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U.S. OPEN


August 31, 1993


Gabriela Sabatini


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Q. Gaby, was it easier than you expected?

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't think it was easy, especially the first set. It was very close. I think she had many chances. She had them the first set too. I think I played a little bit better in the important moments. That is what made me win the first set. Then the second set, she started-- I don't know, she tried to do something different. She tried to come in a little bit more. She didn't -- she did more errors, I thought. I don't know, it seemed like she was trying to do something different.

Q. Gaby, getting away from the tennis a minute, yesterday Monica Seles made a reference to something you did for her, thanking you, she specified you. Can you explain? Some of us assumed it was about the vote about No. 1 but we didn't know really about why what Gaby did was so nice?

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't know. I didn't hear that. I don't think it was anything in particular, I mean, it was a tough decision for everybody to talk about that. Me and my family, we thought that maybe to give her some more time, but it was a tough situation.

Q. Did you write her a note, send her a letter anything like that?

GABRIELA SABATINI: I just sent her a fax saying that I was really sorry about what happened.

Q. Just one time, you were in touch with her one time?

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah.

Q. I hear that you was feeling a little -- that you felt a little dizzy in a tournament before coming here with Arantxa Sanchez in Washington. What was -- what happened?

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah, it was very hard to play there. It was very, very humid. The atmosphere was really heavy and I was playing against Sanchez and I got a little bit dizzy. I started to feel tired, so I couldn't finish the match, but today I felt very good. I am very satisfied with my form. I thought I was moving very well and playing really well, so I am very happy with that.

Q. How do you come to the Open after being in a year that wasn't, you know, so much good for you the whole year, what is your reaction to coming here?

GABRIELA SABATINI: This tournament is very special to me for a lot of reasons, because I won here; because I like to play here. I like the crowd. It means a lot to me. So I am very motivated with this tournament, so even that I didn't win any tournaments this year, I am playing good tennis. It is not that I haven't been playing good. I didn't have any good results and I lost a little bit of my confidence, so, that is what I need right now. I look forward to having a good tournament here and I just want to play match by match and hopefully I will get confident each time.

Q. What has Dennis Ralston done for your game; somebody said that he changed your serve?

GABRIELA SABATINI: He didn't make any big changes; probably the small details in my serve, especially. But nothing really big. I am serving much better, I feel a lot better. I am mixing my serve a lot which I didn't have that; trying to do different things and, you know, it makes a big difference sometimes to, you know, to have a good serve or to play a smart serve.

Q. How much improving do you think you need to come into the net, because I saw in your game today that you --

GABRIELA SABATINI: Today I went to the net a lot. I felt very good. There are going to be players where I am going to have to come in more. I am working on that. It is much better.

Q. Can you talk about what it means for you; anything special to have Vilas watch you play and -- can you talk to me about your relationship and how he likes to see you play, can you explain how long you have known him and what it means for you?

GABRIELA SABATINI: I have known him for a long time, since I was, I guess, 13, 14, so he is very special that he comes and watch my match. I admire him a lot for what he did. He was a great tennis player.

Q. Do you ask him advice?

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yeah, sometimes I ask him how he thinks I am playing.

Q. You are wearing this red ribbon because of the Arthur Ashe Foundation?

GABRIELA SABATINI: Yes.

Q. Have you ever thought of having a coaching relationship with Vilas? Has it ever come up in your conversation?

GABRIELA SABATINI: Not for the moment. Not for the moment.

Q. But for the future, he might?

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't know. Who knows, maybe.

Q. In your match today Fendick was hitting a lot of your backhand in the first set and then not so much in the second. Why do you think she might have changed that? Do you think that wasn't working?

GABRIELA SABATINI: She went off a little bit in the second set, I think; especially mentally. It seemed like she was trying to do different things, she was trying to change her game. She was trying to come in more. I thought she did many more errors too.

Q. Gaby, what do you think is the reason why you have not won any tournaments since the Italian Open last year?

GABRIELA SABATINI: If I look at this year, I don't think it was a bad year. I didn't have any moment where I played bad. I got sick at the beginning of the year and that was very hard for me to come back again. It took me awhile. I started to have my rhythm, my level when I played -- when I started to play in Europe and I did very well there. I lost a couple of finals. That match against Mary Joe, it was very tough for me; especially mentally. So you know, at Wimbledon I played okay and now I feel good. It is just I didn't have any good results. That is what I feel, I need to have a good win.

Q. Remember in that match in France with Mary Joe, and also in the Slims with Monica Seles that you have a long one also, for almost for four, five hours, do you consider yourself like a marathon player, something like that, like Chang, like you really --

GABRIELA SABATINI: I don't like to be there two, three hours, if I can win easier. Those two matches were very different. Against Mary Joe I was winning very easy, 6-1, 5-1, so you know, after that it changed completely. She started to play very, very well. I just kept fighting. I think that is what I do; one of my strengths is to fight until the end.

Q. Thank you.

End of FastScripts....

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