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SONY ERICSSON OPENMarch 30, 2008Lindsay DavenportMIAMI, FLORIDA THE MODERATOR: Questions please. Q. Feels good today? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, gosh, sometimes you just never know what to expect when you go out for a certain match on a certain day. You know, we had a really, really long tough first game, and I didn't win that game. I thought like that was a really important game. It turned out that it wasn't that big a deal. I mean, I was playing really well. I felt really confident out there. Was hitting the ball well. I thought going in, I mean, obviously she's had a great year so far. But it's very tough to play Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, doing well in Indian Wells. You can see on the men's side with Fish and Djokovic. I was trying to take advantage of that, obviously. You never know what your opponent will bring, but I could tell she was maybe a little fatigued, and I tried to take advantage of that. Q. Do you feel like this career comeback just keeps gaining momentum? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know. You know, like I told you guys yesterday, I was really excited to play someone at the top. Someone that I hadn't played before, and someone kind of up and coming. She's been around for a few years, but obviously she's young and very good. But in this comeback, I felt like I -- for lack of better words, I thought I'd make a fool of myself. I've done pretty well for my age and for what I've been through. Obviously, days like today just give me more intensive to keep going. Q. What gives you more satisfaction: To win a title where, you know, they're are top ranked players around or to beat No. 2 in the world? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Any time -- I don't want to demean any tournament. Any time you win a tournament it's a great accomplishment. But having said that, I reached a point a month or two ago where I'm like, Okay, I'm ready to play the bigger tournaments. Play the top girls on a more consistent basis. I felt more confident in my game, and where I was at. So today's obviously the biggest win I've had since coming back. It's quite rewarding. But having said that, I've got to come right back out tomorrow and play another girl in the top I think 15 or 16. Got to play at a high level again. Q. How many balls did you hit within an inch of her baseline? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know. I was trying. I knew if I hit it short I'd be in trouble. But I was trying to be aggressive on the right shots. You know, trying not to let her dictate, because I know she does that well. Q. Lindsay, you won 13 of 14 net points. That might be about as perfect a performance that you've had. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I picked the right shots to come in on (laughing). Well, you know, some days it's better not to overthink it. I was going for big shots in the beginning and trying to hit backhands up the line when I had the opportunity, and they're going in. I had a few minor setbacks, like not winning the first game. I was serving at 3-0, 40-Love, and got broken and quickly had to change the momentum back in my favor again. Today I was able to do that. Some days it doesn't always go like that. Q. When you were having your greatest years, and not that you're not going to have another... LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Thank you (laughing) ten years ago. Q. But there was an intimidation factor that you had, that no one wanted to face that serve or those groundstrokes. Did you feel a little of that intimidation factor against her today? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I feel it more as being ranked where I am that they probably don't want to see me as early as they're going to see me. I don't think anyone's saying, I never want to face Lindsay. But I think that I knew coming in I had to get someone in the top 8 third round. I know that I was probably the seed 25 to 32 that the players in the top didn't want to face, so I try to take that in my favor. But I don't know what the other players think too much. Q. Ana said she thought you were a top 10 player today. Do you feel like you are at this point? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I've felt like that since my comeback. I felt like I've been really consistent. I've had a lot of wins. I've had a few losses. I lost to Sharapova and Jankovic, and I lost the Fed Cup. That's a pretty good record for someone ranked where I'm at since September. So I feel like the more matches I can win, my ranking will go up, and hopefully it won't be an issue. But, yeah, I don't think I would be out here playing and trying as hard as I am if I felt I couldn't be somewhere at the top. I don't know if that will be 15 or 8 or whatever it is, but I feel like especially on days like today I'm a good player. Q. Do you ever wish you could transplant the attitude you have now into the body of ten years ago? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Sure, but that's the beauty of getting older, right? Get wiser. (Smiling) No one's wise in their teen years or their early 20s. But, yeah, I mean it would be nice to go back in time a little bit. But maybe I wouldn't be in the position I'm in today. You never know. But I think my outlook has been really great since going through everything personally that I've gone through in the last year. I mean, all great things. Can't help but be in a happier, better place in my life. Q. Do you have Safina next? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. Q. You haven't played her in a couple of years. