US OPEN

September 4, 2006

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Lindsay, please.

Q. Is instant replay your friend?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I've always felt I've had a pretty good feel on that, just knowing balls that are in or out. Yeah, I'm happy. I think I'm like 7 for 8 through the three tournaments, so I feel like the umpires can go, when they chat. I've always tried to be good with that.

Q. The swirling wind, talk about that, the conditions. How you played.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, it is tough. It's always pretty much windy here. That court, it's a little bit more open than Ashe, so a little bit breezy in there. Playing a girl that mis hits a lot of balls, hits a lot of balls all over the court, angles and deep, it was tough. I mean, there's not a lot of rhythm going on out there. But, you know, my whole goal was to try and keep the points a little shorter, be aggressive, be the one either making the error or forcing the ball around.
You know, I was able to do that. I made a few more errors than I probably would have liked. But at the same hand, she was never really in control of a lot of the points.

Q. How are you feeling?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I feel good. I'm ecstatic that I've gotten to this point. You know, I go again tomorrow, I think maybe later in the day or maybe at night. So I'll have some time to recover.
Today wasn't, you know, as physically demanding as yesterday's match. I think I'll be okay.

Q. Can you talk about Justine?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I'm ready. Let's go (laughing).

Q. She's been coming up a lot more this summer.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah.

Q. Which, in a way, plays to your strengths; in a way, might not. Give me a reading on that.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I mean, she's been a very, very tough opponent for me the last few years. She plays really well. You know, we had a tough match in Australia, but I think that, you know, she is obviously unbelievable at offense. But at the same hand, she's so quick and digs out a lot of balls.
For me, it's a hard mix because, you know, if I don't hit the ball deep, she'll take advantage. And if I do, she gets a lot of balls back in play that I have to be ready to come back.
You know, I haven't necessarily sat down, obviously, with a game plan yet to go in it, but I'm hopefully gonna have to think of something else a little different than I've done. I know I've lost to her a number of times in a row.

Q. Do you feel in general the way to beat her is out slug her?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I'm not gonna outrun her. So my options are, you know...
I don't have tons of backup options. I'm gonna have to try and get the first hit on the rally and, again, try to keep the points shorter rather than longer.

Q. You beat her like five times in a row, then lost seven. What turned?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I mean, I played her when she was like 16 or 17. Tim Henman had the greatest quote the other day playing Federer, because, I think, has beaten him a bunch of times. He said, yeah, it helps when you play him when he's 11 years old.
I played her a lot at the beginning of her career, and I think over the years, she's improved her forehand, her confidence. So she's kind of a different player.
I've watched her a play lot this year. I watched her, and also last year, her strengths, her weaknesses. For me, I mean, there's no question I have to keep the balls coming back at her hard and deep and not give her a lot of time to set up and use her forehand.

Q. Is she the most complete player in the game?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Without a doubt?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: In my mind.

Q. You just said you were ecstatic. Is that joy? Is that surprise?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Uhm, it's both. I mean, I promise you if someone had asked me at Wimbledon, I would have laughed that I would even be able to play here. So, I mean, it's been, you know, amazing. I know people always expect a certain level from players, but when, you know, you have the four months that I had, it certainly wasn't in my mind that I would be in at least the quarterfinals at the US Open again.
So, uhm, you know, I'm ecstatic that I was able to come out at this tournament and play the way I've played, still be able to play good tennis. It's great.

Q. This is probably not the first time you've surprised yourself or us?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: This was the hardest year for me in terms of injuries and coming back and some other stuff that's happened. So just, uhm, you know, I only started practicing at, you know, the last few days of Wimbledon. So didn't have a lot of time to prepare.
But, you know, it's been really fun. It's been a fun summer, once I was able to step back on the court and not be injured.

Q. Would it mean a lot to you to have it be a night match tomorrow?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Uhm, I don't care when it is.

Q. Is the other stuff you cited personal or something you can elaborate on?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I mean, you know, I took the one day I passed out in my house, you know, had a concussion, didn't know for a few days, couldn't move around for a couple of days because of falling. You know, some other family stuff, not directly related to me. But just, you know, it wasn't easy, and it wasn't easy with my back in the beginning. So, uhm, you know, it's just been it was just a very odd few months.

Q. It's almost become a rite of passage for great players and you're one of them to have a run, go deep in a Grand Slam, win it the way Pete did, for instance. Do you subscribe to that theory? Do you think it's something that's inevitably going to happen? Is it in the pipeline? What would it take for you to feel like you've made that great penetrating run?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I don't know. Everything has to kind of fall into place for a player at a Grand Slam. I know I certainly had that run last year at Wimbledon, came up just short. I felt like I played so well through the whole tournament.
It's still too early to say here, ironically, even though I'm in the quarters. It's deep in the tournament, but still so far away from making the real penetrable run.
But, I mean, I will say this is the most, like, fun and relaxed I've ever had at a Grand Slam, and I think because I didn't think I'd be at this point. So it's been enjoyable. But the really tough part is just now coming up.

Q. After your match, that little extra wave to the crowd, part of trying to soak in this experience?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Uhm, no. I think that the last two days have been so fun playing on those two courts. I mean, they're definitely more into the tennis on grandstand and Armstrong than sometimes on Ashe. Although in Ashe, they really get into it in a close match. But it's been fun to have the fans out there pulling for me. I've really enjoyed the last two days playing.

Q. Having lost Andre just this last week, have you thought more about how you want to leave the game?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, I mean, he is one of a kind. He's remarkable. You know, I think how he did it was extremely courageous, and I don't think I would ever be that courageous in terms of saying something like he did. I think it would be much more private, and I don't think I'll necessarily know until it's over.

