NASDAQ-100 OPEN

April 1, 2004

Elena Dementieva

Q. This is the biggest final of your career. What is your feeling?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I feel great. It was a very, very tough tournament for me to play. I had very difficult matches against Jelena Dokic and Venus Williams before, so I feel a little tired today on the court. But I'm glad I came through this match. I'm just very excited to be in the final and play against Serena.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: My shoulder?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: My shoulder is good, you know. It feels okay.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: It's gonna be a tough match for me. It looks like she's in good shape. You know, she's a great player. I think she has the best serve on the tour, so I'm gonna be in trouble on her serve. But, you know, it's very interesting to play against her. It's gonna be a great experience for me. I think that I have nothing to lose. I did great already, so I'm going to try my best on Saturday.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: No, I played Serena in Wimbledon last year, lost two sets so... But it was on grass courts. It's gonna be first time on hard court.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think it's a great chance for me to play against both of them in the same week, you know, feel the difference between them. Just like I said, it's a great experience to see what I can do against her. She's one of the best players in the world. You know, I'm just, you know, waiting for this match.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: It's difficult to say right now. I have to think about what I can do against her. I didn't watch her match today because I was preparing, you know, for my semifinals. I have couple idea that I thought after the match. You know, I'm just thinking about have a good rest tomorrow because I had some long matches before, and I'm sure I'm gonna be ready.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yes. She helped me already. She has great experience, not just by playing but by coaching, you know, lot of Russian players. She was captain of Soviet Union team for a long time. It's very interesting for me to work with her. I'm just very happy that she can help me.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Right, she lives in London. It was my mom's idea to invite her. We were talking with her and she decided to come to Moscow, you know, in the beginning of the year. We start to work in Moscow in my club, so that's how we started.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Yeah, of course she was playing tennis and she was watching her a lot. She really liked her. She was one of the famous player in Russia. Yeah, like you said, she was in the final in Wimbledon.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think she helped me a lot with, you know, my technique. I feel like my forehand is getting better now. I'm still working on my serve because I feel like I improved my serve during the practice but I can't just put it all together during the match because I'm, you know, just little nervous and it takes time to change, you know, on the court. But I really like to work with her. I believe in her. I'm sure I will serve better (smiling).

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think it's gonna be too slow for her, so she's gonna just play three meters south from my second serve, I'm sure (smiling). It's gonna be kind of dropshot for her (laughter).

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: (Laughing).

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I can't tell you for everybody, you know.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, it's very interesting to watch her no matter, you know, did she have a break or not, because she plays spectacular game. It's also very interesting to watch her play. I think it's not so easy to came after such a long break and play at such a high level. She's in the final of her first tournament. So, I mean, the whole respect to her. Like I said, she's in good shape.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: (Smiling) I mean, that's Serena's taste.

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Not me.