U.S. OPEN

September 2, 1992

Lisa Raymond

Q. Lisa, is that sort of the difference between playing college and pro tennis? What happened at the end of the first set? You hung in there and--

LISA RAYMOND: I think the main difference between collegiate and professional is mentally, the mental aspect. Professionals are lot tougher than a lot of the collegiate players, and you know, there is no real easy points in the pros, and you know, against someone, the caliber of Monica, you know, you can't, if you get a chance, you can't let it slip away. Whereas maybe in the collegiate tournaments you get a second chance.

Q. Did Alex O'Brien's match with Jim Courier give you some encouragement going into this one?

LISA RAYMOND: Yeah, maybe a little bit. He played a great match. And he-- you know, I think the one thing that I took after watching that was watching him; how he went in there feeling he had nothing to lose and he wasn't intimidated. You know, I was pretty nervous before the match, but you know, once I got out there, I figured I had nothing to lose, just let it all hang out.

Q. Were you surprise had with the score in the first set that you were able to keep up with Seles?

LISA RAYMOND: Yeah little bit. You know, actually, I felt like I was controlling a lot of the points, and even the games, you know, that I lost, you know, I was having a lot of trouble returning her serve, but besides that, you know, except when she would hit-- put my serve away or something like that, I thought I was in control a lot of the time in the first set.

Q. What was the utmost fear like to hear all those people cheering for you to be on that court?

LISA RAYMOND: It was great. After, to make it 5-All, the crowd just went wild. I think that that helps players so much, you know it gives me an extra something to fight for. I think that that support out there really helped me in the first set.

Q. What were you doing in the first set? It looked like you were serving real well?

LISA RAYMOND: I was being real aggressive. That is my game, when I don't play, real aggressive tennis is when, you know, I don't do as well, but you know, the first set I was just taking my opportunities and -- to come in when I could, and you know, I put a few real good games together.

Q. Does the fact that you put a couple of good games together against the best player in the world on the computer give you confidence in the future?

LISA RAYMOND: Definitely. You know, I think that the more times I get in a position like that, you know, against the top players, the more experience I get out there. It is definitely going to help me.

Q. Do you feel like her play really picked up in the second set or do you feel like you were making too many mistakes?

LISA RAYMOND: I think it was combination of both. She wasn't playing -- she was missing a lot in the first, but yet I also -- my level of game in the first set was better than it was in the second. I think it was a combination.

Q. It was just kind of an emotional let-down?

LISA RAYMOND: Not really. I mean, it was in a way that-- just that, you know, I fought so hard to get it, you know, 5-4, 5-All, when I got down 6-5 and I lose my serve, it was kinds of a letdown.

Q. Did it seem to happen real fast? You played so well, then all of a sudden it just --

LISA RAYMOND: I think once I got broken in the second, it seemed like it pretty much started to snowball after that.

Q. On the 12th game of the first set, did the wind have any factor in --

LISA RAYMOND: No, it wasn't too windy out there at all.

Q. Was she as good as you expected or better? Did she do anything differently than what you would have thought?

LISA RAYMOND: I may have expected her to put a little more pressure on me, but you know, then again, I also -- I was putting a lot of pressure on her, so, I made it difficult for her to play her own style.

Q. Were you able to enjoy that first set? You had a lot of people screaming and hollering?

LISA RAYMOND: Oh, yeah, I had a great time out there. When the crowd gets into it like that-- if you saw Shaun Stafford play last night, you probably saw how the crowd got behind her. It make it a lot more fun. You start smiling and you are not -- you think to yourself you are not playing for yourself, you are playing for a bunch of people out there.

Q. Did her match give you inspiration?

LISA RAYMOND: Yeah. You know, I am pretty good friends with Shaun, and you know, to see her at 35 in the third to the number three player in the world, I think that is what Martina is. That was great. Definitely helped me today.

Q. When you went out, did you think you had a chance to win realistically?

LISA RAYMOND: I wanted to keep it close. That was my main objective. When it did start getting close, I started thinking, hey, maybe I can win this first set. You know, I think -- like I said, she started to pick her game up a little bit, but going into the match I wasn't really worried about winning or losing. It was more of just trying to stay with her.

Q. When you were serving at 5-6, and you missed that forehand volley at 30-All, did that kind of deflate you a little bit or did you --

LISA RAYMOND: A little bit. But you know, I played -- two sloppy points there, and you know, I think that is just going to come with experience, getting in that position more often and hopefully some day down the road, I will win those -- that game.

Q. How do you feel about the perspective that you are older than she is and she is the number one player in the world? Do you ever think about that?

LISA RAYMOND: I think the age aspect of it, it depends on the individual. For me, it was a right decision to go to college, you know, I am still at the University of Florida. This year around I plan on finishing the year. You know, I just think it depends on each person. For some people it is best for them to turn pro, you know, at fourteen or fifteen, and some people it is best to turn at 23 or 24. And you know, you really can't -- the age thing really doesn't bother me. It is the ability that counts.

Q. When you go out there against somebody like Monica, you worry about just winning a game. Is it a relief to get a game off of her early?

LISA RAYMOND: Yeah, a little bit. I didn't want to go out there and just get blown away, but you know, when I did start winning games, then I start thinking, hey, I could win this set.

Q. When it was over, what is the---what emotion hit you? What was the feeling, like, why you choked up, because you didn't -- you let it go, or because you were proud, or what?

LISA RAYMOND: I think it is a combination of a lot of emotions. You know, I was really happy that I was able to keep that close the first set, but yet I was, you know, let down that I was -- I got blown away 6-Love in the second. But I am pretty happy that I played her good, the first set, and hopefully, the more matches I play like that, the better the results will get.

Q. Did you hear her start grunting as it got tighter in the first set?

LISA RAYMOND: No. I mean, I think that whole grunting thing is-- I mean, stupid. If she grunts, let her grunt. It is not -- half the time, the players, you know, whether she grunts or not, she is still going to beat them. So, I mean, it didn't -- no, I didn't even notice that.

Q. You said that it is a matter of ability. After this match, how would you asses your own ability?

LISA RAYMOND: You know, I have been working really hard lately. You know, there is a lot of things I need to work on. I've got to start coming in more. I think right now the basic thing I need to work on is the mental aspect. Just getting out there more.

Q. Is it hard to stay calm out there?

LISA RAYMOND: A little bit. I was a little jumpy, a little nervous, but once the match gets on its way, you settle down.

Q. Thank you very much.

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