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PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 20, 2008

Lindsay Davenport

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What happened?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, you know, I just hurt my back, and obviously I've gone down this road before. I was debating before, you know, you never know, like, okay, I will go out there and maybe it will loosen up.
It was pretty obvious to me after two games that I was pretty sore out there, and it was quite hard to rotate. Obviously with playing tennis you need your rotation, so, you know, I tried to do the best I could. But sometimes these things happen, and when you're familiar with an injury, you kind of know right away what you're up against.

Q. You didn't hurt it out there then, you hurt it in practice?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, it was injured before I came here and I got it better, got it better, and then this morning woke up and just couldn't move. I actually don't know what caused it, but, you know, I got here at 9:30 this morning, was with the trainers for three hours or something before I played, and I was hopeful that with all the medication I took and the treatments, but just didn't happen.

Q. Lower back, upper back?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Lower to mid.

Q. So when exactly did you hurt it?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I hurt it the first time the Saturday before tournament. I came out here Sunday. Was getting treatment, and everything. It got way better and was manageable. I literally have no idea what happened, but I woke up this morning and was not able to move again. The joints were stuck and the muscles had spasmed a little bit.
They did a really great job of getting me through the tournament and getting me out there today. It just -- I guess it just needs to heal.

Q. You've been down this road before, so just talk about what you think is going to happen during the next few weeks.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, it's so hard to say, because, you know, I've been playing now for nine, eight months maybe, or seven months, and this was the first real injury I've had. Which in my book is pretty good. In someone else's book maybe not so good.
But I'm hopeful because it did get better, you know, for the last 10 days that it will clear up and I'm able to play again hopefully in Miami. We'll just have to see what the next few days brings.

Q. Does it sort of bring it back home again? I'm back on the tour now, injuries are back?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's not so fresh, body's not so fresh anymore. But, yeah, it's exactly what happens. You know, I think I've played a relatively smart schedule, but coming back from Australia and going right into Fed Cup, couple weeks then to Memphis then to here.
It's just a lot of tennis, and the older you get obviously it's no surprise that it's tougher to come back week after week. But I'm hoping it was just kind of the one-off injury and not due to fatigue, and hopefully if I get it better and it will heal up.

Q. It's a real balancing act for you, too, right? Because you need the matches?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I want to play, and I definitely want to play when it's in the States. These are the tournaments I was really looking forward to, and thought I timed it pretty well with playing some smaller tournaments before playing the bigger tournaments.
When I finished the other night against Bartoli I felt fantastic. I mean, it was late, but I felt really good. I thought I hit the ball well. I was ready to go. You wake up on a morning like this and the body just doesn't cooperate. I think I'll obviously deal with that more now being in my 30s, but I haven't given up hope completely yet.

Q. Does something like this make you question whether attempting to balance tennis and motherhood was wise?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I mean, as an athlete you get injuries all the time. Like I said, this was the first one I've had to deal with, and I've got some experience in that.
The only thing that's tough is with a back injury I can't hold my son. So it's been a tough couple weeks in that regard. Haven't been able to lift him up out of his crib, out of the stroller, out of the car seat.
So I felt -- I've been feeling like kind of a bad mom in that regard. So I'm hoping it gets better in the next few days and not be just the mom giving orders to everybody.

Q. What's the timetable before you make your decision about Miami? And how much will the Fed Cup affect that decision about playing Miami?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I mean, my decision on Miami will come in the next few days before I'm supposed to leave and see how it feels. It's so hard, because literally I was feeling really well until I woke up this morning. So I don't want to be too dramatic and say, you know, that I can't play right now.
But having said that, it did respond well like 10 days ago, so I'm hopeful. And then just have to play everything by ear after that. Obviously my schedule was to play in the States in Miami and Amelia Island. If that's not possible, obviously I'll relook at it and probably play a little bit more in Europe than I had anticipated.

Q. Because the goal is Wimbledon, Olympics, US Open, things like this probably don't set you back that much, huh?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It kind of works both ways. This tournament meant a lot to me. That would be up there with those, because -- just of all my memories here and being in being California and being so special to me.
Having said that, if you would ask me, you know, two weeks ago if I would get this far and feel as well as I did throughout the tournament, I'd be ecstatic with where I'm at now.
But, you know, I still have a lot more positive things coming for the rest of the year. Those tournaments you mentioned, I'm obviously looking forward to. That's the beauty about this game. It's like you have a setback, but you have more opportunities coming your way in the coming months.
While I'm obviously disappointed, I'm still looking forward to and excited for the rest of the year.

Q. So what's your feelings on Venus not playing Fed Cup?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I know. I heard that. I was really disappointed. I know that we're trying to talk Venus into it, but, you know, our chances are much more favorable with one or both of them on the team.
So I have to fly to Miami just for that reason to attack to Serena.

Q. Have you been texting her or anything?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I haven't. I talked to Venus in Memphis, and she kind of told me there what she was thinking. I haven't seen Serena since Australia. Hopefully I'll see her in the next few days.

Q. Are you actually willing to play singles on clay if...
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, it looks like I have to. Yeah, that wouldn't be pretty for the U.S., so we'll try. We'll see if we can make something else work out.

Q. What were your thoughts on Monica's performance the other night?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, well, I know she can do better. (laughter.) I actually didn't think she even had another dance, and someone told me that they dance again on Monday. So, yeah, I think -- I hope she does better.
Still, it's so difficult to go out there and do something you're completely unfamiliar with. I couldn't even walk across this room in high heels, let alone try and do a dance number.
So, you know, it's going to take her some time. Hopefully in the next few days her and her partner will come up with a good -- I think if they do a Salsa or Samba or something. She'll come out all spicy for that.

Q. Would you mind handicapping the two semifinal matches tomorrow?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, they're good matches. I mean, I know Jankovic plays Ivanovic and Maria plays Kuznetsova. Yeah, top four seeds. Good matches. I don't know too much about the rivalry between Ana and Jelena. Sometimes when you're from the same country there's a lot of history there.
I'm not familiar with their history. I think it will really come down to Ivanovic. She's the aggressor and how many errors to winners ratio she kind of has, and how many balls Jelena can really dig out and make Ana play.
And the same with Maria and Svetlana. Maria has obviously been playing great this whole year. She's been really consistent in her kind of aggressive style of play, fighting really hard.
But Svetlana likes to mix it up and give her some problems. I like Maria's chances in that.

End of FastScripts

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