AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2001

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: First question for Lindsay, please.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, just so frustrated. You know, just in the second set, just didn't feel like I was playing well and a few points, I think, could have wrapped it up in the second set especially early on when I had a bunch of break paints. Couldn't break. Just getting so, I guess, frustrated and just fed up with the way I was playing. So, you know, you can't afford to do that but in a Grand Slam, fortunately you have two weeks to try and get better and better as a tournament goes on. Fortunately I started the third off better. I was able to break right away, something I couldn't do in the second set. From there, improved a little bit.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Definitely didn't get me better. But I think just, you know, I felt just a little tired and sluggish today. I don't know if it's from finishing late the other night and having a little bit of a letdown after a match that had a lot of hype on Monday. But for whatever reason, just didn't play as well as I can play. But got to get those matches out of the way and get through them and, like I said, hopefully, you know, I'll get better. I don't know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Not yet. I'm happy to still be going, and happy to pull them out. Really, it's so tough to say at the beginning of a tournament if it's going to help or hurt you. You know, obviously I have a lot of improving to do and got to get better as the time goes on. So I will try and do that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know what it says. I think it just says that I'm a little bit away from my A-Game right now, but I've got some time to work back into the groove and girls are definitely getting better. There's no question about it. The other night Dokic played great. Normally when you get out of the top 20, it used to not be so tough. But at the same time, I've just felt like I've allowed these girls to play well, and that's something when, especially here last year I wasn't really allowing that to happen. So I kind of know what needs to be done hopefully to get better and it's just a matter of being able to execute it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think if you are in the public eye and you are an athlete, that means you're extremely successful and it's nice to obviously have fans out there and feel like you're appreciated and feel like you've got people behind you when you play. But a lot of the times tennis players, when they're away from tennis, don't want that. So it's kind of a weird balance to have. But, you know, hopefully if you are famous, you're doing something right.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I didn't see her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I did see that. (Laughter.)

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I didn't -- I thought it was a little bizarre to play tennis in, and I did -- I saw a couple games. She seemed like she was always trying to pull it up. Probably doesn't look like it's too tennis player-friendly. Just my opinion of it. I thought you meant what she wore out at night. Sorry.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: At Wimbledon, you can always go there and you'll probably see it. But I think that the tennis clothing companies are trying to get more bold in what they're producing and what they're getting the girls to wear. I think it's great. I think that -- I saw Anna's outfit. I thought that looked nice. And some maybe go really far with it and extreme, that's probably to get, you know, some recognition and attention for the company. But I like the clothes I'm wearing here. I don't think they're too outlandish.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I don't think we'll see change there for many, many years. (Laughter.)

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Describe it. Well, multicolored. Just kind of a far-out design, something to -- when I went to Nike in December they told me it was obviously something to really catch the eye of people that were watching. It was, I think, designed slightly after, now if you know women's wear you'll know of the Poochy (sic) design.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: That's what was relayed to me in December from Nike. I don't know, I didn't have anything to do with it. I just wear it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, five. I don't know. It wasn't great. But sometimes you've got to get through those matches to play well at the end, and, you know, a lot of it was just getting frustrated at myself in the second set after having break points. I think the first game break points again at 2-all, a couple games where I thought if I had just broken early, I would have been able to put her away. Just frustrated that I couldn't do that. You definitely don't want to give your opponent a chance to stay in a set and, you know, hopefully that was the match to get out of my system.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Uh-huh. He was, like, trying to see the positive. Telling me that it's going to be good that I've gone three sets. It will get me in better shape as the tournament goes on, and that, you know, probably made myself worse there in the second set. Now I have a day and a half, two days until my next singles match to get better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I just think keep going back out there. I have doubles tomorrow, another singles match to get better. I'm not too worried. Obviously, I hope to get better as the tournament goes on and will keep working at it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's tough. I mean obviously it was a little bit just of a letdown after that match was over. It seemed like there was a lot of hype about it since the draw came out, a lot of media stuff going on around that match. And just, you know, never -- didn't sleep great after the match and was a little bit tired yesterday and, you know, just didn't play great today. But, you know, probably, I mean it's tough to go from something really big than to a match that you're supposed to win handily. At this point in my career, I should be able to handle it a little bit better but, again, I was just getting a little bit crabby out there.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I travel with a computer and go on-line, try to go on-line every day. And it's a great way to keep in touch with people at home and see what else is going on in the world. So I think a lot of the tennis players are -- travel with computers. At least the ones I know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, when I'm at home I'll definitely look to see what's going on in other tournaments. Normally when you're at tournaments, you kind of know what's going on just by being around.