PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 22, 2002

Martina Hingis

Q. Do you read anything into that result or is it just a case of early days in the comeback?

MARTINA HINGIS: I guess I can be happy about the way I played. I lasted a set and a half, almost 'til 5-1 and then I played really well until that point. Compared to last week, I lost three sets against Jelena. She was dominating the game. Today I felt like I was doing the right things. I kept her behind the base line. Some really great shots. She just lasted longer at the end.

MARTINA HINGIS: I guess you could see that. (Laughs). I made two, three points in the game and she made four.

MARTINA HINGIS: Of course, I mean, until like a set at 4-1, I felt okay and then didn't make the game to get up 5-1, still kind of came back from 40-love, then was up -- it shouldn't matter. Still 4-2 and I was up a serving, so at that point I should have held, but already at 3-1 I was like, okay, you know, kind of try to finish it off, 3-0 she made a few errors which you won't probably expect her to do like an overhead, you know, at the let or forehand miss. I was, thank God. Like I said, I am pretty happy the way I played. It is just like right now it has been two weeks and I feel like I was getting better.

MARTINA HINGIS: Got to go in the books, I don't know.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, when I got weaker she of course looked better out there. She started playing better. I wasn't able to finish out the point and she still was able to make one more.

MARTINA HINGIS: Which girl?

MARTINA HINGIS: No.

MARTINA HINGIS: I don't even remember.

MARTINA HINGIS: Right, but she's a different level since then. She's beaten other great players, had great matches against them, but just kind of try to keep my head up and just look forward to the open.

MARTINA HINGIS: Just you have to substance -- do you understand, like to have the energy to go all that way but I think in a way every match, like I said, compared to last week I got so much better. There I was after having played two matches, I had nothing more, you know, to get better against Jelena. I learned from that week. Today I got close; just not good enough.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, that's going to be a question, but there's going to be time off in between. Looking forward to that, you always have a day to regroup. That's going to be good, hopefully.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but you play doubles in between, so, just it should be okay.

MARTINA HINGIS: No, I knew her. I know that she plays well. She's like the best Russian girl out there at this point. So I am not at all surprised. I also practiced with her sometimes, so I know she can play.

MARTINA HINGIS: At points, yes. I was -- didn't get too defensive, that's for sure. She didn't hit winners off my first -- off my serve, so it wasn't a factor so that's always a good sign. At times I felt like I was serving really well and smart, like to her body or, you know, didn't get free points but I always got into good positions, so, yeah.

MARTINA HINGIS: Like how it went deep? I think it was pretty deep, 7-6 --

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I knew that. The best I felt was toward the end of the first set in the tiebreaker, it was like -- it's always in tennis whoever wins the long rallies is the better player out there at that point. Then at times -- especially in the beginning she was winning the longer ones, but I still kept in there. I was like hanging in there and she made more errors than I did. And in the tiebreaker completely changed. Tried to play through the middle and just made her do something, and that paid off. That's why I won the tiebreaker so easily, and then I kept doing it until that certain stage when it just you know, went for -- I was rushing too much. But definitely a physical thing.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, at some points if I pressure her enough she did, you know, she gave me some errors, some free points. So it came at one stage to go up 3-0, break points, and that overhead that was also like to go up 4-1, I think. But then I couldn't maintain that level and that's when -- there was this turnaround.

MARTINA HINGIS: She's has a great backhand, that backhand down the line, you know, you don't want her to hit too many of those.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, even like in the third set I was always up 30-love or 40-love or 40-15, always had game points, didn't finish the game. So I knew I was close today. I was close of winning, and didn't happen. So there's plenty of other chances hopefully coming up.

MARTINA HINGIS: We're talking about physical so I don't think it was mental.