COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

September 30, 1998

Patty Schnyder

Q. Jana Novotna said you recognized that she was tired in the second set. Is this true?

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yeah, it's true. I saw she was taking her time between the points. Yeah, I think her serve lost a lot of speed. So I realized really that she was getting tired. At the end, it was really obvious because I don't know if she's injured now or if it just was cramping, but, yeah, I could see it.

PATTY SCHNYDER: You start thinking about your opponent, and yourself and your tennis. You have to get focused on your tennis again. But then it's okay. She was leading all the time, so I just -- yeah, I wasn't thinking of winning, I just had to come back first of all. Then at 5-All, I could start, yeah, thinking of winning the match.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Yes.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Of course. The Swiss journalists have been waiting for some time for this duel to come. It's going to be something special, of course, two Swiss players, No. 1 and 2 from their country, Top 10. She is the favorite being No. 1, but certainly something special for everybody. I'm going to try to play my best tennis, and we know each other quite well. And we shall wait and see who handles this situation best.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Well, I was bad in the beginning, and I didn't find into my game first. But then you could see that she really got tired. I don't know exactly why, but it's not too bad. I don't know what really bad is after this Fed Cup weekend. I was surprised to see how she got tired, and I wondered whether she was injured or just tired. Of course, then you have to win, you have to close the game, the match, whether she's injured or not. I'm happy I did it. I'm happy I could raise my game and make it. Very good feeling to have beaten a top player.

PATTY SCHNYDER: I don't think about this during the match. You don't think about things like this. Of course, now I know it's doubling, this is a good thing, but I am playing tennis. I'm interested in playing well, not thinking about money on the court.

PATTY SCHNYDER: For a year, I've been starting to think, "Yes, can I beat people, even big and great players." But normally when it's getting tight, my problem is that maybe my serve isn't good enough or they are such good servers.

PATTY SCHNYDER: No, there are no points to be earned, that's true, but otherwise you have to beat all the top players, because the best Grand Slam players are here. They asked me to come as an alternate. It's very important for confidence in indoor tournaments. I had a very good indoor match, and I feel okay. This is why it's an important tournament.

PATTY SCHNYDER: Of course. When I walk out on the court, I want to win. We know each other quite well. From practicing, anything can happen.