WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 17, 1995

Brenda Schultz-McCarthy

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: My fastest serve, I don't actually know. I don't look at it, I just hear about it from people. 120.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: That sounds about right.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: You know, I played her very good in the Open and I was up a break in the second and kind of let go of it. I got kind of nervous at that point, because I saw I could win the match. And then I had a very tough schedule there, I played a lot of matches. And the third set it was a little tough for me, and she got confidence because she broke me. And she got a little better attitude -- when I broke her, and I would have to just hold on my serve for one more game, she kind of was ready to give up. But when I let her back up, right in the next game and she broke me back to get to 3-0, she was, hey, I can break her serve, and it's possible to win this match. She was standing at the U.S. Open very far from the baseline. And I knew that indoors she couldn't do that. I know that when I serve my slice, serve wide, it's so hard to get to it because it's a lot faster, of course, and when she gives that high topspin ball back. There's no sun, no wind, and it's an easy put away. And in the U.S. Open it is totally different. It's on the center court, it's huge. I never played on center court before. And I was nervous. And today I was prepared for all those things. I was prepared that she was going to stand far back. I practiced a couple of things on her serve to hit my backhand more out, and not only just block it back. And all those things worked today. So of course her injury. I just heard about -- I saw in the matches she was throwing her ice pack away, and I was kind of wondering what was going on, if she didn't really want to them in the match anymore. Now the rule states that you can only be helped by the trainer, and the ball kid cannot help you. But it was obvious that yesterday, or I watched the other match, 4-1, 4-1 she was down and the ball girl was holding the ice pack, so there's definitely a rule that states that she cannot do it. I think they made a mistake of not telling her yesterday. But I heard that the person who goes over the rules, she wasn't there. And she didn't see that the ball girls were doing it. And those things happen. And it's too bad because it's always nice to beat somebody. And don't have any excuses after the match. But I'm very happy to be in the semis and, you know, it's one of my best wins of my life. It's great.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: I think I always had a very flat serve, slice or very flat. And suddenly -- actually the coach of Steffi Graf, Heinz Gunthardt he told me, he said why didn't you learn a kick serve. You have so much power and right now the girls are ready, they just block their serve back and don't really have a problem with it. I said right, I have talent in my serve, why don't I start working on it? Pretty much that was about two years ago in Philly. I went out every day with a bucket of balls and tried to hit a kick serve. I have to admit the first tournaments I play, you have to throw it behind you and go like this (indicating). I missed so many on the frames, and when I got so nervous, I would hit it out of the stadium. And suddenly, the other day, it started clicking and my percentage is much higher. I can go in after my first serve. I have a lot of time to get there. And because of the kick, because I have a lot of power, the ball bounces up high and they cannot take it early, they have to kind of retreat. So I have time to come in. And it's not a very risky serve. So I think that had a lot to do with that I'm playing better. Because they say, Brenda, she has a hard serve. But she has to change it up, mix-up the pace. But I couldn't, really. I tried and I knew what I had to do. That spin serve helped me a lot. A lot of people say it's not really a kick, it's kind of in between. But it's working and I'm very happy that Heinz told me that.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: Yeah.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: No, it's a lot of things start clicking, then. Like she said, my whole game start changing. My volleys were good, but I never really used them. And then I started coming in on everything, because I got more secure at the net. I felt more confident. Because after that serve, when I got a couple of good volleys in, I was, hey, when I was playing from the baseline, even, there was less pressure, because I knew when the baseline wasn't working, I could come in. And I had kind of two different games. And that confuses the opponent a little more. And for me it takes the nerves away, because you just feel stronger out there, because you have a couple of different game plans that you can try out. That helps a lot. There are not many girls that can do that. They have pretty much one game. If I can get steady in mixing it up, then I'm the next step.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: That's what I say, she did the same thing in the U.S. Open. And I watched that tape again at home and, of course, it was very hard for me, because losing the semis in the U.S. Open is also a very big thing. That was huge for me, I never played well, there. I watched the tape. She was throwing the racket, and looking at Carlos, what do I have to do on the serve. Right then I gave up, I went for the big one and hit a couple of double faults. I thought that I could beat her, and I kind of screwed up at the breakup in the second. And now I was ready for it. And again, I had a tough game, she had a breakpoint to break me back to 2-1 in the second. But I hang in there and got a little lucky in a couple of reflexes and got the game to 3-Love and I knew it was over and I was going to win the match. But it was again a very hard game for me.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: I tried not to think of that. And when I was 4-1 up in the second, I thought, no, I'm not Iva.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: It doesn't matter if you win or lose, until you lose. That stands for everybody. Sometimes you go out there, and especially me, I'm healthy, you know, I'm pretty lucky to be in this position. I play tennis, I see the whole world. But when you're out there and you lose, it's always tough. And it's always going to stay tough. And my husband said if you don't mind when you lose then there's a problem. So just don't get close to me after I lost.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: Yes, I saw it in television last night. I played against Date in the U.S. Open, and I thought Date played a good match. I played Huber a couple of times. She played a good match against her. I beat her, I'm sure, once in Berlin in the semifinal of a big tournament then I lost to Steffi in the final. She's a tough player. I think she returns a little better than Conchita. But she has a similar game to Maleeva. And if I mix it up and I can slice and I can hit my backhand out and kind of mix it up and serve the way I did today I give myself a good chance, but I have to fight hard and it's going to be another tough match. But every match is tough in this tournament.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: No, not really. I'm working actually on everything. When I was a kid I just liked serving a lot so I did it a lot. But right now I serve, last half an hour; if I practice two hours, most time the last half hour is returning and serving of the practice. And the other hour and a half is baseline, volleys, everything. So it's not that I really over do the serving part, because that's the thing that I have, and I'm never going to lose.

BRENDA SCHULTZ-McCARTHY: Goran -- yeah, Goran has the good thing that he has also a very good return. I can learn a lot from him on the returns. His serve is very fast. But my countryman, Krajicek, it's also a hard serve. It's funny, when we were kids, I always had a fast serve but Richard kind of pushed it in, and he was always looking at me. Gosh, how do you serve so fast? And now he has one of the biggest serves in men's tennis. When you don't have a good serve when you're a kid you can always get it later.