CHASE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE COREL WTA TOUR

November 22, 1998

Lindsay Davenport

Q. Did you think playing three sets last night helped you or hurt you today?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: The singles really didn't hurt me. I don't know, they were pretty late playing doubles and I didn't get out of here 'til late, and I don't think that really was a big factor. I was a little bit tired today, but I wouldn't necessarily say maybe from yesterday maybe from now two weeks playing singles and doubles finals or a lot of singles and doubles matches. But at the same time Martina was much more aggressive today than she has been the last couple of times I have played her. The court is a little bit faster, so she was attacking the ball a little bit better. And like I said, I just was a little bit tired and that made a difference.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was a lot better than yesterday that is for sure. So the trainers were right, it did get better over time. And everything felt pretty good. Everything felt a little sluggish, but overall health-wise I felt fine.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I am going home for the next six weeks and what did you say?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I am sorry. I thought you meant can you tell me about your break. (Laughs) yeah, second set that was really the telling factor. I think almost every service game she served I had at least one breakpoint, numerous breakpoints and I wasn't able to capitalize and today on the big points I just played bad and some days that happens and she fought them off well sometimes and other times I gave them to her. But I think if I, you know, maybe gotten up early in the second set or was able to get one of those breaks maybe the match would have been a different story, she wouldn't have been as confident up two sets to Love. But that is the way it goes. Hopefully if I get a chance to play her again I can close games out a little bit better and, you know, put some more pressure on her serve.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. Well, I mean, if it had been like whoever gets No. 1 is No. 1, but we have played a number of times this year and when I was two and I beat her I didn't think oh I am the number one player because I beat her. To me, you know, I knew she really wanted to win this tournament coming in. So did I. But I didn't feel like there was -- like I had to win it to end the year one or something. But I don't know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, thank you (laughter) Oh, gosh, I am going home for the next six weeks. I don't think I have to go anywhere, which is a really great thing. I said no to a lot of things so can be at home, resting, then train again for Australia, that is it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Not really. But go ahead. I missed a lot of easy shots today; not -- just a little bit kind of awkward maybe a little bit slow to move in a little bit slow to react. A lot of times some bigger opportunities I missed some shots or maybe I didn't play aggressive enough, and that is the way matches turn around. You have just got to go for it, and take your lumps and that is that. A couple of times few too many situations I wasn't able to come up with the right shot.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: That is always an interesting question. You know, it never -- I have said well, I am definitely not going to hit a ball for like two weeks, hopefully, ten days, two weeks. Then what I like to do is, you know, maybe the third week only hit like three times a week and so you are slowly building. I think it is almost dumb to take a complete month off without hitting a ball. I think it is not bad two, three times a week to hit a few balls; hour, hour and a half to keep some of your timing. Right now I am in no rush to get back out on the court. Sometimes it is a healthy feeling when you want to go back out there and practice. Maybe one good thing about losing this match is I am not very satisfied like ending the year today so maybe that will give me some incentive in December.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was asking a lot of players, you know, are you guys going on vacation or -- for me I can't wait to just get home and do nothing. I mean, we travel so much and we are in so many hotels and away from our friends and family, I mean, personally I'd rather be at home for maybe two or three weeks and do nothing there and I think I would probably be better off doing that than going away again and maybe being homesick again. If I feel like it in the middle of December I will go somewhere, but I don't think I will.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, you know, if someone had told me in July I would reach the Finals of like, I don't know, eight of my next nine tournaments and win a Grand Slam, and end the year 1. I probably would have laughed. I had a very, very solid season up to July and for some reason I was able to kind of breakthrough and play really great tennis and make my dream come true. So to end the year No. 1 is unbelievable, but to also look back and see that I won the US Open is unbelievable. I mean, I really can't describe it. It is going to be hard to duplicate next year. It is going to be hard to kind of keep this roll going, starting the new year I am going to have to work very hard in December and try and get in great shape for the tough season in Australia. But at the same time I really think I have been able to enjoy it the last few months getting to 1. I haven't -- I mean, it is crazy as it sounds I haven't felt extra pressure being 1. I almost feel like I don't have that much more to prove. It would have been nice to win today, but that is okay. I have had a great year and just kind of look back hopefully after you get over this loss you can look back with great memories over the last year.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was just a paint job. It is the same racket. Sorry. Looks different but it is the same.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think. I think she -- she was very gracious, she has always been a super winner, loser against me. I think she said, well, I have got you here, but I will see you in a few months or something like that. She might know better, but I don't know, sorry.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yes and no. I had fun and I wanted to enjoy it. I probably, you know, if I had played maybe a better way I would have enjoyed it more. But again I was not the best, physically, I don't know how to say -- I just felt a little sluggish when I got up this morning. No, I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I should, but it was fun playing three out of five. When I lost the second set, I was like, well, I want to win a set because I lost in three sets here in '94, so was trying to hang in there. She was too much in the fourth.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Depends on what day it is. If she is, you know, in tennis you can't really say all the time who is the better player. I mean, maybe Steffi looks like the best player ever, but maybe you beat her because she doesn't play well that day, or Martina if she is playing well, is extremely tough to beat. On the same hand, if I am playing well, I am tough to beat. I don't think I played the smartest match today in tactical terms and strategy, I will have to look over that next time I play her. But she is very tough to beat when she is playing well and being aggressive and I think, like I said, she was more aggressive today than she has been the last few months. You need to be on this kind of court. She is a tremendous player. There is no doubt that she is going to be, I don't know, back to 1 or definitely a threat in the next year.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I actually did. I didn't -- I felt -- well, I really wanted to get a break. I was having such a hard time breaking. It was -- and then 1-All, I didn't break then I got broken again then you are kind of facing an uphill battle. It looked to me -- I didn't know if she was cramping, but it looked to me she was kind of moving her legs. I was hoping maybe she would cramp because she has had problems with that. But she was serving well today and it is tough to really combat that when you don't know where she is going to serve and I should have attacked her second serve more and I didn't do that. But her first serve was very lethal today.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I didn't. It is hard when you are not used to that. Sometimes guys throw away games, but maybe don't try their hardest when someone else is serving well or something, but I didn't really know how to do that because you are not used to that. Maybe if we played it more maybe you would have a different thought process going through in the games, but for me, no, I was just trying to play the normal way.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I have been working on my serve a lot. No, it is not a huge factor in my game or it doesn't win me necessarily a lot of free points, but if you look at me as a player, its gotten better this year than it has in years passed and I am only going to work on it harder and try to get it better. It would be great if I could serve like Venus or Brenda Schultz, but certain players have their strengths and weaknesses. I will definitely work on that. I don't think it is necessarily a liability, but I could definitely make it more of a strength in my game. And that is something that we rarely get a chance to do. In December we get a chance to work on different parts of my game, and I will be -- hopefully in Australia -- it will be a little bit better again.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Playing team tennis was a big factor in my career early on. I had a great time playing it. This year I didn't play so many matches and -- but it has always been fun. I love playing team events.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, starting in Hopman Cup, then Sydney, then Melbourne.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I had fun today. I would think about, though, if it was changed playing doubles because I didn't think that playing doubles this week helped me when it got to today. But I enjoyed it. I have no problem playing three out of five. Like I said, I had a good time.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It came up about two years ago some players didn't like it. I don't know the overall consensus on that, but personally I don't mind that.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I think I might choose my weeks a little bit differently, but yeah, I like playing doubles. I don't think it hurts you, but I just think some weeks it just gets to be a lot sometimes.