VIRGINIA SLIMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 14, 1994

Craig Kardon

CRAIG KARDON: I think she was a little bit nervous, I guess coming up -- after Europe she was very nervous. After the two European tournaments, but now after she played Oakland, she seems really relaxed, surprisingly relaxed. She's at a real good place right now. I think she's playing well and I think she's really happy, happy to be where she is right now.

CRAIG KARDON: A little bit, but she's still -- she doesn't really want to think about it yet; I think what she's really feeling is, gee, I feel good right now, but I don't know how I'm going to feel when I walk out on the court, because I think there's a lot going on with her emotionally, that she's not going to really address until she walks out on the court and hears the crowd and realizes that, this is it.

CRAIG KARDON: She is telling me that she feels very good, but occasionally she gets a little nervous like she'll turn around to me during practice and says, you know, I'm feeling a little nervous, but then she says, well I feel a little nervous, but then again she feels good about her chances of playing well and winning.

CRAIG KARDON: No -- you know, what's funny is it's nothing more than the ordinary things then -- her little reactions and the way she feels before any big match, any big tournament. You know, you know, there's always something pulling on her or there's this new injury or she kind of, you know, gets real short with me. It's the usual things that go on before, you know, a big match or a big tournament. So, nothing out of the ordinary.

CRAIG KARDON: Usually by five minute before the match.

CRAIG KARDON: She has a look in her that let's you know that she's feeling a little nervous, but she's ready. It's really pretty normal. Usually what happens is she has to go to the bathroom an extra time or two.

CRAIG KARDON: Sure. As you know, they both basically struggled a little bit this year, I think Gaby has had a little bit longer of a struggle, but Gabriela has played well in the last week. I think there's a little bit of unknown of how Gabriela is going to play. Her serve has gotten better, but I understand she's doublefaulting a lot. So usually the player -- Martina is obviously going to attack her serve, but if you're seeing two first serves, that's kind of hard to do. But, you know, Martina is expecting a lot of topspin and she's dealt with that pretty well by playing on the claycourt this summer. She's going to be attacking and attacking the way Martina always does, and I'm sure Gabriela believes she can win too. So we'll kind of have to wait and sigh when the bell rings what happens.

CRAIG KARDON: You know, it wasn't really that much different. I think she felt pretty safe thinking what she was coming into. I mean she knows how Gaby plays and they've practiced together and played a lot of matches together, they've played a lot of matches against each other in the last couple years, so, I think -- she was pretty comfortable with that, actually. More so, I think than some of the other match-ups she could have had, where it would have been players she hadn't played against.

CRAIG KARDON: That's a good question. We'll find out maybe at the end of the week. I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping to coach another player, but as to who that is yet, I don't know.

CRAIG KARDON: Well, I think, you know, tennis in general, I think it's going to lose someone with alot of personality, a lot of style, a lot of grace. She -- I mean, Martina has transcended three decades which is amazing, and you kind of see the trends how they've gone from the wooden rackets, and the touch, and the feel game to the power game where Martina has had to adapt her game a little bit and change a few things to compete with the younger players and players that hit the ball harder. And, you know, what I think is sad is you don't see that style of play any more. And I think nobody really understands the void that she's going to leave until maybe a year or two after she's gone and you see the same type of players come up. But those of us who have been around and have seen Martina play through the years, I think we'll remember the style, and that type of game, but, you know, it will be sad because I think she will -- you know, nobody will remember her after a little while.

CRAIG KARDON: Sure, she's fun. We have a good time. There's really never been a day when we've had a really bad practice. I mean, even when, let's say she's having a tough time on the court, I always try and look at it in a positive manner, or I will try and make her laugh about something, and, like -- sometimes she's -- I get her these guys to play against and she'll turn to me and say, "Craig this is hopeless, this guy is serving me off the court" and I said, "well, do the baseline, walk, I'll just walk with you. We'll try to guess which way he's serving," and I always try and point out a positive direction in practice, and I'm a big ham in practice, so I always try and tease with her and kid with her. But as far as working with her, she's great to work with. She's really smart and she picks up on things, like that (snap fingers.) What I think I will miss is the fact that you can tell her something to do and she can immediately emulate it and do it. She's really visual with the way she learns. She learns by watching. I've shown her a couple of shots that, you know, I've shown a lot of other people and she's one of the only ones that have been able to emulate them perfectly almost. So I'll miss that. And, you know, she has her own style and her quick wit with her tongue that, I guess, you guys are used to.

