COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

October 2, 1998

Patty Schnyder

Q. You got through to the final. Congratulations on that.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Thank you.

PATTY SCHNYDER: I mean, I couldn't make my match point myself. But I think if it's 5-All in the third, the other one is cramping, so then you are the winner. I mean, I think I would have won those two games. But, yeah, it's true, she retired and I didn't really win it.

PATTY SCHNYDER: I mean, I thought that she was tired. I could see that in the end of the second set already. Then we had really so many close games. I couldn't really believe that I was 5-1 back. So, yeah, then she start playing more rallies again. I saw she was tired. I think she was almost cramping. At the end she just told me, "I can't anymore." I wished her good luck, to get well.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yeah, I think she would have just played two games. But, yeah, it was her decision. I think she didn't want to risk an injury, so she wants to be prepared for the next two tournaments.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yeah, I was really happy with my game. I was having so much fun on the court because we both played our angle shots, our dropshots, and we had so many good points, I think. I just enjoyed the match. Yeah, I was the winner at the end, so it's just great.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Well, probably not because she was the favorite and she is No. 1 in the world. But you always think you do have a chance, because otherwise you don't have to go out on the court. Of course, my chances were not very big.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Well, I don't know. It's nice to feel, to know that you have the fans behind you. It certainly helps, especially if you're down like 5-1 or if you have made some stupid play. That helps you get back in the game. I think that certainly also helped to give 100%.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yes, I saw at the Fed Cup as well that she was cramping, especially in the match against Sanchez in the Fed Cup. So I knew that I am physically better on the court than she is. But that's something you must not think of. You have to make your points. You cannot always try to play only long rallies. She always tries to put up more and more pressure to have her fast winners, so it's very difficult to follow such the tactics of long rallies all the time.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yeah, I would have expected her to try once more, but that's all a decision. As I already said, she didn't want to risk any major injury. Of course, I would have preferred making the match point myself. Nevertheless, I accept this win, as well.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Well, certainly in a regular tournament or in a Grand Slam, she would have made these last two games, even at the risk of a major injury. But right now, this is not a tournament where you can win points. She got a few tournaments coming up where she has to defend her No. 1 position.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Even at the score of 5-5, I was still physically fitter. I was still better physically. But I cannot tell, of course, how much more she could have played. Maybe I also might have become afraid of winning, especially in the first set and also in the second one when I had my suspects, I became almost too nervous, and something similar might have happened to me in the final set, as well.