NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 24, 2003

Jennifer Capriati

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, well, I think whatever rust or anything that was off in my game, today there was none of that. I got rid of that. I think the first few matches probably helped, having the tougher matches. And I realized what I needed to work on and what I needed to do to play better. So I got a better start, for sure, today, and came out right away playing well and just didn't wait for myself to -- I didn't let her play at all. I just really, I think, played aggressively throughout and kept my concentration well.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: It's hard to say because, I mean, the lights are good here. I mean, usually I don't like playing under lights anyways, but I prefer the day, if it's not so windy and, you know, the sun's like not right there when you're serving sometimes on one side. But the night matches here never seem to bother me too much.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, generally, I can feel it pretty much when I wake up in the morning, how I feel. Or at least when I do the first warm-up, when I get out there and start hitting balls, just I know how I feel physically. And if, you know, I'm on my toes and just moving well and hitting the ball clean.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: When I saw her, yeah.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: You know, I really don't, like, remember the match from before.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I think I just played so well today that I really didn't give her an opportunity to get into the match. You know, she tried mixing it up. I mean, at the end, she tried to maybe out-hit me a little bit. That wasn't working. I felt like I was just playing well all around. So I think she had a little bit of a tough time out there but...

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, I played her like a few times after that.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I remember I played her once in Pilot Pen, semifinals there.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Oh, at here? Yeah, it was.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Crazy. The crowd was really going nuts. I had nine matchpoints. Yeah, I mean, it was sort of a big ordeal out there. It was just a very tight match, very close match.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Not really. I mean, maybe in those clutch situations, maybe I would handle it a little bit different and have more experience now because a lot has happened since then. So maybe in that regard. But overall, I mean, for the most part, not really.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I think, I mean, it's hard to say unless you've played -- actually played them for, you know, recently. That's really -- I mean, I haven't played her for a really long time. I can tell by watching a little bit, but not as much as actually being on the court with her.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I try to treat every match the same. Of course it gets a little more exciting. But as you go on, I mean, then there's a little more stress involved, a little more pressure involved. But for the most part, I mean, yeah, that's what we thrive for, those moments.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: In a way. But I still feel like it's on my back. I don't think that will ever change. You know, I think that's why a lot of girls, like, come out and just play really well against me. You know, there will still be some pressure out there, mostly what I put on myself that, you know, if I expect to win or expect to do better. You know, that's one of the things that I, you know, I shouldn't do and try to, you know, not really think about the pressure.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, my standards are pretty high. Every match that I go into, I expect to win. And I expect that I can do well. I should come out the winner. So, I mean, if I didn't think like that, then what would even be the point of going out there.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, in a way, if no one really cared about beating me, that must mean I sucked or whatever, so... (Laughing).

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Sorry? I missed the first part.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I try to do everything pretty much the same, but some things I can't control. I mean, I can't control if I'm absolutely going to get the perfect night's sleep, you know? Those sort of things have a lot to do with it. But, you know, everything's the same when I try to go to bed, the amount of activity that I do, the warm-up time, schedule time. I mean, a lot of it has to do with when I'm playing. I still want to do things that are fun off the court and, you know, nothing that's going to make me too tired. But I'm not fanatic about it.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Usually, I'll have a decent breakfast and then I'll just have like pasta, an hour before.