US OPEN

September 3, 2005

Elena Dementieva

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I think it was pretty close match and it was very emotional for both of us. Uhm, you know, I think she's just, you know, little bit younger than me. Maybe she doesn't have so much experience as I do. I mean, I have so many -- had so many matches, you know, by winning 7-6 in the third, so I know how it feels to be, you know, that close and, you know, when one point can decide, you know, the whole match that we play for almost three hours. I think, yeah, I think it was very emotional for both of us. I think she's a very good player, and maybe she needs a little bit more experience.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think we both, you know -- it's not our favorite shot, you know, to serve. So we didn't have any problems to break each other during the match. It was more about, you know, the rally on the court, baseline ground strokes. Yeah, I mean, I think it was very, very important moment, you know, when I could, you know, win this game, make it 6-All. I felt little bit, you know, more calm on the tiebreak.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, it was 2-4 for her.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah. Yeah, but I was trying to be positive. It was a long match and, you know, the last thing you want to do with yourself is push yourself down, you know. I was trying to be positive no matter what and, you know, just fighting for every point. I think she really play very good match and she deserved to win this one. I was a little bit lucky in the tiebreak.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I mean, don't kill with the statistic. I'm sure I lost so many games, I'm not talking about points, I'm talking about games, with my double-faults today. It was very tough because, I don't know how many I did, 20 or more. Gosh, it was very difficult to play with this kind of serve, you know. It wasn't that windy as another day. I mean, I have no excuse by serving like that.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I really feel that there is some part in my game that I really can improve. I feel like my serve, you know, really can be much, much better. I have everything to have a good serve, you know, just some kind of maybe, you know, mental thing. Maybe I have to take more time between the points. It feels like sometimes I'm rushing too much on my serve, you know, don't feel as confident as my return. You know, but then the same time, you know, I know that I can have a good serve one day. I just keep working and hoping that I'm gonna have a good one.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I do work but, you know, it's kind of difficult when at the beginning of the match I'm trying to do the things that I was learn for a long time. As soon as it gets tight, during the match, you just come back to the motion you feel comfortable in. I don't think it's right, if I want to improve myself and be a better player, I have to maybe forget about results one day and just keep doing the right thing with my serve, you know, just work on perspective.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I mean, it's very hard to do, especially in a Grand Slam. Just you're telling yourself, you know, to be, you know, to do the right thing, but then you want to win this match so badly, you can't think about some technical part of the game. Just looking for that winning way and, you know, just win this match.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yes, we did work together. He really help me by giving some advices during Wimbledon and one week in Amsterdam. He's a busy guy. He's a tournament director. He also helps his sister. You know, maybe off season I will come, you know, to Amsterdam to practice with his sister and he can help me again.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, when there are just two or three Russian players on the tour, it's kind of nervous to meet each other. But when there are more than 10 in the main draw and you have to face them like every single round, every single tournament, it don't feel so exciting. It's just another player that you have to meet on the court. I wasn't nervous at all by playing against fellow Russian. I know this girl. She improve a lot since last time we played. It's a great challenge for me to play against someone who is younger, who has nothing to lose, who is from Russia. I mean, that's a great challenge for me.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: (Laughing).

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Oh, yeah, I mean, she's a very talented player. She has absolutely different game comparing to all the top 10, top 20 players. She has a great feeling. She's lefty. Every time we play we have such a tough match, and last time I was so close to win in Australian Open, I lost, after leading 4-1. I know it's never over until the matchpoint's over so. You know, it's gonna be very difficult match for me. I have to be aggressive and, you know, just stay focused until the end of the match.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think so. I think that's why she was No. 1, even for one week. I mean, that's the huge difference between her and some other Russian players, that she can handle all the pressure around her. She can defend, you know, the championship, you know. And with all the unbelievable results that she got from last year, she's keep working hard and, you know, playing unbelievable tennis this year as well. You know, Myskina, Svetlana, they lost first round when they had to defend some points - French Open and here. It's very difficult to defend and, you know, just to play with all this pressure. You really have to face this kind of situation once in your life, you know, just to go through and get this experience. Maria, I mean, some people think about her that she's so young, but it seems to me she is so experienced on the court. She's like not afraid to play. I mean, she really enjoy it. And I think she deserve to be.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, I think that -- you know, I think that practicing here really help her to became a very strong mental player. Because in Russia, you see we just practice. We talk a lot about, you know, techniques, you know, some different aspect of the game. But we all have a good mental trainers or some mental programs that can really help us to play under the pressure, and, you know, that just -- you know, just in some difficult situation when they have to defend some point or, you know, also. Yeah, I think she has a different mentality. She's much tougher.