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FEDCUP FIRST ROUND: GERMANY v USAFebruary 4, 2008Lindsay DavenportZina GarrisonLisa RaymondLA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: First question for the U.S. team, please. Q. Zina, could you talk a little bit about your emotions today. After 1-1 on Saturday, things got dicey, then you had to sit around in the rain. CAPTAIN GARRISON: I was up at about 6 o'clock this morning just kind of around. I was very eager. I walked into the players lounge, saw Lindsay, so I knew she was ready (laughter). You know, it was just a matter of just going out there, like Lindsay and I talked in the beginning, just going out there and being the player we knew she was. She went out there and played well. Ashley was a bonus. Ashley went out there and laid it on the line like I asked her to, came up with some good shots when she needed to. It was just nice to see these two back out there again just enjoying and showing the way that doubles should be played. I mean, it was really nice. The volleys and the serve, it was beautiful to watch. Q. Can all three of you talk about Ashley's performance this weekend. She's only 22, her first Fed Cup. CAPTAIN GARRISON: Yeah, I keep forgetting how young she is. I've tried for a couple times to get Ashley on the team just because, you know, I think she's very gifted. I mean, she's a good little athlete, runs down a lot of balls. It was nice. This was the perfect tie for her to step up, and she did. Like she said yesterday, TeamTennis helped her a lot. I think it was nice. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I thought it was so great. I mean, she handled everything so well. I mean, you know, everyone was expecting her to be playing up 1-0 on Saturday, and she was thrown into a tough situation, down 1-0. She just played so well. I mean, Zina and I were talking in Australia. I felt strongly, and so did Zina, that we wanted her to be playing the singles when Venus said she couldn't play. That's exactly why: she's tough, she's reliable. It's really great to see someone kind of make their breakthrough. It was fun watching her and cheering for her all weekend. Q. Let's talk Russia, particularly the fact that we could be seeing Maria. Might make the team tougher. But clay. You have been there, you know what it's like. CAPTAIN GARRISON: Yeah, I mean, Russia, we know going into it, it's going to be tough. Lindsay's already given me the go ahead to go and to call those Williams (laughter). But it's going to be tough. We know that we have to get through them if we want to get to the finals. I'm banking on that we possibly can. I'm going to do everything possible to get the best team there and go from there. Once we're on the court, I feel we have a great opportunity to possibly finally win one there, so... Q. Lisa, if you look at Ashley's game and you see her size, the fact she's not going to have that big, crushing serve like a lot of the players out there, but she is speedy, what does she need to do to on a week-in, week-out basis to really get up into the elite numbers there? LISA RAYMOND: Well, you know, Ashley has had a ranking -- I think her ranking does not reflect how good of a player she is right now. If I can remember, a few years ago I think she was in the top 30 or 40 in the world at one point. I think she had some injuries. So she's certainly capable of obviously getting back up there. As Zina said, and Lindsay, she's a great little athlete, a lot of potential, and she's tenacious. I mean, she's a fighter. We saw that today. That wins a lot of tennis matches. It's not just about how you hit the ball; it's what's between the ears. She's obviously showed she's got a big heart and she's tenacious. You know, I'm sure she's got a good coach and they'll work on certain things. Yeah, I mean, again, I think the biggest thing is her ranking does not reflect the player that she is. Q. Zina, what is the toughest part of the job as Fed Cup captain? Obviously you're going to be in a situation now where you're going to play an away tie on clay, you're struggling to get players to commit. Has that been the toughest thing for you? CAPTAIN GARRISON: Yeah, the toughest thing is that, you know, they might tell you, yeah, they're going to play at that particular time. Something might come up. They're injured. There's tournaments in between. It's never just that easy as saying, Oh, yeah, I'll be there. So it's just a matter -- I think it's a lot tougher than what people realize because, you know, there's months in between. You're still trying to figure out putting the right group of people together, as well. It's not always just -- I don't necessarily believe it's always just about the rankings. I mean, you've got to have that right gel. Q. Ideally would I take a guess that Venus, Serena, Lindsay and Lisa would be ideal for Russia? CAPTAIN GARRISON: I didn't say that. Nothing against them or whoever. I mean, I really want the ones that are here right now just to enjoy the fact that we have the opportunity to go to Russia, and I will think about what the team is from there. Hopefully all the ones that are here and the ones that are not here will be healthy and I can make a good choice. Q. Lisa, after Ashley's win clinched the tie, did that make you look more forward to playing the doubles match? LISA RAYMOND: No. I mean, I think, again, my job on this team was in case it were to come down to a fifth match, to be ready to go out there with Lindsay and to win the match. I mean, obviously to go out there with a lot less pressure as we did, kind of just have some fun and play well. But, you know, again, if it came down to it, that's what I've been practicing for. That's why I was here on Tuesday and had the mindset that if it did come down to it, I was going to be ready. Q. Lisa, when you go on the court and come back with the winning title and cheering crowd, how do you feel? LISA RAYMOND: Well, I think there's nothing better than going out there, especially in a situation like this, to play for your country, to have a crowd on your side. To not only win for your teammates, but also to win for a home crowd, especially to play in front of a USA crowd, it's an amazing feeling. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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