Q. Did you catch any of that? Did you watch it?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I didn't watch it while it was happening. I could hear it. I was having some treatment. But then I've seen it on the replay. It's so emotional. It was really, really touching. I don't know how he can speak so well going through all that he was going through. He still sounded like a philosopher; it was amazing.

Q. What do you make of the way Serena is playing, and what do you think will happen in that match tonight?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, that will be fun to watch. I mean, Serena is playing great. When she's confident, she's always tough to beat. I know she kind of relishes and enjoys playing Amélie. I think that she'll be pretty fired up tonight and ready to go.

Q. In a way, Lindsay, do you see tennis and the tennis community as a family, and, second of all, if so, would Andre be the leader of that family?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know if you'd consider us a family (laughing).

Q. Dysfunctional family?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, exactly. I don't even think dysfunctional goes to describe the tennis world.
Very rarely do we see the big picture that we're all in this together. But, you know, I did hear McEnroe say, you know, he thinks that Andre would be a great commissioner. I mean, he is everything we would want to represent tennis. I don't know, "family" is a strong word, though.

Q. Several players have talked about Justine opening up in the past 12 months, being more present in the locker room, getting a few more relationships with other players. Is that part of the inevitable process of maturing on the tour? We saw it with Monica, a few others. Have you sensed a change in her and a warmth that maybe wasn't evident earlier?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I haven't, but I haven't been around, you know. I saw her just really briefly last week. We're on separate schedules. This week, at a Grand Slam, I mean, you try not to see anyone in the locker room, it's so crowded.
But I don't know. That could be the case. I think that everyone goes through changes as they, you know, get older and get more mature. I mean, I've never subscribed to the theory that your opponent's your enemy and don't talk to anybody. I don't know if she used to have that or not, but, uhm, you know, she seems to stick very close to herself and the team with people around her. It's possible she has more friends now, I'm not sure.

Q. Setting aside the quality of the competition, you know, can you be brutally honest about what would be your obstacles at this stage to winning a Grand Slam title, this title?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, the couple the players up top. For me, the obstacles the last few years have been Kim, who's obviously not here, Justine is the biggest obstacle for me, and it happens to be in the quarterfinals right now. You know, it's getting past those couple players towards the latter stages of a tournament.

Q. Are you close to your family? Can you talk about that. Do they travel with you?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: My mom and I have always been extremely close. As she's gotten older, she's slowly kind of wound down her work, although she still works, you know, probably like 75% of the time. So, uhm, I've been very fortunate that she goes with me most of the time now, especially when my husband can't go. They kind of work together to make sure one of them can be with me. I don't think they trust me in my old age on the road.
My mom's meant everything to me. I got her a house, she lives just down the street from us. She helps us all the time. I'm not terribly close to my father, but he was here last year.

Q. Do you feel a connection with the fans in the same way Andre does?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No one does (smiling). He has it on another level.

Q. How would you describe your relationship with them?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's great. I think the older I've gotten, the more they've gotten behind me. It's been fun here to play the last few years. I feel like I've let them down a little bit in some of the matches, losing a couple close ones. But, uhm, I feel like the older I've gotten, the more they've gotten behind me.

Q. Do you think you have a following greater than you realize? I don't want to put you on the level with Andre, but in terms of American women, Jennifer is gone, the Williamses have been hurt, you've gone through this whole long stretch and have connected all the way through. You have always been outgoing, you've always worked hard to connect with fans. Do you think it's possible you might be surprised in the next however, six months to 18 months, however much longer you go along?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Maybe. I don't know. It's a very hard topic. I'm not very comfortable in that capacity.
But, you know, I've always tried to be, you know, open and honest and be myself when I'm dealing with things. You know, Arlen was telling me yesterday that during Andre's match at one of the changeovers, they posted I had won and there was a big cheer, I was like, Are you serious? I couldn't even believe that. He was like, Yeah, I swear.
I don't know. I don't think I realize much of anything about what I am to these people or my impact or anything. I'm pretty clueless about it all.

Q. Would you consider announcing that it would be either your last year or tournament and take the pressure but also the emotional...
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I could never do that. Like I said, I'm not that courageous. You know, Andre was amazing at that. But I think you find besides, I think Chris did it, as well. A lot of players seem to do it more privately. I'm sure that that would be the case for me.

Q. Who was the woman you took a picture with after, the woman in the wheelchair?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, Steve and his wife. He has Lou Gehrig's disease. They've been married for 30 years. They come on the tennis tour. It's hard to sometimes find them all the time because of where people in wheelchairs fit. I spent some time with them in New Haven and just happened to run into them on the way off the court.

Q. Do they live here?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: They do live on the east coast. Virginia, I think. I don't know them all that well. My mom became friends with them last week. I talked to them a couple times. I talked to them, obviously, on the way off the court, I saw them.

Q. Do you start to feel like you have nine lives?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know. I mean, it seems like, yeah, I mean, I was surprised. You know, even hearing some other players. I mean, they talk about retirement and someone mentioned Graf was 29 and Courier said he was 29. I'm like, I can't believe I'm older than they were when they stopped.
I feel like I've gone through a lot. Each time, where it could have been or someone else maybe thought it was the right time for me to stop, I've always wanted to get back out and start hitting again.
You know, I guess no one knows really how it progresses, you know, when you stop doing something you love so much, especially when you're so young. But I would imagine that would be the day when I don't want to go back out and hit. I don't know if that's one more life away or a few more lives away, but, uhm, just happy that I came back again this last time.

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