WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2001

Jelena Dokic

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah. I mean, I'm happy that I got through the first one. I think it's always the toughest one to get through. You know, I think the conditions, it was hot, you know, windy. I had a tough match with her before. I'm happy that I got through. Probably didn't play as well as I wanted to. You know, like I said, it's always hard with the first match. But I'm pleased that I got through.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, I think it's very hard to say. I mean, I'm in a very tough side of the draw, so I think I'm just going match by match. I think we've seen the last couple of Grand Slams, you know, that a lot of seeds have gone out. There have been a lot of upsets. But, you know, I'm just concentrating on each match as it comes. You know, hopefully I'll go, you know, as far as I can, as far as I want to. You know, I've always done well here. I'm not putting any pressure on myself.

JELENA DOKIC: I didn't realise that. You know, there was a lot of people out there. I think I still get a lot of support anywhere I go, especially here. You know, I think I get a lot of support from the people in Australia still. I think, you know, they've supported me a lot throughout the years. You know, I think anywhere I go, I still think I'll get a lot of support from them and from anybody else.

JELENA DOKIC: I think to win that game, to come back into the set. I think I knew if I could break her there to come to 5-All, I'd win the set, not to make the same mistakes at 4-All, did some errors there. It was 30-All there at 5-4, and I won those two crucial points. I think that probably turned it around.

JELENA DOKIC: I probably did. I think I tried to do too many things, you know. I was just starting to make some errors there that I shouldn't have. I think I was going for just too much, just wasn't concentrating on keeping the ball in play. Then, you know, she started to play a lot better after 3-Love. Even in the second set, she started to hit the ball very well. You know, you lose your serve once, back at 3-All. The next thing you know, I think she put some pressure on me there to win that set, because I did have 3-Love. It turned around very quickly. It would have been difficult if I lost that first set, I think to come back, and I'm glad that I won that first set.

JELENA DOKIC: No, I wasn't worried. I knew if I got myself together, I can win the match - not easily, but comfortably. That's all I was focusing on, to try and get back there at 4-5 to get that game and get back in the match.

JELENA DOKIC: I think I played a lot better than I did at the Olympics. I think she probably played the same way. She had the same tactics. You know, she likes to hit the ball. She actually mixed it up a little bit more today. But I think I played a lot more solid today than I did at the Olympics, and that was probably the difference. We had a tight one at the Olympics. You know, I think she nearly -- it was going to be nearly three sets there. It was a tight match. I knew that she can play well. I was just trying to focus to get my game going, especially being the first match, just concentrate on my game. I don't think she was going to do anything different.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, I think, like I said, I've always done well here. But I don't put any pressure on myself to do well. You know, I love coming back here. I've done very well here. You know, I love the people and the atmosphere. I love playing here. You know, the further I get, the better for me. But I don't put any pressure on myself to win the tournament right now. You know, like I said, there's a lot of good players that have a chance. I think there will be a lot of good matches over the next two weeks. I'm just going match by match. I'm just trying to, you know, win each match that I play.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, I think it was a difficult match for her. I think she's been struggling a little bit probably, hasn't been playing as well. It would be very disappointed for her to lose first round. But, you know, you have some good days and you have some bad days. That's going to happen. It happened to her yesterday. I guess it just wasn't a great day for her, and she's just got to move on. Hopefully, for her sake, it won't affect her game. I don't think it will. I think she's a good enough player to go beyond that and to come back strong.

JELENA DOKIC: I think over the last few years, the image thing has gone a little bit more beyond, you know, tennis. But I think, you know, a lot of players don't feel that way. I think a lot of players are out there just to win their matches. They're not out there, you know, to model or anything like that. I think someone like Lindsay, you know, she's a great player. I don't think she even thinks about that. I think, especially in this country, there's a lot of fuss around, you know, how you look, all that sort of thing. But I think it's gone like that all over the world right now. I think women's tennis has gotten a lot better, I think in every way. You have a lot of different personalities out there, a lot of really good players. I think a lot of the players out there just do their job and win matches.

JELENA DOKIC: I mean, of course, I don't think anyone is trying to make themselves look ugly out there. But I don't look at it that way, you know. I'm not out there to try and look my best. I think if you're going to do that, you should go and model, like I said. But if you want to play tennis, maybe be Top 10 or Top 5 or No. 1, you're going to have to win matches. I think that's the difference.

JELENA DOKIC: A little bit. I'm a little superstitious.

JELENA DOKIC: I wear the same things during the tournament. I wash them every day. I play with the same racquet. I think a lot of players do that. I think a lot of the players that I know do that.

JELENA DOKIC: Yes.

JELENA DOKIC: Tennis.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah.