PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 22, 2002

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: We have played a lot of times here, yeah. We have played a lot of tough matches over our careers. Obviously here I have had success, I lost to her in Australia though a couple of times. So you never know, but yeah, I mean, whenever you can beat someone a number of times at the same tournaments, always a good feeling on the same court.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, she is a good player, and anyone that's come off winning a tournament is always going to be tough to beat because they carry a little bit of extra confidence. On the same hand I thought she would probably be a little tired after yesterday's match. I left when it was a set and 4-1 and was really surprised when they told me it was like 6-All in the third when I called for the schedule. So I was trying to keep that in my mind that she might be a little tired, but she's a very, very talented, and, you know, with -- I mean, she's going to be a tough player for the US Open with a couple days rest behind her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, yes and no. I was up earlier in the set and then she had some set points and then I was able to save them. It was going back and forth the first set, so a little bit of luck; a little bit of unluck for not winning it earlier. But no, I mean, I played well to win a close first set tiebreak and it was a pretty close match all the way through. I mean, the second set was just the one break, and we were both having trouble breaking serve. So it was very tight the whole way through.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Any time you have set point that's obviously your point to get a set behind you and to take a lead especially in the first set. And I was able to on my first set point, and you know, she had been chipping and charging and all of a sudden she tried to hit it and miss-hit it and missed it and obviously gave me an opportunity then to finally have a set point so I was happy -- tough first set whenever you win or lose a set like that I mean, the momentum definitely goes with the winner of that set.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I hope so. It was a very tough competitive match and weren't a lot of great rallies. The conditions were a little bit tough. Wind was a little blustery out there, today both of us served pretty well, so we didn't have a lot of rallies, but whenever you can beat -- I mean, Top-10 player a player that's playing well, and win a close match, obviously, it's good to have behind you.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I hope so. I have worked on it, but and right now I am not playing with any injuries and so that always helps. So hopefully I am a little bit faster, but it's something that I always need to work on. But certainly it's something the last few months when I was able to step back out on the court and really run on my knee that I have tried to work on.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, it's amazing when I look back at the results and think of what I have done. Then I look back and think oh, I should have actually done better in Stanford; should have won L.A., so I have mixed feelings about it. But it is remarkable, and it's very hard to do. The number of players have been out for a long time, and certainly eight or nine months is a very long time and I am amazed that I have been able to keep up the level of consistency that I had before I was injured; now looking to kind of move on from that consistency.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's hard to say, you always want to win tournaments but at this stage, it is about progressing well and staying healthy for New York. I haven't had an opportunity to play a Slam this year and I want to make sure that I am 100% ready to go. But at the same time whenever you can win tournaments it's a great deal. I am going to try my hardest out there, and I feel like my game is there. Few things here and there you always want to work on. There's always something or else we would be perfect. But I feel like it's just about ready to go.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was both. Obviously she's a good server as well. But that's something that returning is so reactionary and it's definitely something when you don't do it for a couple of months you lose a little bit of your feel. And it's definitely something I want to keep working on and keep getting better and better at because I feel like I have a very good serve; that it's tough for girls to break me a lot. Hopefully not many times at all in a match and I feel like if I can then start breaking more and more I am going to really somebody able to win matches a little bit more easily, so I am going to keep working on that. But they are a little bit faster courts so it is a little bit tougher but it definitely something I am going to keep working on.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: There's obviously fantastic restaurants in New Haven, and it is a tough week. I definitely don't go out and do all that much. It's always been -- I have always done pretty well here and been here playing a lot of matches. But definitely have enjoyed the restaurants. I do enjoy walking around and going to the little shops, but this week has been a little tough. I have played a lot. I am trying to just stay healthy and get refreshed after every match.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: My favorite cities to play, I mean, it always depends if you have success at a tournament or if it's really the city but I have always enjoyed Australia quite a bit. I'd probably say playing in Sydney and Melbourne are among my favorite stops.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: We are friends and it would be great to see her come back as well. As far as who wins, I don't care all that much. I have always had a lot of great tough matches with Martina so it's always nice play against her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's funny, I think probably my main goal as it stands is to try and qualify for the end of the year WTA Championships, top 16 to make it. It is going to be really tough to just start in July and try and qualify for that and it's in L.A. this year, obviously my hometown, and it would mean a lot to me for me to be able to play there. So that's something that I would really like to qualify for. At this stage now that I have been back for a number of weeks it would be about kind of getting over the hump and winning some tournaments although it's just been a little while I have been back. But obviously to win a Slam again in my career is something that I think every player that's done it before, keeps playing for and the players that haven't won one always strive to win one. Certainly for example, Pete, he's hanging in there because he just wants to get one more taste of a Slam. I would love to be able to experience that again as well.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, it's really tough in the ranking situation. It's inevitable this year I am going to keep falling I did so well at the end of the year. Even if I were to do exactly the same way, I can't move up from 10 or 11 or wherever I am at now. The rankings this year have not entered my mind because it's going to be impossible for me to move up until really next year when I am able to gain some tournaments back. But you never know, I mean, last year who would have thought that I would have ended the year one. You never know what can happen. But at this point in time the rankings really, I mean, I have no choice but to fall so I can't really tell myself I am going to get back to one because it's probably going to be another year or so where I am going to move up in the ranking.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's a tough -- I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can play the 17 or 18, 20 tournaments it takes every year to do that. I have got to really take my health into consideration and last year was a huge struggle for me to get to 17, which is the bear minimum you are supposed to play. And I fought through a lot of injuries just being able to do that. I am certainly not going to put that kind of pressure on myself anymore. I really just want to play and just take my lumps in the rankings if I have to and only playing 14 or whatever tournaments, whatever that number turns out to be.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's certainly a big deal the first time you hit it and then I think it's less a little bit - if I never hit 1 again, I will be fine. If I win more tournaments and win a Slam that would mean a lot more to me .

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Winner of tonight's match.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I played about 11 or 12 tournaments the year I was 15, and, you know, I did fairly well and I told myself, okay, I am not going to turn pro until I am in the top hundred. So many times you see players go straight from the juniors and turn pro and you never hear from them again and you don't know why they did that. I really didn't want to be that kind of player. I said definitely want to turn pro until I am in the top hundred and then when I turned 16 I was like 90, 95 and I remember before may first tournament I was thinking oh, my God, I guess I have to turn pro, I don't know if I should do this. And I just did it. And I think that that was important for me to get a good base and get a good start, and have won a lot of matches in the pro Tour; be able to then get into Grand Slams on my ranking and not have to worry about wildcards or qualifying and just took off from there.