CRAIG KARDON: Well, I think it was important to get a match under her belt before tomorrow and also she hasn't played on the court whereas most of the other players, played in Philadelphia which is the same exact court that they brought over. So it's important to play one match if it's possible. I think the schedule allows a little flexibility, but I wanted her to play a match before tomorrow. I thought it would be real important to get out here on the court. Of course, playing in the Garden, is a little difficult. The surroundings and the electricity of the fan in New York City.

CRAIG KARDON: Yes, I think coming out here tonight and having the fans go nuts to see her, she'll be a little ready for that.

CRAIG KARDON: Well, for me, the best moment for me was in Paris when she beat Monica Seles when Monica was number one. I believe it was 1992. I'm not sure. But when she put together that match, I think that was the most memorable moment for me because she held up her fist and said, "Yes, I did it," and looked at me and it was real special for me.

CRAIG KARDON: I'm looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, personally, but it's been tough during the summer more so than it is now, I think. During the middle of the year it was a lot tougher because she knew that the end of the year was -- you know she had so much more tennis to play, and at the time she wasn't playing very well, and she was on claycourts and there was a lot of expectation she really wanted to win another tournament, and all of these expectations. So, it was tough to kind of get her through those moments, and just kind of survive through the year, but, you know, there's also been a lot of fun things that happened during the year. She's still learning. It's funny how she catches onto little bitty things just in the last few days that coachingwise that she didn't get earlier. She's always learning something.

CRAIG KARDON: Yes, I think so. She'll certainly have a lot more time. But I think she's looking forward to going home, back to Prague and seeing her parents a little more.

CRAIG KARDON: I'm not sure. Maybe next summer.

CRAIG KARDON: '89, this is the sixth year.

CRAIG KARDON: Well, it was -- actually, I knew Martina a long time ago back in '80, '81, I was in college at the time and I used to practice with her at home in Dallas.

CRAIG KARDON: University of Texas. And we met at Brook Haven Country Club. We practiced together for a few years and remained friends and I would see her on the circuit when I was playing as well, and just were always friends and I was assistant pro at a resort, the Four Seasons in Dallas when she was with Tim Gullikson and she came over and we would practice again and one day she just came to me and said, "Listen, Tim is not going to be able to travel, how would you like to be my coach next year," and I was taken aback, obviously, but you know, I figured it was just going to be six months the way she was going through coaches. Six years later, here I am.

CRAIG KARDON: Well, it depends on the day. She has some days where she's hitting the ball harder than she usually does which is, you know, not quite as hard as the other girls -- you know, you look at Pierce and Sanchez Vicario and Graf.

CRAIG KARDON: Because she is not quite getting there, maybe, but her volleys are still some of the best in the game, male or female. Her volleys are great. When she gets a racket on the volley, it's unbelievable. It's still amazing, but the base of the ball I'm talking about is just the ground strokes in general. The other players are hitting the ball so much harder, so she's had to really adjust her game accordingly and I think it's really an amazing fete that she's able to adjust her game like she has and still compete and beat some of the top five players.

CRAIG KARDON: Sure. She is, I think part of it is just friendship and I think she took a chance with me to trust me. She really took a chance. I think you have to really believe in your instincts, and first of all, we had a friendship and I think that helped. So there was a little bit of trust in there in the beginning. And then, I think just also feeling comfortable around somebody, not only on the court, but off the court as well because when you have a long relationship workingwise, you have to be able to, outside of work, be friends with that person as well. I think that's important. And also I think she trusted me and my knowledge of tennis. So...

CRAIG KARDON: Oh, yes. Most of the times when there was conflict in the early days I wouldn't say anything and I would just kind of harbor it, and a few days later I might bring it up and that was probably not so good; not a good thing to do. But later on, I would take her aside right away and say, Hey look, I think you're wrong and I think this is the way it should be, and she would think about it and she would tell me to go to hell or she would say, I think you're right and I think that's where the trust part came in. We kind of, through the years, developed more trust in each other. And so, whereas if she was angry about something she would tell me right away and I'd correct it and make it in her favor or if I was angry about something with her on the court whatever it might be, I'd take it to her right away, and I think it's my job as a coach to bring something that I see out of place to her attention right away and not wait.

CRAIG KARDON: Yes, I think she's much more comfortable with playing Gabriela than some of the other players because she knows her game very well and she's a nice person. She respects Gaby.