KB FED CUP, FINAL

September 19, 1999

Lindsay Davenport

Q. Lindsay, it's been a few hours now, but can you describe the emotions and feelings at the end of that third match?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was great. It's the second time that I've been on a winning team, and it's a great feeling to win 3-0 like we did. It was great. To win for your country, and to have a really great team to play, just means a lot. And I think it's a shame that it doesn't get as much coverage as other sports, but it's still a great honor to have this title for ourselves and for Billie.

BILLIE JEAN KING: Well, it's never erased, but it certainly softens the blow. It's good to remember that one, because it keeps us hungry and striving forward; so I like it. It's okay. But it does soften the blow a little bit, and it's great that we brought the Fed Cup back to the United States of America, where it belongs.

MONICA SELES: No.

MONICA SELES: It's definitely harder to play. No question. But it's very hard to watch, I must say.

MONICA SELES: Oh, no.

BILLIE JEAN KING: What do you mean, you don't know?

MONICA SELES: "Oh, no," I said. It's not the purpose of watching these matches for that. It's just to root for your team.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, it's still an individual sport in a lot of ways, because we're out there, obviously, playing tennis; it's the same. To have a coach on the court is a great addition. I think it would be great for the regular Tour to get some tips from your coach. And a lot of times, you can't see things when you're playing. And to play for a team, all week we've been practicing, working towards this goal, and it's great. We're not used to it as tennis players to be on a team; so when we get the opportunity, I think we all really enjoy it.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't know. You have to ask her. I can't give a grade.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I definitely felt good with my volleys today. I missed a couple, but that's what it takes to learn. I'll get there. If I don't keep coming in, I definitely won't get there.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, working with Billie Jean is great. She offers only the best advice, and she's always right with what she says on her techniques and everything. So it's a real good experience for everyone.

BILLIE JEAN KING: It's not really that significant. Because also, you have to remember some of the top players didn't play this year, like Graf, and I think Hingis didn't play, and Arantxa didn't play. We don't know what it would have been like if all the top players had played. That's why we think it's so important for the U.S. players to play and support Fed Cup and try to improve the stature of what we're trying to do for the future. We think it's very important. We just want every country to support it with their very, very best players like we do.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Any match is a match that you want to win. And today, I was definitely just working on doing my best to come in a lot more and attack the short balls, and it was a good thing that I played more aggressive. It's difficult to lose the match not doing the right thing. But today, I think I lost the match, but at least I was moving forward.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think that's the kind of question Billie would answer: It never takes the place of anything, but you move on and try to do bigger and better things as you go on in your career. Losses are always disappointments. You have to learn from them and get over them, and a week later, here we are winning the Fed Cup. You move on from your losses, and you still remember them. But then you just try to achieve more, and whatever you're entered in, just try to do the best you can.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I thought I played fine. A couple of things I wasn't happy with. I thought she played pretty well today. It's tough. We've been playing a lot of tennis, and I think I came through pretty well. And I've got a few more tournaments to play for the year, but I think we're all looking forward to the ending of this year pretty soon.

BILLIE JEAN KING: I just hope that we'll basically have a dynasty from this group and some of the other players. And also, remember as Lindsay said on the television, we had three other players who contributed to this team victory during the year, and that's Chandra Rubin, Lisa Raymond and Mary Joe Fernandez also played on Fed Cup teams earlier this year. So we have to thank them, as well. But for the future we're very fortunate. As long as everybody stays healthy, I think we can have a dynasty.

BILLIE JEAN KING: They usually do. This was unusual this year. I don't know particularly why. Usually, it means they're not happy with their association, or just tired -- I don't know. I really don't. If any of you know, you can offer information.

VENUS WILLIAMS: No. It wasn't like I was going to aim to lose the match.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I was up a break, and then a lot of things went on, and then I lost (laughter.)

BILLIE JEAN KING: No, because you never know. One thing we're very clear about is you never take for granted anything, and you never know how someone is going to play, particularly in Fed Cup or Davis Cup or in team situations. It's a different environment. You don't know how people are going to respond to it. So you can't take it lightly. We always pretend every ball is coming back, and they're going to have their best day, and we're still going to have to win. I think the Russian team is a very good team, and they're still very young.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it would definitely be good in some situations, if you're down in a match and you're playing a player you don't know. There's a lot of things you don't see when you're playing that other people can see very well. I think in that aspect, it would definitely help.

MONICA SELES: I didn't hit with anybody this week; so I don't think I picked up anything game-wise, but that would not be my aim. But as a team, I think we got along great, fantastic this week.

SERENA WILLIAMS: For sure, definitely. I really enjoy Fed Cup. I have a great time, and it's a good opportunity.

BILLIE JEAN KING: Yeah, it was great. I think it's done beautifully. It's much better than Atlantic City, extremely wonderful. And I love California, so --

BILLIE JEAN KING: We'll start the beginning of the year. We have sign-ups now.

BILLIE JEAN KING: Monica did. I don't think we had a chance to think about what we're going to do next year. We have the top players sign a form so we know when they're available. So it helps us know what we're up against or what we're doing.

BILLIE JEAN KING: Probably not, except for the days when Chris Evert and Martina won just about everything. I think when Rosie Casals and I played, we won about everything. We even won on clay, where everybody thought we'd get killed; so that was even a bigger deal to us. Now with this format, 3 out of 5 matches, this is by far the best team ever. It's not even close.