US OPEN

September 5, 1997

Lindsay Davenport

Q. What was your plan going into the match, and why didn't it work?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: My plan coming in was to, you know, try and attack her and be aggressive. But, you know, I never really felt that I really got into that game too much. I felt like a lot of times I backed up on balls and didn't really go for each shot that I wanted to go for. She played extremely well. She kept the ball very deep on both sides, against the wind and with the wind. It was very tough to ever feel like I was in an offensive position.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, a couple days. That didn't - I don't think - affect me too much.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Good point.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was just laughing. I thought it was a funny point. Good shots in it; too good.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think today, you know, one side you're against the wind, one side you're with the wind. I never felt like I was with the wind. I always felt like she was backing me up with some good shots. She's got great hands and she's extremely fast. Today, I think she played quite well, kept the ball very, very deep.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think in LA she gave me a lot more shorter balls that I could attack on. Today, I always felt not, like I said, in an offensive position. I felt like I was kind of backing up. She always hit the ball deeper than I thought she was going to hit it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: She dropshotted well today.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, probably pretty tough to beat her when she's playing her best.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, a couple times I hit some really good returns when she served and volleyed. She volleys extremely well, soft hands. She hit goods dropshots. A lot of times when she's on the run, she comes up with a good shot because she's so loose in the hands and because she has such good hand-eye coordination. Just very soft hands, I think.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I'm not tired. I didn't feel a hundred percent today. I feel a little worn down, for whatever reason. But I tried my hardest. You know, like I said, she was moving me all over the place. That's not really the position I like to be in. You know, next time I've got to try and take a more offensive approach again.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Not so much come in, but just be moving forward. She passes extremely well, so that was going to be tough. But, you know, like I said, she kept the ball very deep today.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think I ever played Graf or Seles when they were at their best. You know, in the last two years, I don't think that has been the prime time for Graf or Seles. But I don't even know if today was her best, you know. I don't think any of us know. You know, she can be extremely tough. You know, my coming in today that I was going to have to play very well. If I played very well, it was still going to be a tough match. You know, she has the capability of killing people, too, you know. I thought a little bit like with Monica at the Lipton Final. When I won the first game, I was like, "This is a good start." Maybe that won't happen.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's a lot better. I think she's able to win a few more free points off her first serve. She's a little bit more consistent with it, definitely.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she served her second serve pretty well today. I never felt that great on attacking it. So I think today she also served pretty well.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: What do you mean?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's going to be pretty tough for Martina to lose the final. I don't think she's come close to losing to either one of those two before. You never know. You know, maybe Venus or Irina will rise to the occasion. I would count on Martina probably winning.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You kind of do that against anyone. I know still when I play Monica, it's always a relief to get the first game under your belt, you know. Whenever you play, I think, Graf, Seles or Hingis, you know, there's always the chance of getting killed. I mean, it's just -- maybe people think that way when they play me. I don't know. It's always nice to win one of the first couple games. You never want to get down 3-Love, whatever.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I wasn't thinking that way. I'm just saying, whenever I play, I'm always happy when I win one of the first two games. That's it. I mean, I still thought I had a chance. I was just saying it's very nice to get the first game under your belt.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Tells you that she rises to the occasion at the big tournaments, that she wants these titles probably more than any. You know, I think overall, looking at her total record this year, she's gotten to every final but one. That just shows you how dominant of a player she's been this year, how tough to beat she is.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I think Martina is great. I think she has the best attitude of any top player that's ever been there. She joked and said, "Tomorrow, I'm not going to ask you what you want to do." I think she has the best attitude. A couple times today, she hit great shots. She was laughing with me with them. But, you know, she said that yesterday. "That wasn't such good luck next time, so I'll just choose."

