THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 24, 1997

Jana Novotna

JANA NOVOTNA: Well, I don't think I was a hundred percent happy with my game, but I guess it was just good enough to win today. I would say it's always difficult to play somebody for the first time, especially to play somebody like Kournikova who is very talented and everybody do expect quite a lot from her. Of course, she's not a bad player. I was going into the match not exactly knowing what to expect from the match. I was surprised that right from the beginning she wasn't going for her first serves at all. She was just hitting some second serves. I was a little bit surprised by that. Otherwise, I was trying to attack quite a lot. I didn't want to stay there very long. That's what I did. I was successful at the end.

JANA NOVOTNA: How do I charge my game?

JANA NOVOTNA: Well, I don't know. I would expect her to be just a little bit more consistent, maybe not trying to do too much with the ball, just to be a little more consistent. I guess she just needs more time and more matches to get to know herself and to know what she really wants to play. She was mixing up the game quite well, hitting dropshots, serving and volleying. She figured that's the way to beat me and that's the way she played.

JANA NOVOTNA: Well, yes and no. A little bit it is, of course, because everything has been going around her, publicity. As I said, everybody expected quite a lot from her. You know, everybody tend to think, "Yeah, maybe she has a really good chance and she can really beat me." It's mental. You know you want to go there, beat her. You don't want to get into long rallies, all that. It's been a little difficult, but it wasn't that bad today really. I felt pretty good and played okay. It was good.