U.S. OPEN

September 9, 1993

Martina Navratilova

Mark Woodforde

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: If I didn't have to play her. At least I lost to her in the final in this. I think the way she plays, I mean, today was a team effort. I mean, they played well and we caught on a little too late. But you know, in the singles she plays a strange style and it's just-- I was always struggling against her, even though my record has been good 25 and 4 until I lost to her. I have always struggled. I have very few decent matches with her. Then she goes out and loses easily to other players. Probably would have been well against anybody else in the draw on that day. Also, she forces you to hit the winners and I wasn't able to do that. Yeah, she did beat me in this tournament.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, I have gotten all three finals a lot of times, won 2 out of 3, but I don't know, 3 or four times I have only won the title once. That was when I didn't expect it. You have to have some luck. No question about that. You have to be very good and to have some luck.

MARK WOODFORDE: And they had luck.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Yeah, those net cords, certainly the Gods were not smiling on our faces.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Long way to go. She's got to beat, well, Arantxa and then probably Steffi in the finals. That is a tall order. In the doubles they have to beat a team that has not lost a Grand Slam for a while. So she has got a long way to go.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I think she can be beaten, I think Arantxa can beat her. I think Helena could on a good day. Manuela with her finger, I think it is going to be too much of a handicap with her. I don't think she has ever beaten Steffi. But I am not sure Helena has, but she has sure played some close matches with her. She can be beaten right now, she is really confident and have not gotten to her. So --

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I have only played her once that was this year and I won. That was-- that is a long time ago. The way to beat her is to either run everything down or come to the net and make her pass. Arantxa does one, not the other. Helena does the other pretty well too. You have to win the last point, that is how you beat her.

MARK WOODFORDE: Us two? Yeah. We are going to try and play a couple of the Slams next year. It would be, I think, maybe play French and Wimbledon and we will try at the Open again. So at this stage, I mean it is pretty early stages yet. But we would like to very much. This doesn't hold us back, losing.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: We are good doubles players. We like each other, so we support each other, regardless. Mark, today was a little off. I had just kept pumping him and making him laugh and giving him a hard time and then he caught on and started playing great. You know, that is a good doubles team. At Wimbledon, a couple of bad matches and Mark helped particularly in the quarterfinals. Mark was just up there pumping me and pumping, we ended up winning the match. That is what a good partnership is. To win when one of you is not playing well. If both of you are playing badly, the game is over. But we know how to play doubles and we can communicate real well.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Because I didn't have a partner that I could win with.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: That I could win with. I mean, I could find a partner, but I don't think I could have found one that -- last minute, Conchita had asked me to play. By then, I was already committed to Mark for mixed and I didn't want to play all three. I am going to play all three sometime next year, but I don't know. That is a long way away.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: She has won the mixed and she still in the doubles and singles.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: No, she-- no I am not. She is the kind of player that can win all three, or get to the finals in all three, whatever. She's got the game, she is a great doubles player and now she is coming through in the singles as well. I am not surprised. I have seen her play this way. It is just tough to do it all three in one tournament.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Sneaked that one by. As of now, it is not final, I just really had a preliminary meeting about my schedule yesterday, with Craig and Billy Jean. I am, but I am leaning towards playing the French and playing a more full schedule, and I haven't decided on whether it is going to be my last year or not. But I am pretty close to that. Again I will announce it once I figure it out, but I am leaning that way. So --

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Well, they can-- I can always change my mind. I am a woman, after all. But no, I think I need to see the end of the road. It's funny, because I thought the other day I made the statement that I was in the twilight of my career but I have been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have careers for about seven years, eight years I have been in the twilight. So one more year, one more year in the twilight, I guess. Twilight zone.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: I think I am quite happy to see it once I find out where it is.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA: Yeah, know, I care. So my decision would be based on something else.