US OPEN

September 2, 1997

Monica Seles

Q. Describe the player you ran into today, Monica, and how tough were the things she threw at you?

MONICA SELES: I just felt she just played better on the key points. She went for her shots. I was hitting short and to the middle. She mixed it up really well. Serve was going a lot better than my serve. That made a big difference.

MONICA SELES: It's tough. The match point, she did hit a great two shots to save that one. But then I felt I made a couple of easy unforced errors to lose the second set, and that was frustrating. Probably the most frustrating was the third set when I had 40-Love on her serve.

MONICA SELES: I think Steffi is her idol, so I think she modeled it after Steffi's game.

MONICA SELES: I started having a stomachache at the beginning of the second set. It was bothering me. She just played better, kept the ball going, long points, struggling with that by the end of the second set. Then the third set, I think it was bothering me more and more. She just hit some great shots.

MONICA SELES: No. It started in the second set. I ate something at 7:30. Probably a little bit hungry. I had so much water in my system, but no food. I tried to mix up some of the sugar drinks, and it helped, but it was too late.

MONICA SELES: It beat Irina this year also. It's a match, really hard. I felt I should have won the match. But then I have to give her credit that she played some great tennis, mixed it up. She didn't choke when she was up. She went for all her shots at every point.

MONICA SELES: I think there are more players out there. You have to look at each match on an individual basis. You have to look at the circumstances. With two points, it could have gone either way.

MONICA SELES: Definitely more than four or five years ago, that's for sure. This year, that has been one of the biggest disappointments, the Grand Slams. This one, having match points, can't close them out. Today I felt I went for them. Both opponents came up with some great shots, though.

MONICA SELES: That's hard to say. I think she just should focus on her next match. We'll see.

MONICA SELES: It would be hard to pick one. I would really like the game back when I was 40-Love on her serve. That's a big one to let out of your hands like that.

MONICA SELES: That wasn't in my mind. She just was a clearly better tennis player today.

MONICA SELES: It's hard. But going into the tournament, I put that aside.

MONICA SELES: I couldn't find my serve today. I don't think I was winning too many first serves, which usually I could score a lot of more aces. And second serve, she just swung at them. She has nothing to lose going into the match. When you're free, usually your ball goes in. Once the ball goes in, it's hard to get them.

MONICA SELES: No. I mean, I still go in the same way that I did, but a disappointing last year and a half, not getting the same results.

MONICA SELES: Not just in the third set, but from the beginning of the match I was struggling. I went down a break even in the first set. I was lucky to pull it out. But I felt I had a little bit against Mary, I played Mary two days ago, too.

MONICA SELES: I go to Tokyo on Tuesday, my next tournament.

MONICA SELES: As I always answer that: Time will tell.

MONICA SELES: Well, I feel I played some good tennis coming into here. I really felt my game dropped a little bit against Pierce, and definitely today even more. It was not the same level, not the same attacking that I used to play in the first few rounds.

MONICA SELES: That's hard to say at this point. I would have to think about that one for a while.

MONICA SELES: At this point, I do.

MONICA SELES: Well, I believe throughout the match, she served better. She won more points when she had her first serve in. If I hit my first serve in, I had to work for the point. A lot of times she put me on the defense. Her next shot would usually be a winner.

MONICA SELES: No. I'm very happy where I am.

MONICA SELES: I don't think about that. I mean, I just try to take it a match at a time. That's as far as I'm thinking right now.

MONICA SELES: Each ones were really close losses. It's tough. I don't know. I'll have to analyze that a little bit.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, definitely. But even before when I won the French, a couple of the French's or US Opens, I still have 7-6's in the third set, everything. But a lot of times, this year especially, those matches were getting away from me. I had a couple good ones that I could pull out coming into the Open. I pulled one out two days ago, but today I couldn't.

MONICA SELES: No. I was just frustrated. You know, each time I felt like shouldn't have got into a tiebreaker the second set, but I did. That wasn't on my mind at all, the weather and all that stuff.

MONICA SELES: No, no. At that point I was just in the present. I definitely would love to be here Sunday. But not on Monday night.

MONICA SELES: That's hard to say. I mean, I can't say I did because here every other day you have a day off. If I would have won, I have two days off, not playing doubles, I don't think so.

MONICA SELES: It was just frustration in my mind a little bit that I had a chance in the second set and here we go again. It would be nice to have a 2-Love lead. To lose five points at that critical stage of a match, it's not a good sign.

MONICA SELES: No, not at this point.

MONICA SELES: That's hard to say. You probably could see that better from the outside.

MONICA SELES: To me?

MONICA SELES: I do feel there's more of a depth in the game right now, which before a lot of the earlier rounds were a lot easier. Right now you have a couple of the players who can beat any of the tops ones, and we've seen that with everyone except Martina this year.

MONICA SELES: I just think I hit way too many shots to the middle and short. And she didn't make as many unforced errors as she usually does.

MONICA SELES: Irina?

MONICA SELES: I think only time will tell that.