AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2004

Lindsay Davenport

Q. How is your shoulder, Lindsay?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Pretty good. It is hard to tell, I haven't done much since yesterday morning when I woke and it was pretty sore and tight. I just got treatment now and I think it is a lot better even from yesterday. So I am not going to try and hit 'til probably later tomorrow, if I will play Monday, if I play Tuesday I won't hit 'til Monday, but I anticipate it to heal in time. The foot is great. The foot has been so great. If I had known the surgery would have been so successful I probably would have done it a lot sooner. It's amazing after you have played with it bothering you for so many months, you kind of forget what it is like to be 100% and it has been a lot more fun to practice in December and to play the last few weeks not having to worry about it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know, I am not too worried about it. I didn't request -- I feel like some other players probably have injuries more severe and bigger threat of withdrawal. A strained muscle is not something to really make a big deal about so I am just going to play when they tell me.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's certainly a possibility, something I am going to have to really keep a good eye on the next few weeks as long as I am here and competing. But there's a great chance it does recover then it won't be an issue. So going to have to serve well. I am going to have my shoulder 100% if I have any chance of winning this or doing well. So I am going to do my best to get it better the whole fortnight.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I have had little injuries like this before where you have to kind of curtail certain practices for -- to what's bothering you. I started playing the last few weeks. If I don't serve 100% on Monday or Tuesday hopefully I can still win. More about getting my arm ready hopefully for the latter rounds of the tournament.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: They are. I mean, probably goes a little bit in cycles and right now a lot of the top players are nursing some injuries, but I think that's probably the wear and tear of the sport, the athleticism that's now involved in tennis, the hard training the players put in on top of playing tournaments, and a little bit of bad luck. Serena has obviously a very serious injury that she's had for quite a few months and just coming back from it. I am not really sure exactly what Kim's injury -- what is the story on it. Myself, it's not a huge injury. I will be able to get over it. For myself, I think just a lot of injuries from playing twelve years now, it's going to take its toll on whosever body it is. I think women tennis is in a great state. Everyone is excited about it and when all the players play against each other it's very exciting, just have to get all the players to that point where everyone is healthy, especially for the big tournaments.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Certainly you can argue that for some players. Other players, I mean, Venus and Serena don't play typically a lot of tournaments in a year anyway, it seems like they are still getting injured. I think sometimes it's just body types. I think sometimes players are maybe just taking a break and maybe just using the injury as what they have to say, but, you know, I think it's really up to the individual. Kim has played a lot of years; hasn't had too many bad injuries, Justine seemed to be out for a significant amount of time, I think she had surgery on her wrist a few years ago. I think it just happens in sport, no matter what support you get involved in, you are going to have injuries affect the players as they go through their career especially when it's quite long.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was first talked to about it in November and I think it's a precedent the WTA Tour has set. If you look at her record when she's competed in Grand Slams the last two three years it's a pretty spectacular record. She hasn't -- she got to the finals of so many in a row and I think that the trial period for 4 to 6 tournaments, not totally sure on that, and the WTA, I supported the decision the WTA made for our Tour events. Ultimately it's the Australian Open's decision, how they want to seed their players, they have the right to and they followed it. I was in support of it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: When I was out with my knee surgery the Tour came to me with that same request that they'd prefer me to be seeded 3 than 12, the top players supported me with that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she's pretty remarkable in that regard. She's been off the Tour before for an extended period of time and come back pretty sharp. So she has that ability to be able to turn it on, it seems like. I was fortunate in that regard where I was pretty good when I first came back and was lucky about that. Other players struggled with it a lot. I have a feeling that her -- just natural ability and her athleticism will get her through any type of unsure feelings she has on the court the first few matches.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It hasn't been issue yet on the women's Tour. I've yet to hear of any positive testing going on on our Tour. You hear his side, I have heard some responses from the ATP Tour. Ultimately, we are not going to know for another three weeks or whenever his hearing is. It's hard to really comment because he says he's testing positive with the same analytical fingerprint as the others that have so-called tested positive on the ATP Tour and they are saying maybe not. I really don't know except from what I have been reading in the sensationalized newspapers here in Australia.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, there's certainly always that temptation when you are dealing with the amount of money we are dealing with and the amount of publicity and everything in women's tennis, but if someone wants to take that risk, I think that they are going against the odds, drug testing has increased quite a lot last year. I've been tested a lot of times last year, blood testing, out of competition testing, so, you know, I am sure some players unfortunately do go down that path, but ultimately tennis is still a game of skill, you know, I hit the ball hard. I don't need to take anything to do that. So I think although it probably would help in some aspect, ultimately, it does come down to how well you can make contact with the tennis ball and no drug is going to help you get better at that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Very rarely. Occasionally I will take some vitamins if I am not feeling well but other than that, pretty much water and Gatorade.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, our trainers have been unbelievable since we have gone to the IOC drug testing, about two years ago, they took out everything in the training room; went over with us which companies they feel were legal and which ones were possibly could carry cross contamination just because of all the products they distribute. So they told very firmly to stick with food products when we get with nutritional companies we are running that risk.. And yeah, I would have been lost if it wasn't for the help of them .

