PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 12, 2005

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: First question.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: About the names or the young ones?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, yeah. I mean, I think I have a really good memory about players. I think I'm a pretty good judge when I play someone if they're going to end up, you know, being a good player or not. Yeah, it's tough. I mean, gosh, that's twice this year I've had to play 15-year-olds that are pretty good actually. I played Vaidisova at the Australian Open, and now I'll just say Sesil today. Gosh, I can't -- 15 is awfully young.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think she hits the ball really well. I mean, I would say yeah, for sure. But I'm not obviously -- I can't see into the future that well about injuries and other stuff like that. But, yeah, for 15, these girls are really good.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was pretty good. But, you know, it took me till when I was in my 16th to come into the top hundred. You know, I think that they all have a little bit more confidence than I had in those years. And I think they've all been trained and told that that is how it was going to be. It was all pretty shocking to me and I was a little bit overwhelmed sometimes in the beginning. These girls seem a little more focused than I was. I was good young. I made huge strides the year I turned 16.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I'm going to have to say finals of Grand Slams are probably a little more difficult (laughter). You know, it is true. I mean, you're always looking in the first few rounds of holding opponents off, and especially the younger girls that are very confident and have, like you said, nothing to lose. There's something a little more added than a normal first-round match, that's for sure. I don't think it's the most difficult matches that we face during the year. But, you know, it definitely adds a little bit more intensity to the opening match.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yes. I think that stemmed from them knowing each other from Bollettieri's is what I heard. I didn't know her, so I didn't expect her to say anything like that. But I don't know. But, you know, from some of the quotes I read, she said she learned a lot about last year and speaking out like that. It's probably just never a good situation to put yourself in by saying that kind of stuff. The only kind of publicity you're getting is negative, and it sounds like at 14 years old she's very young and learned her lesson at a young age. You know, I don't think there's been anything like that since.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, it's true. I remember when I was -- well, I was a year later, but playing Steffi. The first set I lost 6-0, the second set I think I served for the set at 5-4. I was just like, "I can't believe I'm serving for the set." I mean, I must have said it and got broken at love, ended up losing in a tiebreak. But the one time I did get up, I was just like, "Wow, this is so neat." It goes away quite quickly some of the time. Yeah, I mean, fortunately for me it was very early in the match and before I was able to really grab control, she had a lead, but I was able to get it right back, I believe.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was good. I think, you know, I'm always happy with a win. I'm getting used to the conditions here. It was good. I don't like to look too -- like dissect and analyze too harshly in the beginning, but I felt like after the first few games, I started to play a lot better, and was happy.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was trying to be. I think it was.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, I don't (laughter). Not at all. I mean, it's going to keep getting broken every year as prize money goes up and up. But, no, I remember someone has -- my coach was trying to get me motivated by saying I was close to possibly at some point reaching $20 million. That's kind of been like a fun little joke. But as far as quickness in earning money, no.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was. But you understand that 50% of that goes to our good old government, and the other 20 to expenses. You know, it's funny, I promise you I don't have $20 million in a bank account sitting there.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, there's two different sides to that. I think Martina has made, you know, a huge impact in leading stuff outside playing on the tennis courts. I think Steffi was extremely focused and the best player we've ever had in terms of tennis and athleticism, in her tennis talent on the court. I think Martina obviously was a phenomenal player and seemed to have a louder and stronger voice outside the tennis court. So I'm not sure what you're going for.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Okay. You know, I wasn't around playing in the '80s when Martina was obviously dominating. I lived through Steffi's kind of dominant era. So for me I say Steffi. But I didn't have to face Martina in the '80s, so it's hard for me to really say too much.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, you know, her overall athleticism is the thing that stands out more than anything, how she moved and how graceful she was. Her forehand was phenomenal. She managed to, you know, make that a weapon from '87, or maybe even earlier, through '99 when she retired. She was able to kind of change with the technology and still become obviously a huge factor.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it could be. I think it's the most intriguing and exciting match-up we've had in the last year. I think what makes a rivalry is a lot of times, you know, you have to have like the close matches, and sometimes the two different personalities, sometimes not. But I think, you know, big matches and close matches more than anything make the big rivalries. They've played some phenomenal matches so far, and they've only played like three times, and each one has been pretty dramatic. I think that right now in women's tennis, that's a very appealing match-up.