MONICA SELES: Definitely, you got to just play your game. You're playing another person. Venus has a fantastic serve and great movement. Those are her strengths. But just got to play as anybody else. I mean, that's how I view it.

MONICA SELES: Really good. I mean, I was very happy to come out, win it. It was one of those matches that was see-saw, especially in the first set. We kept breaking each other's serve and waiting for it for so long. It was just good to get out there and play.

MONICA SELES: I think for me key is really serves. Her serve is obviously very powerful. She'll hold the games easier than I will. So that was -- that went well in Australia for me.

MONICA SELES: It's hard to say. I mean, really, I don't think today was the greatest tennis of both of our careers out there, that's for sure. But I think, you know, she has struggled some this year, I have struggled some. I think if she just keeps playing more matches, she's just gonna get better and better.

MONICA SELES: I don't think so. It was a see-saw game. Some points she played her A game, some points I did. Some points we just made a lot of errors. I think it was one of those matches who will stay steadier at key times, a lot of 30-All games and stuff like that. Today I think I played better at the important points than she did.

MONICA SELES: The game has changed. I mean, the game went for a very stagnant period from '93 to '96 I think. In '97 the girls started to get bigger, stronger, faster. You see the girls now are six feet tall, everyone has a 100 mile-per-hour serve, that's the lowest. It's changing. It's so much more even now. Anybody on any given day can beat most of the top players. That's why it's so exciting.

MONICA SELES: Well, Venus against me serves really well always - in most of the matches. So, I mean, it depends what stage of the match I guess you are. With me, she serves always very well. I couldn't say there has been a dropoff between her first and second. I didn't see any of today's match. I could not comment on that.

MONICA SELES: I wear mine this tournament. My mom has it for food.

MONICA SELES: It's one thing that I think with past years of my career I felt it's been a question every time. I've seen it with Agassi and I've seen it with Pete. I mean, being asked. I don't know why, I do believe tennis is a young game, I mean, definitely the younger, the better, everything is more attention, more sponsors and all that stuff. But you look at other sports, you can peak later on in your life, till really 30, 33. You look at Olympic athletes. But I think it all depends because we start the game so young, how long we want to stay so focused. You have to have a very focused life-style really. In tennis you have no off season. It's very different. How long are you willing to sacrifice that stuff? For guys it's easier. They can have their wives and kids travel with them. For women it's a lot tougher for a lot of different reasons. It depends on that. In my case I said always I'm just going to play it competitively as long as I enjoy it, as long as my body lets me play it. But I do know one thing, that I'll play tennis for ever, really. It's a sport for me that I love. I don't view it as retiring, you know, because that's retiring from something you never will do again. That won't be in my case with tennis. When that time comes, I really have no idea. It could come after this tournament, two years after this tournament from now. I have no idea.

MONICA SELES: Yeah.

MONICA SELES: I'd be playing right-handed I think (laughing). Seriously, playing right-handed. But, I mean, I'm lucky enough, someone like Mary Joe Fernandez, Betsy Nagelsen can play with me. It's impossible, I think, since age six, seven to do something you love that suddenly you stop at 28 or 30 or 32. It's been too big of a part of my life and I think I would really miss it.

MONICA SELES: It really depends. I mean, I know this is hard. Each time I say it people just roll their eyes.

MONICA SELES: Okay. I really never played tennis for winning the Grand Slam or to be No. 1 and stuff like that. Maybe it was a very naive thought to it, maybe. I don't know. But truly it's really not the driving force in me today. I love to play tennis. I said it many times. I wish we didn't have to go out there and win and lose, because that part is very tough emotionally. If you win a tournament, next week you have to kind of play again, you never get time to enjoy it. So I would say, I mean, that's been my case really when I started playing tennis, then whenever I played very well, and then since I've come back.

MONICA SELES: Just really hitting the ball. That's it. I never liked the competition part at all because it's hard. I mean, I've seen it in the junior level, I've seen it in the pro level. Obviously at this stage of my career, you know, you see more stuff than before. I think that's hard. It's a tough one mentally. But, I mean, yeah, depends how you view the game I think.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, I did watch it. Yeah, it was hard not to.

MONICA SELES: Almost, back in my hotel, debating whether I should watch or not. One of the best matches I think in women's tennis. Fun to see Jennifer and I hit the ball. One of the first matches that the ball was hit hard. Now you look, it's even being hit harder. I'm curious, ten years from now, it's gonna be even harder. How far it's gonna go, it's exciting to see that.

MONICA SELES: No, I could see some of my family members, hers. They were more nervous than we were. I think we're so young and we just wanted to crush every ball out there, and that's how we were playing. No matter 30-All, Love-40, we were going for our shots. It was great to see that.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, definitely. I was playing very well those two, three years before my stabbing. You know, I guess dominating the sport at that stage. I don't know. But, yeah.

MONICA SELES: Not at all. I haven't seen tapes really of my previous match. It's not something I like to do. My coaches wanted to change that. For me it's too hard. It was fun to see that, just to see even my dad's reaction to certain points which, you know, at that stage during a match you never realize it. I never seen the tape of that match really till yesterday before. So it just brought back some great memories.

MONICA SELES: In my hotel.

MONICA SELES: Pretty much all of it. I mean, in and out but pretty much all of it.

MONICA SELES: '96, January.

MONICA SELES: I mean, it would mean a lot, without a doubt. As always, you just got to look at the next match. You don't want your brain to go there. That's where I'm just staying. My draw this tournament's very difficult, and just look forward to playing Venus really tomorrow.

MONICA SELES: I was very good (laughter). I was giving myself a hard time now. I mean, obviously some things were very different than now. That's one thing. Kind of made me reevaluate certain things in my game that I have to look back after this tournament is over because I definitely did much better than I do now.

MONICA SELES: I don't think so. Really going in I just wanted to stay focused. Martina's beaten me twice here on this court. Not a court I really like to play against her. Just wanted to stay in the moment.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, certain things I was doing a lot better back then.

MONICA SELES: I won't say that. Obviously I'm still in the tournament. People will read what I'm saying, so... (laughter).

MONICA SELES: Well, it's not hard to accept. I work very differently than I've done. I didn't have these gaps of changing people that I been working with. It's been great to work with Mike, that's someone that's consistent with me. My practice schedule was different. At that stage I didn't have any outside distractions, which is not the case right now.