US OPEN

September 7, 1997

Martina Hingis

Q. Was it easier than you expected?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I didn't think it was very easy. I just played, you know, very good tennis out there, especially in the first set. You know, she had a great performance in the matches before, especially that one against Irina, coming back from being two match points down. That was a great effort from her. I thought, "Well, maybe she might be a little bit tired." But she was still running very well at the baseline. Just played outstanding tennis out there.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, you just kind of have to try to mix it up a lot. You can't allow her to make her game. She has very powerful groundstrokes. If she's going to let you run left-right all the time, especially her backhand is very dangerous.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I'm pretty much known about having a great return. I'm pretty much known that I'm having a good return. So my serve is not a big weapon I have in my game. I have to have something else. That's my return. I also think mostly she's trying to serve to my forehand. I just know the ball, if it's going to be important, she's going to try to serve there. You know, she maybe didn't serve as hard as against the other players. Just was trying to keep the ball in the game. You know, I always had the chance to play it back.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, it was the only break -- the only time she broke me. I was like, "Okay, that's the same thing as when I played Lindsay Davenport, having the set 6-2, 4-2, then loosening up a little bit." I was also maybe a little bit tired from, you know, just everything what was around, being in the Finals against Venus Williams. I thought, "Well, I've got it now." She started actually playing much better in the end.

MARTINA HINGIS: No, I didn't expect to have this opponent in the Finals. I think many people, just spectators, were following this match. I think it's great for women's tennis. You always see new faces. There were always people talking about her, but she never brought up the results. Now this time, making first time a performance at the US Open, reaching the Finals, is not a bad effort at all. It's pretty good.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, you know, I'm very happy about my whole tennis game at all. I just had a great year. You know, what can I improve? Sometimes I ask myself. It's a little scary. I haven't won the French Open, so that's kind of my goal. That's the tournament I want to win the most, and I haven't won that. I think I'm going to have many more years in front of me to, you know, maybe win it one time.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I was watching (laughter). I was like, you know, either I was faster than her. I was watching (laughter). But she, too, she was like not making the same mistake. But it was funny.

MARTINA HINGIS: You always kind of talking about Steffi Graf. It's not my mistake she's not playing here. You know, whenever she's going to come back, maybe for the Championships, she's for sure going to be always a dangerous player. You know her name, she's got so many Grand Slam titles. She had such a big career. Whenever she's going to come back, she's going to be a tough player to beat. But having Williams on the other side is not, you know, the easiest thing in the world to do either. So I think you don't always have to talk about the past, but about the future, new generation like Venus Williams, Kournikova, and Lucic. Also Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles are nothing to forget about, too.

MARTINA HINGIS: It was just Tina. Tina was her name. It wasn't my horse. I'm not riding her anymore.

MARTINA HINGIS: Just a friend's horse.

MARTINA HINGIS: But actually before this tournament, I was testing a new one. I was never jumping as high as before this tournament. I was coming into this tournament with having a great fun out there.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think it's always hard when you're the newcomer on The Tour. It wasn't very easy for me, too. The other players just look at you. They don't know what to expect from you because everything is -- or everyone is talking about you, the media pay so much attention. If you don't bring the results, everyone is kind of not very happy because you haven't shown anything to the other players. I think her first statements, they weren't very nice against the other players. Because, you know, she said, "I'm the best player in the world." But she has changed very much from the other tournaments. When I saw the last two, three entries she made, she change a lot. She became a much nicer person on The Tour.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I liked it the way it was (laughter). It's like, you know, the US Open Finals. If you win the first set 6-Love, okay, I take it. But I still had to make my game.

MARTINA HINGIS: She made a lot of mistakes. I think she was pretty nervous, you know, being in the Finals. So was I. I just was kind of trying to hit the ball back, let her make something out there. I just played very good tennis.

MARTINA HINGIS: I think your charisma comes out on the court, the way you live your life out of the court. Tennis is not the most important thing I want to do in my life. It's still right now, you know, I couldn't be without it. But especially when I fell off the horse, I kind of remember, "Well, I can't be without tennis anymore, I love this game so much." Just the charisma, I think, it just comes out natural.

MARTINA HINGIS: That's everything that comes up with your life. That's the way you show everything on the court, how you're in person, you show your balance, just your game, your charisma on the court. I think the way Williams is out of the court, the way she also is on the court, she's always trying to do something, always having a lot of fun. Everyone is the same on the court and off the court.

MARTINA HINGIS: I said right now it is the biggest thing I always want to do. Especially if you keep winning, there is no way, you have motivation, you always enjoy that. Especially in this final, I had so much players, especially when you hit great shots you want to hit. It's the greatest thing you can do.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, maybe that one when I beat Monica at the semifinals of the French Open. I've never been as happy as after that match, reaching the Finals, that was kind of like more than having a victory there.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think that helped me.

MARTINA HINGIS: A lot, of course. But I can't manage her life. If she doesn't want to play anymore, she reached the Finals. She just has a different way to get to the top. I don't care what the other ones are doing.

MARTINA HINGIS: Blah (laughter). I played only once in my life a five-setter against Steffi Graf. I'm not really that much into it, having the same thing again, getting cramps. I know maybe I should be in better shape. I'd rather win it in three straight sets.

MARTINA HINGIS: I do a lot of sports. I do skiing, aerobics, boxing, so many other sports, rollerblading, biking.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think there was a lot of attention on me, how I'm going to do at the US Open after having two Grand Slam titles, especially in the beginning when everything on the front page was only me. Then it was nice that she also kind of made something out of that, that she reached the Finals, for sure.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I knew I was up 4-2. I just gave up one game. I thought, "Well, she was serving very well there." I shouldn't give up that one maybe. Then it would look different. I was playing against the wind. She wasn't missing at all, especially the last two games. I was like I had to make the points myself. Hitting it as hard as you can always against the wind, I also get tired sometimes. I was kind of just waiting for a mistake, just hitting big shots. But I knew if I'm going to lose that game, I'm going to serve with the wind and that's going to be easier. Even if it would be 5-4 for her, I thought I would make it to 5-All and then it would be a good game.

MARTINA HINGIS: About the what?

MARTINA HINGIS: (No response.)

MARTINA HINGIS: I mean, it's always good to have new faces out there. Especially in women's tennis, there are so many coming up now. The thing is, very nice to watch a Finals like Hingis/Williams than having someone else there. I don't care that much about who is on the other side actually. I think it's very good if you have all the people, all the races, all the world playing tennis.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I always do the risky things especially (laughter).

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, as I said before, with Steffi, you have to wait what she's going to do in the next couple tournaments, when she's going to come back. I don't know what's going to happen with her.

MARTINA HINGIS: My father? I'm sure he was watching, yes.