US OPEN

September 5, 2000

Monica Seles

MODERATOR: Questions for Monica.

MONICA SELES: Well, I really didn't feel nervous going out there, but I think my game definitely showed that I was nervous for sure.

MONICA SELES: Not so many just in general, but just really the way I played today. I really started off the match very sluggishly. I tried to get back into it in the end, but it was way too late. I just have to look at why that keeps happening.

MONICA SELES: I mean, I really don't know because my balls were flying all over the place and I was just worried, "Gosh, I better collect myself." What she was doing wasn't even entering my mind at all really till the middle of the second set.

MONICA SELES: I really don't know. I really don't know. I mean, obviously she -- I don't know. I really don't know right now.

MONICA SELES: Yeah, definitely.

MONICA SELES: No, huh-uh, not at all. I really didn't do anything differently than my previous matches. Just really once I lost that first game, I was like, "Wow, I'm really miss-timing them majorly today." Maybe I panicked a bit. Against Martina, you're not going to get any free points. I started making so many unforced errors and the set was gone probably in 10, 15 minutes.

MONICA SELES: Definitely. I just really had to work hard to come back there in the second set and just fight and try somehow to calm my own game down. That's where the whole trouble started.

MONICA SELES: At least I was not giving her free points, as many as I was in the first set. I was at least trying to play a little bit of normal tennis like I'm capable of.

MONICA SELES: Right now I really have not given an ounce of thought on it. I'd just have to give a quick answer. I'd rather not do that.

MONICA SELES: It's hard to say. She's not a power player compared to like Venus and Serena. Obviously her serve is not as strong. But I think her sense of the game and her consistency is better than Serena's and Venus'. I think the next match should be really interesting. They're probably the two best players playing, then Serena and Lindsay on the other end.

MONICA SELES: Well, I mean, right now really it's hard for me to think. I know we leave a week from today. Right now I'm really disappointed with tonight, just working so hard to get to the quarters. I'm not that happy with my game that was there tonight.

MONICA SELES: No. I think really just to calm myself down and not get flustered that the first set was gone so fast. I mean, you have days that your timing is off. But against her, I seem to have more days like that than I should have. I just said, "Okay, really just try to stay in the match." My timing got a little better, but even really in the second set I still miss-timed a lot of balls, and really she made a couple of unforced errors at key times and let me back into the match.

MONICA SELES: Oh, yeah, I played Venus in San Diego. Also I lost 6-Love.

MONICA SELES: That was really terrific. They were trying so hard to get me into the match. Really truly it helped. I think I just kept on fighting. I could have said, "Oh, gosh, this is really bad. It can only get worse. Just bag it in." But at least I kept fighting, got a better second set.