WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2000

Monica Seles

MODERATOR: Do begin.

MONICA SELES: Well, I played better today. It was a tough match, especially the last two games. They were just quite amazing points in there. Probably I wanted to win it very badly, and I think she didn't want to lose it. We both fought so much in there.

MONICA SELES: Well, I think her serve obviously is a huge advantage I think in there. She's improved the depth of her groundstrokes, and both sides are solid. You saw that today against Jennifer. She doesn't give you really any free points. Every point you have to play some top tennis. I think that's why she and Hingis throughout the year have just been much more consistent from the rest of us.

MONICA SELES: Oh, I think so. You have to believe that, otherwise might as well not go out there. I mean, every person I think is beatable.

MONICA SELES: Well, just little bits and pieces. For advice, I've talked to Billie quite a few times. That has helped tremendously. Also to my coach Bobby, and Mary Joe. So little bits and pieces you take, try to absorb, try to apply that. Sometimes it's working and sometimes it's not. But it hopefully will make me a smarter player out there.

MONICA SELES: I would just not because I think it's confidential when I talk to them. I don't need my opponents to know that, too.

MONICA SELES: Oh, yeah, they do (laughter).

MONICA SELES: I think so, definitely. Because still I think Lindsay moves definitely better sideways than in the front. But I will have to be very consistent. The last time I played her was in Scottsdale, and my serve really let me down. I think on this surface, I'll have to use my lefty serve a lot better and just really be aggressive on my returns.

MONICA SELES: No. I think it becomes more of a challenge. That's the thing that keeps you going on certain days when it's tough out there, it's a tough practise. It keeps you going. "Oh, boy, Lindsay and Martina are doing all these workouts." Not at all. It's a challenge. But up to now, reality-wise, she has just been better. She improved more in the last three years than I have.

MONICA SELES: I think the main reason, most of the players grew up on hard courts, even myself. I really started by age 13 practising always on hard courts. We have hard groundstrokes. All the girls are hitting hard. The only other one is Lisa really who is a serve-and-volley player. I think we all like fast-paced balls and hard balls. That's one of the reasons why maybe at the French this year, we didn't have as many Americans.

MONICA SELES: That's hard to say. I mean, depending on what day it is. I've been trying to improve my consistency, but I think so have they. They haven't been the most consistent. I definitely feel right now, today, I can't say a shade below because I'm playing one of the players tomorrow. That would be a terrible way to go into it. But up to this moment, I mean probably. Martina and Lindsay have beaten me the last couple times I played them.

MONICA SELES: No. Because, I mean, those questions have arised probably for the past three or four years of my career, so it's nothing new.

MONICA SELES: I just try not to go there. I'm just really happy that I won my match today, just get ready for tomorrow's match, come out really strong tomorrow. That's really my main goal now.

MONICA SELES: Not really. But really with Gavin, we never kind of practised a one-handed forehand or that stuff, no. But that's one thing that I would like, to hit more one-handers. I did pretty well in practise. Everybody seems to believe if I can get there, get there with two hands.

MONICA SELES: Probably. But everyone around me seems to want me to hit two-handed shots, even if I'm out of the court. That's one area that I did talk to my coach, Bobby, a couple of tournaments back at Rome, that I want to improve that shot. We'll see.

MONICA SELES: Chris is his name.

MONICA SELES: Molesky (phonetic).

MONICA SELES: Huh-uh, no. It's been just very consistent, nothing extraordinary I haven't done before. He works for Bobby, so it's been great to have Bobby back again.

MONICA SELES: I have absolutely no idea. I really don't. In this moment, I don't even think about that.

MONICA SELES: I just play as long as I love to play. I know I'll play the game of tennis hopefully forever, if everything goes well. I mean, you never know where your health and different things can arise. But professionally, I have no idea right now.

MONICA SELES: Oh, yeah.

MONICA SELES: It's really winning tournaments. Every single tournament you enter, that's the challenge. That's why I think you keep improving, working hard. It would be in my case.

MONICA SELES: I don't know. I just really enjoy going out there, playing tennis. I mean, I started playing tennis really in a parking lot and a tennis wall - used to being with myself a lot. I just like it. I don't know.

MONICA SELES: Uh-huh. They had only four tennis courts where I grew up. They didn't give them to little kids. Had to be good to earn court time.

MONICA SELES: That was once. Not often.

MONICA SELES: In what sense?

MONICA SELES: I really don't have a feeling A or B on it at this point. I would just have to make up something. I don't want to do that.

MONICA SELES: Well, I had a fantastic chance two years ago against Zvereva, a few other ones the years before. Looking at the draw, it's probably not the best chances compared to those chances. But that's in the past. I just have to look to tomorrow's match really.

MONICA SELES: Oh, yeah. I just haven't gotten tired. I've been able to practise after matches. Even today when you have to do a lot of running, before I would be tired, sore, so I'm fine. In terms of that, yeah, a huge difference, I think recovery times. But I still feel I have a ways to go to be where I would like to be ideally.

MONICA SELES: I think it helps to know that you can stay out there if it goes to tough three-set matches. For sure it helped me at the French, I think for the first time in three, four years at the French Open, I didn't really lose it physically. Last year I felt, and the year before, I lost to Arantxa at the end because I was physically exhausted. Same thing to Steffi. That i think has helped. That's one area I've tried to improve upon.

MONICA SELES: I know in the back of my mind I sure have that. I try to win every single set. When I get into that mindset, "You can relax, you won the first set," I learned too many lessons that way.

MONICA SELES: Oh, yeah, I definitely have that thought, it's okay if it goes three sets, or even if someone runs me side-to-side, I'll be fine because I've done it so often in practise.