US OPEN

August 31, 2001

Jelena Dokic

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, definitely to beat Arantxa in two sets is great for me - at a Grand Slam, too. You know, I stuck in there. I didn't play well at all times, but I played the important points well and I took my chances. I had a little lapse there at 3-All in the second. Overall, I think I played well.

JELENA DOKIC: I was 5-3 down, Love-30 on my serve. I just tried to go a point at a time and try to win my serve there, then just really concentrate on trying to break her serve. And that's what happened. From there on, you know, my confidence grew and I started to play well again.

JELENA DOKIC: Very important. I beat her there on clay. It was really heavy, very heavy conditions. To beat her on clay was a very good win for me because that's her favorite surface - it's not my favorite. On hard court, it was a little bit easier.

JELENA DOKIC: No. Like I said, she probably isn't at her best right now, but she still played very well today. Last couple weeks, this is the best I've seen her play. She came out, gave it her all. I just said to myself, you know, not to make too many errors but still be aggressive. It's hard to do that, but I try to do that. Maybe attack her forehand a little bit more. I think her backhand has a lot more pace on it. She dictates the point a lot more with her backhand. I had to kind of mix it up, just see what happens.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, I think we've played a few times. I'm actually looking forward to that. I haven't played her in a long time. This year has been different for me. You know, she had a tough match today, nearly lost. But still, you know, she comes out, she came out at the end and won. You know, I actually wanted her to win. I wanted to play her again. You know, I've got nothing to lose. There's a lot of pressure on her, I think. You know, I'm just going to go out there and do the same as I did today.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, I think to try and play her again. I haven't played her in a long time. To play her again at a Grand Slam, you know, would just be a good experience for me, just try and, you know, do my best and maybe get a win, just see, you know, where I'm at and how I'm playing right now.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah. But I think she's still No. 1 and she's a champion. It's never over with her. And she comes out, you know, in matches when she's playing bad and wins. I wouldn't take it as an easy match. She hasn't been playing very well this year and I'm still surprised that she's still No. 1. But she's still one of the best players out there.

JELENA DOKIC: I was fine today. I knew it was going to be tough, a lot of rallies, a lot of running. That's what it was. You know, I'm glad it didn't go into a third. But even if it did, I would have felt pretty good. It was hot and humid out there today. I'm happy with the way I handled the long rallies, the way I played.

JELENA DOKIC: No.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah.

JELENA DOKIC: Pretty much all of it, I think. You know, I can play with her from the baseline. She's not going to blow me off the court, and she doesn't have a big serve. You know, I hit harder than she does. You know, I have the game to stay out there with her. It's just going to be a matter of who's better prepared. It will be a very mental match, I think. There's nothing -- I don't think there will be anything else in it.

JELENA DOKIC: Again, I have to try not to make errors. I've got to try and make her -- if she's going to win, make her win the match. Pretty much, you know, I was happy with how I hung in there today, just didn't make errors and really dug down deep when I needed to. I had everything there working for me. So hopefully it will be like that against Martina also.

JELENA DOKIC: I haven't looked at the draw this year. I don't think there's anything to assess. I think you have to go match by match. I think I had one of the tougher third rounds today than, you know, a lot of the other matches. It's Martina in the fourth round. I don't think you can assess anything. You've got to go match by match. If I get through each one, you concentrate on the next match. I honestly haven't looked at it. Really doesn't bother me.

JELENA DOKIC: Probably, yeah. I played very well during the clay court season. I had a little letdown there at the French. That was very mental for me. I knew I had a chance there. I didn't take it. You know, you've got to get past that. That was just an experience for me. Hopefully I'll learn from that. But since then, you know, I think this is the best that I've played. You know, I feel very good when I get out on the court. I've played a lot of matches, singles and doubles. I feel good.

JELENA DOKIC: Not really. I had a tough first round at the Aussie Open. Again, I had a chance there, but I lost to the defending champion, to one of the best players right now, one of the best players on hard court also. Just a little letdown at the French, that's it. Wimbledon I think I played well, and lost to Lindsay again. I think probably I didn't do as well as I wanted to at the Grand Slams, but it's something I think that will come. You know, the more you're seeded at Grand Slams and tournaments, I think the better it will be.

JELENA DOKIC: No, you know, I think there are a few young ones that are pretty much at the same level right now. It's just a matter of who's going to get there first. And I think there's four or five of us that are going to be there probably, you know, as early as next year. We'll all be at the same level. I think our games are very similar. We've all come through the Juniors together. We're all very aggressive. You know, I think if I did play them, I'll feel very comfortable playing them. You know, I wouldn't say I'm below them right now.

JELENA DOKIC: I think Clijsters and Henin are there, myself and maybe Dementieva. There are a few other ones coming up I think also. You're going to have four or five young ones that are going to be coming up and replacing the others.

JELENA DOKIC: I'm not putting any pressure on myself to do it right here, right now. I'm just saying in the next year or two, you're going to see a lot more semis and finals of Grand Slams that we're going to be playing. You know, I'm not going to say it will happen right here. We've all seen that all of us can beat the top players.