US OPEN

August 31, 2000

Lindsay Davenport

MODERATOR: Questions for Lindsay, please.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: First set, even some of the second, I felt like I was missing a lot of returns, not really on my toes ready for the balls, not really sure where they were going. I tried to concentrate a little harder, take my time a little bit more and really go for them when I had the second serve there. I felt like her second serve did get weaker as the match went on, gave me an opportunity to attack it a little bit more. Once I got up a break in the second, got a bit of momentum going, I felt like I was able to attack with a lot more confidence, go for my shots a lot more. I didn't feel really good until I finally got up a little bit.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I thought she was just getting her first serves in. Probably smart. Didn't give me an opportunity to hit the second serves. When I did, I tried to go for the good shots.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, hopefully. Whenever you can get through a tough opponent, whether it was two sets or three sets, I'm happy to get through. It was three sets, but the match time wasn't that long. It wasn't like a long, grueling match. That's to my benefit. I thought I beat a good player today. I mean, she played some great shots in the first set, came up with some great winners. I felt like I wore her down a little bit by forcing her to keep going for some shots that she started to miss a little bit more in the second and third sets. A match like this, I'm happy to get through. A tough player, beginning of the week. Hopefully that gives me a good test for later on.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I hadn't gotten worried. I would probably think about going home if I was down a break or something. I wasn't thinking that yet. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I had a lot of breakpoints in the first set to get it back on serve; never converted. That's not a situation you want to find yourself in, down a set, even in the second set. Once I got that one break, then I felt like the whole match swung on that, and I never really looked back from there.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's really funny because I used to not lose a first set. I used to be a really fast starter, not lose the first. If I had my lapse, it was always in the second set. This year the tables have turned a little bit on me. Definitely learned to fight, stay in there. I think especially at Wimbledon, the second round, I was almost gone against Likhovtseva. I tried to think about that today. Even though I was down a set, just to hang in there, see if this girl can keep coming up with the shots. It's a Grand Slam. I mean, I wasn't ready to walk out yet. I didn't get close to that position. I wanted to hang in there. Like I said, once I got that break, I kept going for my shots more and more, felt better and better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It never got quite to that scenario where I was down a set and a break, really close to losing, I don't think. I think it's tough for any younger player when they're about to beat a top player, especially at a Grand Slam, to really close it out. That's probably the toughest thing to do. But, like I said, I was never in that situation yet to think about that kind of circumstance.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, I'm sure. The one I can remember now is when I played Sabatini here probably in '93. I think I was up a set and 4-3, not like 5-1. Lost in two tough sets. Probably let her off the hook. That's what happens. It's very tough your first time out there to win the match without thinking about it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think so. I think that's just normal. It's impossible not to. I mean, you probably have worked your whole junior career to get to that situation. When you're finally about to have your big win, I would say like 80% of the players never continue with the win because it is tough to close matches out. That's what kind of makes a great player - ability not to think about that. I think you get a little too excited and not know how to play the points right.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think wherever you have a streak where you're playing really well or feeling invincible, whatever you want to say, winning a lot of matches, it's going to come to an end at some point. Players will start changing their games, figure out your tendencies. From that you have to keep working on different shots, keep trying to go for your own shots. For me, I thought my game was hampered a lot this year by some injuries where I think my game is not as good as it was at the beginning of the year, a lot of times I struggled a little bit more, have a few losses that maybe I wouldn't have had earlier. I'm hanging in there, trying to turn everything around. Hopefully it will get better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I feel almost like it's myself. I don't feel like I've been hitting the ball as deep and as accurate as I was when I was playing well. I think players probably started maybe trying to attack me a little bit more in the beginning. I don't know. It's tough to say. I feel like a lot of it's my own fault, not the other player. It's tough.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, yeah. I think I won something like 34 out of 35 matches, was on a great streak. I mean, that's what happens to every player when they're No. 1. You go through periods where you just play great. Eventually you're not going to play as well. That's what makes tennis so fun. I mean, you go up and down in your career. I'm still at the top. I haven't gone down that much. I'm sure I'll get it back at some point.