TMS - FORO ITALICO

May 16, 2000

Lindsay Davenport

Q. How does it feel to slide around, have all that fun?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, it was nice to get out there and play a match again. In a tennis career, six weeks can be a very long time. I felt a little bit awkward out there at certain times, and it took me a while to feel comfortable returning serve, but it's great to be out there playing again and obviously to start off with a win. But I've got to get better on the clay, and hopefully I will in the next few weeks and just keep practicing on it and playing a lot of matches and just trying to get more comfortable on it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think the year up until now has just been an amazing year for myself. And really since last November, just winning a lot of tournaments and not losing very many times and always being such a highly consistent performer is very satisfying. Of course the next month or so is the toughest part of the season for me, being on clay, and the European clay is a little bit slower sometimes. But so far it's been a tremendous year, and I hope to add another Grand Slam title somewhere along the line this year, and just to try and maintain what I've already accomplished.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Not playing probably close to three weeks. I started hitting right about the time the tournament in Hilton Head was ending and started hitting slowly. But I think on top of my foot being injured, I think it was a good time for me to take a break after playing a lot of tournaments in the States and playing so many matches. So I'm coming here to Rome not tired, feeling good.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Fresh, there you go. And just trying to get used to the clay, which has always been more of a challenge to me.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It hasn't bothered me. I thought it was funny that I became No. 1 and then I didn't play in six weeks. In that time I fell to 2, went back to 1. Like I've always said, it's hard to follow it too closely because it involves results of the year before and how Martina did and how Martina's currently doing. It hasn't affected me at all. I mean it's an honor to be No. 1, but you can't worry about it week after week.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I've always agreed with our system. It sounds weird that Andre's not No. 1 even though he has the US Open, the Finals in Wimbledon, the Australian Open, all those titles under his belt so... And I think it's been -- it was exciting for me in the spring trying to recapture No. 1 and know that it was the true No. 1 ranking for the last 52 weeks, and it was fun trying to get there again. And I've agreed with our system the whole time.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I'm not very used to sliding on it, you know. I think coming in here I've decided that I'm going to keep playing the way that's gotten me so successful and that's gotten me a lot of tournament wins, and that's just playing hard and aggressive and going for my shots and, you know, I'm not going to become a claycourter for three tournaments out of the year or try and change my game when it's been so successful. So you probably won't be seeing me slide a lot and hitting a lot of moonballs and kicking my serve and all that. But I'm just going to keep doing what I've always been doing.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I guess because, you know, he's won many more Grand Slam titles than I have, but we've both won them all except the French. It's going to be the most difficult for us to win in Paris than on any other surface. But I think Pete is a little bit ahead of me in that category. (Laughing.) It's a little bit more difficult, I think, in men's tennis because you really do have some guys that are just unbelievable on clay, that just are so good, the Spaniards for example. And in women's tennis, we have that a little bit but not quite so extreme as the men's. So it's going to be difficult for us both, and I think we both look forward to it, but it's a little bit different I think.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, in Madrid.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: What was it, 3-2, I think? Yeah, I thought it was in. But, yeah, I think it probably -- you know, it's so different on clay. You're not used to thinking you've won the point then someone getting up and changing it ten seconds later. I have to get used to that, I'm not used to circly marks and all that stuff. But, yeah, after that I think I definitely started to hit the ball a little bit better and got a little bit fired up. It was hard being up about 3-1 both sets and getting broken after that. It's not the greatest thing to do. I have to work on that a little bit, once you get a lead, really consolidating it. But other than that, it was pretty good.