WIMBLEDON

June 27, 2003

Lindsay Davenport

MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Lindsay Davenport. Who would like to ask the first question?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I felt today, and even the last match was probably the first match where I felt like I had a really great rhythm on my serve, wasn't in too much danger of getting broken. But I do feel like I'm hitting my spots well. And if I feel like I can hit all four spots, it seems that I go through my service games a lot more confidently and a lot easier. So it's definitely been a change the last two matches from the previous weeks.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Sometimes you actually feel like you don't need to do as much because the grass actually helps your serve along, makes it faster, makes it skid, so I probably relax a little bit. When my foot was bad, I was having a hard time serving and really putting pressure on my left foot. It kind of caused me at the French to really get out of sync. But I really couldn't do much about it because I really couldn't press down on my left foot. For the time being, that's cleared up. I really feel like I can use both my feet and push off a little bit easier.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's just a special orthotic. The shoes are still the same. But I just have like higher orthotics. They're a lot more padded.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I have no problems with really trying to liven tennis up. On changeovers I think anything goes in the tournaments. If they want to play music, I think that's fine. I think, though, while a point is in progress, the reactions that we get from the sound of the ball coming off the other person's racquet, and the concentration it takes, I really think it does need to be quiet during points. I don't know in basketball if the sound is that big of an issue. But for tennis, it's pretty amazing how big a difference it does make. But as far as doing things when the point's not in progress, I think it probably should be opened up a little bit more.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty remarkable because I know I've seen Tiger a lot of times, if a photographer's clicking, it really bothers him. So maybe in golf -- I've never played golf, I would have no idea if I could play with noise or without noise. But in tennis, I know, sometimes during a warm-up, they turn the music up pretty loud. It's pretty funny because it does cause quite a difference in how you react - for me anyway.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, gosh, put me on the spot, because I know I've played in front of some. I'll have to think about that. Shoot. Ask me at the end.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think a lot of people were talking about the Petrova-Williams match today. I think a lot of people, you know, predicted a very close match. I think that Venus needs to feel some kind of pressure for her to really go out there and concentrate and play well. I actually thought she would dominate the match because I thought she would be fired up for the match, be ready, knows her opponent, knows she's dangerous, be up to the challenge for that. I didn't see much because I was playing at the same time. But from the score line, it sounds like she lifted her game a lot, probably played the best match she played in a few weeks or months.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think so. I mean, I don't know. I can't speak for the other players. It doesn't really frighten me. I mean, I've seen the Williams. Serena struggled so badly the first round at the Australian Open. You kind of know they're going to get their game on as a tournament goes on. They've seemed to do that the last few years no problem. They struggle in the early rounds and kind of pick it up as the tournament goes on.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I did not follow Wimbledon at all last year. I don't know who played, who they wiped out or anything.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, I think that the grass is going to be the most difficult surface to beat them on. I think that the grass really helps their serve. They hit the ball extraordinary hard anyway. On top of that, the grass is going to make it more difficult to control their balls. I've said I thought the clay would be the one surface they would be the most vulnerable on. Tactically, I don't know. I haven't really watched them play all that much in the last few matches here on the grass. You have to serve well. You have to be able to go out there and hold your serve against them. To even get a shot at breaking them, the only chance you're going to get to break them is if you're keeping it close and you're feeling like you can always hold, you can go for your returns a little bit more. I think you've got to start with that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I mean, I know I play Asagoe. I don't know very much about her at all. I got sucked into that third set the other night, so that was the first time I saw her play and really the only time I saw her play, when she played Hantuchova. It's going to be a match for me that I will be able to dictate. I mean, I think I can attack her serve. I think I can attack her balls, feel like the ball's in my court in that match if I'm playing well and moving forward and attacking balls. It should be a good match. But I know she hits the ball pretty hard, flat and low. Just going to have to be moving into the court, I think.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I really don't. I know that there's a members enclosure that I have not visited. I have not been to the members seating on Centre Court or Court No. 1. I feel like maybe that's kind of for after I'm done playing. I was joking about it a couple weeks ago. It's a great tournament. They treat their former champions so well. You're always getting invited back with tickets and passes. It would be a huge honor. It would be a lot of fun to be able to bring my daughter or son here in a number of years, be able to do everything that the former champions are there doing. At this point in my career, I would really feel awkward putting on a nice dress and going for lunch in the members enclosure.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's been really good. I mean, the doctor was pretty confident that I would have a couple months where the cortisone would really take down some of the pain. But it will flare back up eventually. There's only so many times that you can inject cortisone in a certain area. He was confident, though, I should be able to get through November with another injection or two, then I'll probably do the surgery the day after I'm out - hopefully if I make it - The Championships.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Then I would be okay for Australia. I think I'm mobile for about four weeks. That would still give me five or six weeks to get ready. That's the plan.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was thinking (laughter). I played Henin one time at the French Open in '99. There were I don't know how many Belgians that came in there. I never heard of her. She was kind of the underdog and got the crowd going. The French sometimes just keep going with their cheers. I didn't get whistled or booed or anything like that. You know, sometimes in Fed Cup, some Fed Cup matches in Spain have been pretty brutal. But nothing to the point where I've ever felt too bad. I'll think, though (smiling).