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I think I ask myself, you know, "Did you beat a good player?" "Yeah." "Did you play well enough to get through?" "Yeah." That's all I worry about. You can play bad for three matches, all of a sudden when you play a good player, your game can change overnight. For me, I do feel like I'm hitting the ball well. I feel like I can get better. As long as you can get through, you never know what happens when you face a player later on in the tournament. I don't worry about that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Compare to what?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, they both hit hard. They both hit hard off the forehand and backhand (laughter). Well, they are similar players. They were taught the same. I've always thought their serves were a little different. Venus may hit it a little bit harder, but Serena might be a little more accurate with it. The forehand, I think, was a shot that gave Venus a lot of trouble before, but has worked on it a lot to be more consistent. From playing Venus in Stanford and playing Serena in LA, I thought Venus was hitting the ball a lot harder. I don't know if that's confidence, for whatever reason. That's what I thought.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think Serena has the better motion, a little bit more fluid motion, probably mixes it up a little bit better. Obviously, Venus has a great serve. It's tough. They're both different serves.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I'm always going to play my same game, which is going for my shots, trying to be aggressive off the first point. I don't move as well as the Williams sisters, so for me I have to be a little bit more consistent, keep the balls deep, not let them attack. See what kind of errors they come up with. Just play the game I always play.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: With?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know too much about it but what I read. It's a shame because it doesn't seem like he shows appropriate behavior at any tournament. This has happened a number of times. It's probably time that he is reprimanded. You can't really treat people like that. This is not the first time he's treated people poorly, whether they work for the tournament or are spectators or whatever. It's unfortunate because, you know, I don't know if he's doing it for attention or if he just likes to insult people. I'm not really sure. It's a shame. We've worked so hard to get such positive story lines in women's tennis. We have so many right now that hopefully it's just a little side note and people will forget about it and she'll be able to go on and play. I think she has it pretty rough. Hopefully things work out for her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I thought it was tough. You know, before I even looked there, I knew I had Clijsters in the second round, possibly Kournikova or Henin before that. It wasn't like I was going, "Oh, I can't believe this in the quarters." You have to get to the quarters first. It's a tough draw. It's always been the way the WTA has done it, where any numbered seed can get any other number where they pull out of a hat. That's what happens. You know, I was so close to beating her in LA. I should have beaten her here at The Open last year. It's good to have another opportunity. Obviously you'd like to beat the best players in the finals and semis. But that's what happened. If I get there, I'll see what happens.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think in the women's game, some of the top players that are not playing probably don't have a strong allegiance to their country. In that case, that kind of spoils the whole Olympic spirit. For myself, I grew up watching the Olympics. In '84, it was in Los Angeles. Both my mom and dad worked in it. We went to numerous events. That's really when I learned what it was all about, started to love it. Whether it has a place in tennis or not, I couldn't have been more happy to go in '96 - and 2000. Like I said, for every country and for everybody who grows up, it's a little bit different. For me, you know, I don't play tennis for the selfish reasons. To go to the Olympics was so exciting to try and win a medal, meet the other athletes, the other aspects, not just, "I've got to win every match," that kind of attitude. You know, for myself, it means a great deal. To others, it doesn't. I don't know all the reasons, but those are the ones I think.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I thought it was going out. The wind blows across the court. I think the wind kind of hung it in. I didn't move at all, try to hit an overhead. Hit a high backhand, at an angle. Just a little bit lazy, a little bit of misjudgment. Could have cost me if I had gotten broken. Luckily, still held my serve. Just, like I said, just kind of stopped playing the point when I should have been ready for that ball to go in.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Maybe. Some of it's concentration. Like I said, I thought the ball was going out. I just stopped playing. It went in. But you have to understand the wind is very strong going across the court. Yeah, I should have been moving, hit an overhead. I don't know. I don't know if that's a big deal or not.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Just frustration. A lot of chances. A lot of the matches I have lost, I've had a lot of chances, haven't capitalized. That's the difference. When you play those points well and play them confidently, you pull through them. You get frustrated when you can't convert them. I let her win that first set. I thought I should have broken there, maybe it would have been a different story. At least I hung in there, came back.

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