US OPEN

August 30, 2006

Martina Hingis

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Talk about the experience of being out there after a while?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, it's just, first of all, the energy of New York itself, it's already great. And then walking on to the stadium, it was amazing. I was nervous in the beginning.
Well, then that was a little bit nervous about hurricane, too. Just really the fans have been great. Sometimes you ask yourself after the first set, without the fans if you could still pull it out. I don't know. They just really carried me. It was a great atmosphere, once you're winning anyway.

Q. Andre said in his match when he was down he paid great tribute to the fans, as you just did. Said how much they can really bring you back and help you to fight. Have you been feeling that since your comeback?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, every time, wherever I play, you know, each country has been very, you know, welcoming my game and myself, you know. It's just been a tremendous ride so far the last seven months.
And every time I lose, I feel like, you know, I let down somebody. But the players I've lost to, there's no shame, no blame. So I try my best. Even today, sometimes after you're losing 6 4, you still kind of want to carry on. But really the fans, you know I made some good points and they gave me some more vibe and energy.

Q. After the match you said you played left handed when you were a kid. How old were you? How many times did you play?
MARTINA HINGIS: I was like seven, I believe. I had a broken little, you know, pinky. So for a month I mean, the tournament started within like 12 two weeks or, you know, almost 20 days, I don't know. I'm not sure anymore.
I picked up, you know, my racquet into the left hand because I really had to play that tournament in my hometown. We were like, Okay, what now? It's broken, so I couldn't play with my right.
So we started playing. But after ten minutes, my arm got tired. So, you know, we just carried on, having breaks. Maybe five, six times a day, ten minutes first day, 20 minutes second day. I just got better quickly.
You know, at the end I even start serving from top. Maybe second still from the bottom. I made the finals, and the girl didn't want to play me because she didn't want to be beaten by me left handed, so... we played the finals like next week. I end up winning the tournament left handed because I got myself into the finals.

Q. You didn't try to play ambidextrous, both hands, after that?
MARTINA HINGIS: No, but it was a great experience. Sometimes, you know, for fun, you know, when you are like four, five hours out there, you still, you know, carry on and play some lefty games or just some shots. I always enjoy that because it just mixes up the feelings.
Even like in practice sometimes you can't really reach for that sometimes high backhand. I knew I'm not gonna get there, so I've done that in the past a little more often to get to the ball. I would never have thought that it's gonna work, but I'm like...
I wasn't gonna lose that point no matter what, so might as well try. Go for it, and it worked.

Q. Is tennis more fun now that you're not the prohibitive favorite, you've been away from the game?
MARTINA HINGIS: It is in one way. On the other hand, everybody's just like rough every first round. Anybody can go out there and bite you. I think, you know, in the beginning they were still, you know there was this kind of respect. They didn't know what to expect from me. But now they have been watching me, what my strength and weaknesses are, and I think she really played great today.
I mean, I couldn't really read her. I've never seen her before. I mean, I've seen her before, but never played her. It took me a while to get adjusted because, I mean, I just you know, John just told me she was the only player to win against Kim Clijsters last year.
She had maybe some issues, some injuries and all these things. She was on the way up, but something stopped her. But I definitely think that, you know, she has a good future.

Q. Would you agree that the level of women's tennis for those years you didn't play has picked up?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, it's deeper. I mean, it's probably

Q. More good players today?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, there is probably the top 5, they're somewhere else. Then there's five to ten and there is a break. Sometimes one point can turn around things. That's the difference.
But from 10 to, you know, 50 or a hundred, there's really no big difference. On a given day, anybody can win. That's really that, you know sometimes those little things can change and turn around matches. That's why there's a top 5, 10, and everything else.

Q. You were great from the net today. Was that part of your strategy?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I had to do something. I had to start pushing because I was getting there too much into defense because I was short. Then I had to take my chances and change it because, you know, if I might go and lose, might do the fashion, and I wasn't really willing to do that.

Q. Do you feel, considering what your expectations were coming back on to the tour, that you've exceeded your expectations thus far?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, Mary Joe asked me that on court. I was like my answer was at the end yes and no, because I felt that there was this opening because a lot of the players were injured or not playing, or the ones I've played.
And some of them are still at the top, like Mauresmo, Lindsay, Patty Schnyder, No. 6 in the world. That gave me hope and chance to maybe survive, as well. There was no difference, I don't think, in their games. Just like more consistent, more brains, and just being smart with picking up the schedule and choosing the tournaments.
I think, you know, if you're just consistent with your results you can make it very far, and I've proved that again, you know.