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Take everybody off?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Because she's so funny about it, has such a great attitude about it. Just knowing her in the locker room probably, knowing her -- I played doubles with her once. She's just really funny about that. When she hits a bad shot, she'll say, "God, that was atrocious," whatever. She is just very honest, funny about it. She's got a great sense of humor. I think if something like that came from Steffi, everybody would be, "Wow," she doesn't joke around much. Martina has a light personality.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Right. They just don't have that happy-go-lucky attitude in the locker room as Martina does.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think so. I mean, she just seems like she takes everything not so seriously. I'd imagine probably.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I think it's done in fun, good humor. She doesn't mean anything bad by her comments. I think they're funny. They might tick someone else off.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Right. I don't think. I think she was at her peak in the early '90s. Maybe, I don't know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, gee. I don't know. I have no idea. I'm not going to answer that one. I think they're both great players in their own right. Different styles. It would be a very, very, very close match.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, for me, I think I've proven this summer that I've played very well for a couple weeks, consistently. It's going to give me a lot of confidence. I'm glad, you know, I've got a couple weeks off now because I played a lot of straight weeks, as has everybody else. Going into this fall, you know, I should take with me a lot of confidence. The players that I lost to this summer were Hingis, Seles, Conchita, some pretty tough players. So I'm really going to be looking to keep doing consistently well, keeping a positive attitude like I have been, just keep fighting until you get to the chance to beat the top players.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think she's going to be very dominant. I think it's going to be real interesting next year to see if she can defend all these titles. She's had such a great year. So I'm interested to see that. But I think as long as she enjoys it like she is, she's going to keep winning. She loves to play, she loves to learn new shots, she loves to compete. I don't see her losing that. I think she's going to be pretty dominant the next couple years.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think the weakest part was maybe concentration. I think she's definitely gotten over that. She's pretty focused now all the time. She's just very solid. There's nothing wrong, you know, with her game. Her forehand used to be a little weaker. She's definitely improved that over the last couple months. Everything's pretty solid.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I thought I played, you know, not so great today. You know, I didn't serve very well for whatever reason, you know. You've got to be able to hold your serve, first and foremost, in tennis matches, give yourself an opportunity or chance to break. By no means do I think I underachieved. I tried my hardest. Things weren't there today. If I had played a little bit better, definitely could have gone a little closer. But I don't know what to do about that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I think the last couple weeks is definitely the most consistent I've been. I think I fought out a couple matches that maybe I would have lost in the past. I just have been able to beat a lot players being solid, not giving in. Today was a little disappointing because, you know, the last couple days I don't think I served that well, whether it was the wind or whether I just got a little bit out of rhythm on my serve. That's a little disappointing. But I served well all summer. Think my serve has improved. I'm going to look to keep improving that, just keep trying to get faster. You know, I really have to be on the offensive to play well. Just keep looking to improve the things like movement, getting more balls back, keep being aggressive.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I wasn't overwhelmed, I think. But it was definitely an important match. I was trying to play well. I just thought I was a little bit flat today. Things like that happen. I tried to be a little bit aggressive in the beginning. It worked. I made a few errors. Then I got a little tight because I didn't want to make errors out there. That hurt me. On top of that, she's playing well. It's not a winning situation to be in.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, you know, my type of game is high risk. I need to go for it to win. I felt like today, you know, when I was going for it, I thought on the side with the wind, my balls were going to hit the fence. I thought, "Oh, my God, that is a little embarrassing." I knew I had to make errors. Looking back, I probably didn't take enough risks. That's why the result was the way it is. Maybe if I can get to a few more Grand Slam big opportunities, I'll do it differently hopefully.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Gosh, they're both playing pretty well. I mean, I don't like to bet against other players, but I think Venus has a very good chance. I think her big serve, I think she's going to attack Irina's backhand. I think she could be in her first Grand Slam final.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It is quite amazing. I saw her play a couple matches. I saw her play a little bit at the French. She was just a little more erratic. It seems like she's really toned down her errors, been a lot more consistent. The other night she served unbelievable. It's tough to beat a girl that's serving that well. I think it's quite amazing she's really just thrown out a lot of errors from her game.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's different. I don't think she gets enough credit for her speed, I really don't. She gets almost every ball. She puts them back pretty deep. It's different because she's also offensive. You don't consider her a retriever like a Coetzer or a Sanchez. She's definitely up there with them, the fastest players.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's a different type of, I don't know, amazement, what the word is. You play Monica, and you think you have her on her back foot, she comes up with the greatest, hardest shot you've ever seen. Martina, you think you have her on the run, she hit as drop volley. Like I said, I think she just has great hands. A couple times I hit some great returns when I served and volleyed, she volleyed them very, very well. I think she's an all-around great player.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I get to see my niece. My first niece was born about 14 days ago. I haven't even seen her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: My sister named her Kennedy in hopes that she'd marry one (laughter). No, her name is Kennedy, but I can't wait to meet her, I guess.