HOME DEPOT CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 9, 2002

Jennifer Capriati

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: It's tough, because we were both returning well. I think she was returning well, especially on my serves, so yeah, I didn't have any trouble returning her serve, and I felt like I was still serving well, but you know, that was her strongest game, and it was just kind of there in the second set I guess it was harder.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I can't really comment on anybody else. I don't really know what everybody else is feeling. Just myself, that if I had that attitude, I just wouldn't come at all, you know.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. I think I said before that I'm motivated to be here, and it's nice having the championships and the new facility and the new city, so I think that's just part of the motivation. I've got nothing to lose, and so, I feel fresh, because maybe I didn't play that well in Europe or have that many long tough matches. I was home for a week, and I recharged my batteries, so I feel like I'm playing well right now. I mean, I'm definitely not going to pack it in. Otherwise, if I really was that tired and didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, she has to still win first.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I'm going to go in there and just play my game and not think about all the other matches and all the other stuff, and just try to play like I have been playing, and just play the ball and try to play my own game.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I think it's just a matter of just when you're getting in that situation, is just to really slow down and take my time and just also just play aggressive and go for it, and kind of think to myself, well, now's the time where I just got to play like how I have been playing my game and just kind of have that attitude instead of getting tense or maybe getting afraid to win or thinking about the moment too much. It's just a matter of if you're feeling loose and relaxed from the get-go.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I'm not going to change completely the way, you know, I go about it on the court and my whole rhythm especially. Sometimes we have a tendency to be nervous, that maybe some people go faster, whatever. As long as it's not that, then it's fine.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I mean, usually all the trainers I've worked with before, they all kind of get together and talk about it, so there is not too many changes and too many things going on, so it's basically the same things that I always work on.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I think it's up there like winning a Gland Slam, but I wouldn't go as far as to say whoever wins this is the real world champion or No. 1. It's a pretty important tournament and very difficult to win. The status is definitely high, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

JENNIFER CAPRIAIT: Yeah, it's just as important. Yeah, it's just the prestige is there. Yeah, it's like a second week of a Grand Slam. It's pretty important.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I'm playing an opponent, so you've got to give her some credit, too. It's just not very -- it's not always one-sided. That's tennis. There is a lot of things always going on.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I think you can sort of tell the way I play, if I'm playing aggressive, and I'm hitting deep along the baseline, and then kind of moving the ball around, when I'm up on the court and got that just real aggressive mental attitude going on, and I just feel like moving forward a lot, and I can't really explain everything to what I feel. It's my game.

JENNIFER CAPRIAIT: It's different from the surgery I had before, which is the vision correction lasik surgery. Now because I have had that, it's important that I don't let it go too much, because it could interfere with that other surgery. It's a common thing. A lot of people have it that are out in the sun a lot?

JENNIFER CAPRIAIT: Well, the doctor actually explained it the best way by saying it's like a windshield wiper, the glass is not clear, you know, it's never going to be clear. There is something stuck on the glass.

JENNIFER CAPRIAIT: I don't know. I mean, it's just a trigium (ph.) removal.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Next week.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, well, I guess I identified it quite a long time, a few years. I mean, the more you're out in the sun, the worse it gets.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I guess they're getting worse, that's why I'm getting it done.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: It would be great. I mean, I would be thrilled. It would be like winning the first one and winning the last one. Who cares what happens in between, you know?

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No. I never feel like an underdog going against Serena. It's just we always just have really tough matches, close matches, and it just seems like who's really on that day or, you know, who's just playing well that day. It could just always go either way. It's a matter of a couple points here or there. That's how I always feel, which is pretty close. I never feel like the underdog.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Of course, I can. I definitely believe that. You've got to give her credit on that's what she's improved on, is being mentally tough on those important points, and you know, it's something that I've just got to get back to doing also.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I feel almost like we play similar games, just, you know, strong off the baseline, and kind of just have that "never say die" attitude. He's just a great shot maker, and just when you think no way can he hit a shot and make a winner, I mean, he does. You know, he's just a pretty amazing player to watch, and I always love watching him, because I think I can always learn something from his game and the way he plays points and his strategy and stuff like that.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, when I'm feeling light and when I'm feeling fast on my feet, I think that's always just a big part of my game, and you know, I can hit great shots, but if I'm not there set up for the ball, then it doesn't matter. A lot of my game is timing I think, so when I get myself in position, I feel more confident hitting the shot, and automatically it just lifts my game up.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I felt really good out there moving-wise, and I guess fitness is starting to pay off a little.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, I mean, I didn't want to underestimate Maggie either, but I think that second set I sort of let it slip away and just -- you know, she got lucky on some shots and I missed some easy shots. I felt like I was pretty much in control the whole match.