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was pretty shocking, yes.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: The field is still pretty strong. We still have a lot of great players up there to win it. I am not really deterred at all by my shoulder. I have all the confidence in the world that it's going to get better and last year with my foot there was really no chance of it getting better so it was kind of weighing on me mentally. I think my shoulder will improve. I think the last few weeks I have played the best tennis I have played in a very long time and really excited that I am able to improve on some stuff and hopefully get my form to stay the same if not get better. But it hasn't factor into any disappointment in my philosophy at all. I still feel like if I play well, I am a very strong contender. I feel like my shoulder will get better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was pretty quick. It was just involved taking out a neuroma which is a cyst like growth on the nerve of your foot and then severing the rest of the nerve, so two of my toes are actually numb now and have a pretty big scar, but ultimately for a foot surgeon it was relatively easy. And recovered faster than I actually thought I would. I was back doing some light jogging in about four weeks, so I am excited how the process went. It was a lot easier in hindsight than I thought it would be.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I got back in the court about seven weeks after surgery, so, about 10th or 11th of December - had surgery October 15.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think the second time I have had surgery, both times have been totally focused on rehab and trying to get the foot better and doing the little things you can to help expedite that process. And no, I was ready to go. Just to start practicing in December, I think just the whole -- just negative feelings an injury had kind of weighed on my season last year wasn't much fun at all to play but I was actually ready to get out there in December and play painfree and start to enjoy it again. So far the last four five weeks it has been a lot more fun than it's been in a while.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Both. I mean, if you are out of the game for a while I think that physically you have to get your body ready for the demands of the Tour. I think that's part of the reason with my shoulder I played basically no tennis from the US Open and then I played something like 13 matches in eight days. I think it was just a result of overuse on my shoulder between Hopman Cup and Sydney. But mentally this time I was pretty excited and eager to go. Other times after the knee surgery, a little bit more weary about mentally how would I respond, how would I play matches, and so I think it can go either way depending on what you are coming back from.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was pretty happy with it. I am going to have to play well. But if I play like I had the last few weeks, I am quietly very content and I think I can do well.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I am not too sure of my section. I didn't actually study it. I know my first few opponents but to not put Justine as a favorite would be unfair. She's won two Grand Slams last year, proven that she's a player that has been able to come through in the clutch over the last 12 months or so, eight months since the French Open. I think Kim, if her foot isn't a factor, pretty soon she's going to probably break through and win her first Grand Slam. Venus, always kind of a wildcard, no one is ever really sure how she's going to play. I happen to think she will probably be just fine and will play very well. I think the three of them I would put up on top.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know. I mean, they have the uncanny ability to come back and still be such great players. I think Serena is dealing with a very, very serious injury, more serious than anyone really thought when she announced her surgery last year; much more serious than Venus's injury was, so it will be interesting - see if she has any insecurities about moving and how long it really does take her to come back because it was pretty serious from what I have heard.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I still think there is that gap. It has been unfortunate the last few months we haven't had that group of really great players all competing at the same time, the Williams sisters, Justine, Kim, Jennifer, myself seems like someone is out with injuries, but we used to be in the days of women's tennis where there's only two players, you know, at the US Open there was four players that were kept talking about that had a chance to win it and the Williams sisters weren't there. I think if we can get the players at the very top to all compete at the same time, I think it would be an extraordinarily exciting time for women's tennis. Haven't had that luck really in a little while. But I think that the players, beyond that, have definitely improved and definitely shortened the gap than what it used to be. But I think it would still be a stretch to think someone outside of the Williams and Justine and Kim to win, it would still be pretty tough.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she has a chance. In the past she has gotten on a roll. She just hasn't quite done it all the way through a tournament and until someone really does, you just never know. She's definitely one I should have included, she's extremely good, just not sure about the whole two weeks yet.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, I haven't. I got in last night; not going to hit today and maybe tomorrow.