US OPEN

August 31, 2000

Jelena Dokic

MODERATOR: Tennis questions for Jelena, please.

JELENA DOKIC: I think I, you know, played well. My concentration was there the whole match. I stayed focused. You know, I started playing well straightaway from the beginning. I just didn't, you know, let her get into the match.

JELENA DOKIC: I don't know. I mean, I don't have any trouble with it. You know, I just try and go out there and think about the match. That's all you can do really. You've got to try not to let any other -- anything else distract you because you've just got to concentrate on the match.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, it was. She has a good backhand. She can slice well. I think it was definitely on the return that was the weakness. That's what I tried to target. That's where I won, you know, a lot of points, especially off the serve. Didn't get broken in the match. She had some chances, but even on the breakpoints, that backhand side seemed to break down.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah. You know, I did that in the first match, as well. It's something I've been working on, to mix my game up a bit, work on that serve. That's what I've been trying to do, especially for the last couple of weeks. I really try and do that in matches and be comfortable with it.

JELENA DOKIC: Well, I think eventually it's something you've got to deal with. You've got to be able to play yourself. There's nobody out there that can play for you. I know what I have to work on and I know what I have to do. It's obviously hard not having anybody there, but I guess it's something I'm going to have to deal with.

JELENA DOKIC: Not at the moment, no. I've still got these few tournaments and the Olympics coming up. Nothing at the moment. I won't change anything, no.

JELENA DOKIC: Look, like I said, I'm just concentrating on the tennis, taking each day as it comes. That's all I can do at the moment. Right now what's important for me is that I got through that second round today, which I'm really happy with, just concentrating on the rest of the tournament, trying to play well.

JELENA DOKIC: I haven't. I don't even know who I'll play next. I think it's a qualifier or something.

JELENA DOKIC: Obviously it's something that's been decided. I wouldn't mind it being changed, of course. That's the way it is right now. I had to go by it today, play my match, just go on with it.

JELENA DOKIC: No, I haven't spoken to anybody.

JELENA DOKIC: I went back to have lunch. We just spoke about the match because I played her before, knew what I had to do. Just tried not to worry about anything else, try not to put pressure on myself about winning a match, just going out there and playing, just seeing what happens.

JELENA DOKIC: Well, like I said, we knew what I had to do, target her backhand a bit more, just play my game. I knew that if I was aggressive enough, that I could win the match. You know, she mixes it up well. She comes in a bit, which is always hard. She has a pretty good serve. I was just trying to, you know, make her play and everything.

JELENA DOKIC: Well, first set I think was. Second set was a bit tougher. Had some chances to break in all of her games, but didn't take them. She sort of seemed to win those games. It was a pretty tough match for me to stay focused, not to let her get back in the match, just not let her break my serve.

JELENA DOKIC: No, I haven't.

JELENA DOKIC: I tried to call, but I couldn't get through. I definitely feel relieved. I really wanted to get through this match today because I knew I had a chance. It was an important one for me. I definitely have a chance in the next match, as well. Again, a Grand Slam, after Wimbledon, to win rounds, have a chance to get to the fourth round, that's a great result for me. I was definitely relieved today because I really wanted to get through this one. First few matches are always tough to get through.

JELENA DOKIC: Probably not, no. Not right now. I've still got doubles, just warming up in practices. Like I said, I know what I have to do, what I've been working on. You've got to be able to play matches and practice yourself because you're the one that's playing.

JELENA DOKIC: A little bit. You know, I had a good warm-up in the morning. I went back, just try to focus on the match, think about what I'm going to do. Sometimes when you think about a match too much, you get a bit too tight about it, you worry about it too much. I seemed to get through it fine.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, definitely. I think getting through matches for me at the moment, to get through them, to be able to play the same way that I do no matter what happens, it just makes me feel really good. That's why I was relieved to win today.

JELENA DOKIC: As I say, I don't know who I have next round. Again, it would always come probably down to how I play because I play aggressively. If I don't make errors, if I do what I have to do and serve well, I can get through matches.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, definitely. I think everybody knows each other. Between the players, we all know each other pretty well. It's just a matter of finding out.

JELENA DOKIC: A lot of them have been, yeah. I haven't spoken to anybody in particular. I seem to get along with everybody fine. I think the more tournaments I've played, the further I've gotten, I've only been on the tour for two years also, I think I seem to have gotten to know everybody. Everybody seems to be very nice.

JELENA DOKIC: No. Just everybody in general has been quite supportive.

JELENA DOKIC: Like I said, no at the moment, no. I'm just going to leave things as they are.

JELENA DOKIC: You know, the tournament has started. If you win singles matches, you always have a day in between. I have doubles. If I get through in that, you know, I'm not going to practice a couple of hours a day, like three, four, five hours a day where I'm going to have to go someplace else. It's going to be warm-ups and nothing more than that. I think I'll stay there.

JELENA DOKIC: I think once you have matches and you play and practice and do your own thing at the courts, you sort of seem to just focus on tennis. I think that's what everybody seems to do. If you have a match, you just focus on that, you don't worry about anything else. That's sort of what I had to do today.

JELENA DOKIC: I've had great support, especially at Wimbledon. I seem to get good support wherever I go. Probably wasn't so surprising that I did. There were quite a few people out there. It's always good to have a good atmosphere.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah. Like I said, a lot of players have supported me. I seem to get along with everybody great.

JELENA DOKIC: No, not really. I think it shows just how much players sort of care for each other. There's not sort of anything between us. For me, like I said, you know, whether they support me or not, it's something that I have to deal with. I have to go out and play my matches.

JELENA DOKIC: Doesn't seem to distract me. I did well at Wimbledon. I seem to do well at tournaments. I've done very well this year, had some good results, some consistent ones, too, which is important for me at the moment. Doesn't seem to distract me. That's what the match today showed. I was there the whole time. It looks like an easy score line, but every point, I sort of concentrated on what I had to do and I was there on the court.

JELENA DOKIC: For me, yeah.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah. I slept fine, actually. It was good to get some sleep, very good. Again, it's something you've got to deal with. I seem to deal with it well.

JELENA DOKIC: Yes.

JELENA DOKIC: No, no. Just my dad. My brother is at school.

JELENA DOKIC: Yeah, I spoke to my mom and my brother this morning. I speak to them every day, just about life and things.

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