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I've only played her once at Wimbledon. I actually have a lot of respect for her as well. Very dangerous player. She can be up and down, so you never really know what to expect. But, obviously, going into the match, I have to expect the best Dinara. She's very athletic. She's got a great backhand and a good serve. So I'm going to have to try to kind of force the issue like I did today. Trying to get her running around the court and see if I can get her a little bit upset with the Safin temper. Q. How is this Stadium Court different from other courts, if it is different? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, so far this tournament it's played really well. I think sometimes the wind gets a factor and the air gets a little swirly. But it's a great court. I think they're all kind of maybe built by the same people, the US Open and here. But I like the court. It's, you know, one of our best stadiums we've got. Q. Can you talk about basically just the work/life balance that you've had? To be able to take the time off and start a family and say, I can come back. I can be great again, you know. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I don't know. I mean, after my son was born and the first few weeks, I was really motivated to try to come back. I have no idea where that comes from. It surprised myself, my husband, everyone around me. But once it got in my head that this is something I wanted to do, I was really excited about the challenges that lay in front of me. Obviously I was very nervous about what could happen. So often in sports you get people coming back, and a lot of the media or the fans are kind of scratching their heads and wondering why. And I was really sensitive to that. But, like I said, I was really motivated. More excited that I've ever been to come back. What a great reason to come back. I felt like, Well, if it didn't go well, I've got such a great thing going at home. It's pushed me to work hard. I don't spend as much time focused on my tennis or working out as I used to. There's just not enough hours in the day for that. But so far I'm trying to give tennis enough time that I still am doing really well, and still kind of keeping everyone happy at home. Q. How great would it be if you could still be playing when Jagger's old enough to understand what's going on? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I don't know at what age they understand, but it would be great. Even the memories that I know he can't really remember from this point. We've got so many wonderful pictures. A lot of opportunities. Hopefully, you know, if we keep going well, that he'll have some glimpses and remembrance of where he was and what we were doing the first few years of his life. Q. You'll have videotapes of the matches. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: We don't. We don't collect that, but I'm sure we can get some. Q. I don't know how many times you've been asked this, but what is the biggest difference between the players you're facing now and the players you faced when you first started coming up in the pro ranks? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think that the game has definitely -- I mean, my first event was in '91. I turned pro in '92 or '93. The girls are much more athletic. Physically bigger. A lot of girls are taller. We had some tall players, but for the most part the ball's definitely coming harder. There's definitely an emphasis on fitness and being as fit and as quick as you can. That wasn't really there when I first started. I think that it seems to be, you know, off the court in the locker room, players seem to -- obviously you get some players that don't get along. You're always going to have that with a group of girls. But for the most part, it's a really light atmosphere in there. We have a lot of young girls that like to have a lot of fun and get along well in the locker room, so I think it's a friendlier nature as well. Q. Your husband said he wants you to -- LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, no. My husband said what? (Laughing). Q. It was actually what you said. You said your husband said he wants you to play in Rome because he would like to visit. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Q. Now the question. Any particular reason to play in Warsaw? Because I know you're planning an exhibition event there. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, one of the great things about the comeback is trying to go to places that I've never been. You always say as a player, you'll do that, you'll do that, then you always pick kind of the same places. So far coming back I've tried to go outside my little sheltered box of tournaments that I play and try to go to some new cities. Normally I don't play the red clay at all, but my husband's been on me the last month that he's never been to Italy. He really wants to go to Rome. This is the only time we're going to go to Rome is if I play next month. So we're thinking about that. But, also, the opportunity -- I've been to Moscow only once, and it was for a tournament, in and out. Going next month with Fed Cup, I think, is going to be a great opportunity to sightsee more and see more of the country. Then going to Warsaw, a place I know I'll never go back to in my life. So I'm trying to take advantage of that as I'm getting older, and not going to be playing as long. Q. You know they traded both Serbs for you because they said you're more of an audience magnet. LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, really? I don't know about that. That's debatable (laughing). Q. But you're taking Jagger with you? LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. End of FastScripts |
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