THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 25, 1998

Lindsay Davenport

VERONIQUE MARCHAL: Questions for Lindsay.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she got off to a good start in the third set. You know, it was tough to play with the wind. She definitely handled it better. The third set, I think she got a lot more aggressive, especially more aggressive than myself. I thought I played probably a bit too passive. That was the difference. She really came up with some good shots.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think just everything. I didn't think I was playing that well. The -- I won the second set. All of a sudden she just started playing better. I didn't feel like I could do anything out there. So finally 4-1, 5-1 in the third, I just got real frustrated with myself.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: She hits the ball so hard. I was definitely waiting behind the baseline to try to get her balls back because they were coming so hard. It's a very good play. I saw her do it against Seles the other day. It was working. Definitely didn't look for it enough. Also with the wind, it was a little tricky moving around a little bit. It was a very smart shot to play today.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's definitely more effective when she's against the wind. The wind also was going sideways, I think more than anything, through the court. You know, that was probably a big fault of mine for not picking up on it. It's hard. When she's hitting the ball so hard, you can't stand on the baseline.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she does everything pretty well. I think she serves well. She comes into the net a lot more than most girls do. The only thing is that she can be a little inconsistent. I think she's cutting that down a lot. I think she's getting a lot more consistent with her balls than she used to be. She hits the ball hard. She's an aggressive player. When she's not making errors, she's going to be tough to beat. Her results this year have gotten a lot better than last year. I think with experience, not going for so much all the time has helped her a lot.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Probably. The topspin was going all over the place. I probably needed to serve a few more first serves in to hold my serve, get a chance to break her. I think I was just broken too much.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I felt pretty confident. But, you know, she played a great first game to break me, hit a few winners. I think that first game was important. If I kept the momentum going, that would have helped a lot. She hit some good shots, I made a lot of errors. It just turned real fast. I think it was the first two games. Then the rest of the match, she kind of had the momentum going.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I've had a lot of consistent results. Unfortunately, I lost the match today. But I think I'm improving. I didn't feel like I played great, but I thought she played very well for the conditions. You know, you just keep looking to go on. That's all I can do. I think I've had a good year so far. I'll just keep trying to go on. Fortunately there's another tournament next week. We'll see what happens.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think so. You know, if you look at the draw, you could have gotten Kournikova in the second round. I think there's a lot more depth in the game. I think there's a lot of girls now who have a chance to beat the top players, to win the tournament. Like we saw yesterday, Serena Williams almost beating Martina. It's just a lot tougher tour than even three years ago. It also makes it a little bit more exciting. You never quite know. It's not always set in stone who is going to get to the semis now. I think some of these younger girls will break through and start winning tournaments now.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It doesn't change the approach in terms of preparation. You know, all these tournaments, especially with the new ranking system from the first round, second round, have been tough draws. I don't think you study the draws as much anymore. I just look at who my first couple opponents are, first two maybe, just know it's probably going to be tough.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: He's got a couple matches to go. That will be shocking if he does get to No. 1. I don't know. I guess he's got a very good chance. I saw him play at Indian Wells. It will be kind of weird to have a No. 1 player who didn't win a Grand Slam, but I think he can do it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, I've heard stories about him. But I don't know him. I've never had any personal experience with him. I'll probably let that one go (laughter).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, it didn't bother me for the whole match. People do that. Maybe she's taking her time, maybe she's trying to slow me down. It's just part of the game. I think everyone's doing stuff these days to try to turn, throw the other person off.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Was that 4-All?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think that's the reason I was broken. I hope not.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I don't think she's -- I don't think she's the hardest hitter. Certain shots, if she sets up for one forehand, she just clocks it, that shot could be. But shot for shot, I don't think she's necessarily the hardest hitter. Who knows. I think -- I don't think (laughter).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I think what we have now -- I think you have to change it a little bit to see what works. I think this one we have now is pretty perfect, as perfect as you're going to get for a ranking system. Every player has been playing more. The top players are playing more often each other. The fields are a lot stronger. With a cap of 18, no one can play 40 tournaments and be ranked higher because they've played more. I think it's done great wonders for the game.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Thanks.