Q. If you were today, today's Martina Hingis, were to play Martina Hingis when you were dominating the tour, how do you think the match would turn out?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I was given this question a few times. I really don't know. I would say the Martina today is definitely better in a lot of the things than what I used to be. I mean, I might not be as quick, but you have to adjust to the game today.
I don't think I would have won matches the way I played, you know, when I played in the past because it's just gotten faster.
I mean, I played some shots today which I wouldn't go for in the past, and maybe some I miss because I really don't get there. You know, I don't position myself as well as I used to. But it's really a hard thing to say. I don't know.

Q. It would go deep into the third set?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but I think the Martina has to be better than the one before; otherwise, I wouldn't be back winning matches today.

Q. Doesn't Martina today appreciate tennis more than Martina of past years?
MARTINA HINGIS: I don't know. Maybe I go through more emotions today. I don't know. But there is a lot of things which go through my mind playing matches like today. I was like, Okay, after losing the first set. I mean, can't be happening, you know, after making quarters and quarters, both Grand Slams, and then losing third round. I mean, I would lose here in the first round. I was like, No way that's going to happen.
I just didn't want to yeah, there's a lot of question marks sometimes, but then winning, ending up winning these matches definitely keeps me going and motivated even more because I know that I'm going the right direction and playing well.
I played very well in the second and third set. I was able to pick it up. It's just sometimes it's the physical question, can I last. I definitely did today. I outlasted her, basically, today.

Q. In February and March you were saying that maybe one of the advantages you had coming back was that not that many players on the tour now understand strategy and how to play strategic tennis. Now it's September. Anybody out there who has surprised you? Can you handicap this field now and say, Okay, now I know how these girls are playing. These two or three maybe are better than I thought, and these two or three I think I could take them? Give me a sense on what you think now.
MARTINA HINGIS: You constantly want to get better. People I've lost to, like Kim three times, or Maria, beat her, lost to her. Those are matches you just look forward to and you have to play. If you want to beat them, you have to get better.

Q. Are those the girls to beat, you've had the hardest time with?
MARTINA HINGIS: I mean, obviously, yeah. I lost to Kim in both the Grand Slam quarters. And now Ana, I think she's playing very well, Ivanovic. We'll see how far it's going to take her. She's still young, has got potential. I think her coach right now is doing a good job working with her. I told him he's worked with me in the past, so he really learned quickly and he's giving it over to her. I was like, that's not good. He found a good strategy, but...

Q. Where does Justine fit in in the hierarchy for you?
MARTINA HINGIS: She won the French three times. Watching her last week winning New Haven, she's really on top of the game. Amélie, going through today, winning two Grand Slams. That's what I count on. Amélie, Justine, Kim are the top, three, four, with Maria along the top players, maybe Kuznetsova who are besides the rest.

Q. Are you positive you have a higher level left? And if you do have that higher level, can you really contend here beyond quarterfinals?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, that's what I'm, you know, working on. That's what I hope for. I mean, that's definitely a physical question at the end of the day. I mean, you know, grinding through the matches like today, and, you know, you have to come back tomorrow and play another good match, otherwise it's not going to happen.
But other players are in the same situation, so I'm not the only one, you know. Facing Razzano tomorrow, I don't know how she did. She won easily?
THE MODERATOR: Straight sets.
MARTINA HINGIS: I have to regenerate, regroup. That's the Grand Slams. In a way, I like Grand Slams because they don't always give you a day off in between and you have another extra day to rest. But physically to just keep up with the girls, that's the main goal.
I think my tennis is better than most of them but, you know, physically I have to get myself into the position to be able to play it, too.

Q. You are very smart, someone yelled out during the match. Did you hear that? Did it impact your match?
MARTINA HINGIS: I guess a lot of people heard it, yeah. It was just a funny comment.

Q. As a 25 year old woman looking back at what you did as a 16 year old girl, I mean, think back to '97 and just your perspective now on how remarkable that was, what you were able to do.
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, it was almost ten years. You're kind of in that streamline and you don't look right or left. It's just happening. I was winning. That year I won 12 out of 20 tournaments or something. So it was just kind of, you know, just another Grand Slam, another tournament I won.
Playing Venus in the finals, we were the youngest finalists in history. I mean, that's a great result to look back at now, today. I'm proud of it.

Q. (Inaudible)?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, you maybe want to make me feel old.

Q. You're still very young?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I mean. For life, I've been outside this life, so I know how that is and I'm not afraid of it.

Q. When you left the tour there was not a Chinese player in sight.
MARTINA HINGIS: There weren't that even many Russians. They were just coming up. I lost three in a row. I'm like, Okay, this is not good.
I think with having the goal and the sights they have for Beijing, for the Olympics, they do anything. It's great, a country like China can be the host and willing to go all the way.

Q. Are you impressed with them as a group?
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, they're very hard working. I think you don't see that in the western countries that often anymore because girls have other options to do other things which come easier than do sports, because it's really hard work and you have to have the passion and desire and discipline. I think it's easier to do other things.

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