US OPEN

September 5, 2004

Jennifer Capriati

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I wasn't happy with the game that I played to lose my serve. I feel like I just didn't concentrate well and I just decided to try to concentrate a little better and step it up. Kind of, you know, knew what she was trying to do a little bit. You know, just tried to keep the ball deep and really, you know, not let her -- give her a chance to come to net and try to be aggressive on her part. I think I served well to get out of it then. So I just played solid tennis, you know, and concentrated really well.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I think between that and then also she started missing a little bit more. I think maybe she lost a little bit of the juice that she came out with. So that helped me, because she made a few more mistakes. But I was, you know, I felt like I was playing good, I was moving well, I was being aggressive so...

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Ai, the way she plays?

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: You know, every time I play her, it's always going to be a difficult match. I mean, she plays -- she's very quick. You know, she just plays with a lot of energy. She doesn't give too many points away. So really, you can't have a bad day against her. So, you know, Ai is pretty much the same player all the time, which is what makes her, you know, who she is, the player she is.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I feel great. I mean, I feel like I'm playing well and my chances are very good.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I mean, I'm just gonna go out there and I expect the best from her. We've played each other so many times. I've played her at her best, I've played her at her worst. I've played her at my best, me at my worst. So it's just kind of like I can just only worry about myself, really...

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, absolutely.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Uhm, I've thought about that before, yeah, but not -- I mean, it's kind of, you know, history for me now. Right now, this is a new time so it's, you know, I'm just trying to think about the present right now.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I really -- I don't really think about it that much, you know. I just think that, I mean, I had the match, I probably should have won, but, you know, it was a great match for women's tennis and, you know, next time just close it out and that's that.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I believe that from now on I don't believe what anybody says, and I just believe (laughter)... I just expect them to be 100 percent at their game. Because I really don't think anybody would be playing if they really didn't feel 100 percent. And that goes for me, too. So I will just expect the best. Really, like I just can only worry about myself, my game, and just don't do a lot of things different.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Uhm, I mean, you try not -- I mean, you want to mix it up. You don't want to try to, like, come out with the same type of game plan every single time, you know. So it's just really kind of when you go out there, it's almost like you can change it right when you're out there, too. You know, you kind of feel what's working, what's not working so...

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Straightforward? Yeah, but I think I want to stick to my -- what my main game plan is, too, because when I start to do things different, that's kind of what messes things up. From her, yeah, you pretty much expect the same thing. Just feel like either it's going to be like a bulldozer effect or, you know, it's just gonna be like, you know, a lot of errors or whatever so...

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I mean, this is the first time we've played here. So I guess for the crowd, you know, it will be exciting.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, it really doesn't matter.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: (Shrugging her shoulders).

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Maybe I haven't won this yet. I don't know, I'm sure it will be pretty equal. Maybe I'll have my fans, she'll have her fans.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: (Smiling). I mean, she probably won in that department, as being most... whatever. But, yeah, I don't have any more comments on that.