AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 22, 2006

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's sore. It's swollen. But, you know, it was -- the other day, I definitely had gone over on it and it felt okay. Then yesterday morning when I woke up, it had changed dramatically in the hours after the match. You know, it is what it is. I've never gone over on my ankle before, so I wasn't really sure at the time exactly what had happened and what that meant. But had treated it that night and was feeling okay until like yesterday morning. Just been trying to get the swelling down the last day and a half. Hopefully manage it a little better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I mean, it's no question it was the court, but I've played on it many times before and it's never happened. Unfortunately, the other day I was playing when the court was at a ridiculous high temperature. With this surface, the hotter it gets, the stickier it gets. Like I said, I've never, ever done anything to my ankles before (knocking on wood). Just caught it on that one volley. I don't know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I was happy when I saw at 11 a.m. they went indoors. I felt like the faster the conditions could be and the more perfect it would be, it would definitely help my game, the strength of my shots. I wasn't disappointed at all.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It was the first point at 3-Love. My trainer is like asking me exactly what shot. I just remember the rally had quite a few shots. I think I probably hit six or seven. I remember as the rally went on thinking like, "Oh, God, it's getting worse." I'm not actually sure if it's when I landed on my serve or the first ball or second ball I hit. But after that, I had either hurt it a little bit worse or jammed it or whatever I did. I double-faulted next point. I knew then. I asked for the trainer at that point. Probably should have done it at 3-1 and not waited till the changeover. It was at that point that it had gone from, you know, hurting but manageable to definitely a lot worse.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I don't know. I'm going to go see the doctor at 4. Do I think an ultrasound or do some kind of scan to see. Right now I'm okay with the test. It's just swollen. Obviously, if structurally there's nothing wrong, I'll put my foot up for 48 hours and hopefully the swelling goes down and it will be okay.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: She kept adding some more strips to give me more support. The thing is, it kept going higher along the side of my ankle. I don't know. The peroneal is what I've been told, whatever that means. Maybe I'm saying that wrong. I mean, I knew that if it wasn't in two sets, that my chances were significantly reduced. So was trying very hard. You know, luckily the game at 3-4, I don't think she put one or two balls in the court. So, obviously, you know, I didn't have to play much at all serving at 3-4. At 4-All I was just trying to go for my returns quite a bit. You know, didn't have to play many balls until maybe 5-4. Had to play a few more shots.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I don't know. There's two ways you go about it. You either keep going for your shots or you try and work the ball and make the person hit a lot of balls. She definitely gave me a reprieve at 3-4 where I really think I only hit one or two balls that game, and she was missing a lot and going for shots. That obviously helped open the door after I'd lost four games in a row and struggling. Then, you know, at 4-All, it was just trying to go for shots and keep the points a little shorter.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I don't know. I don't know her.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I don't know. Like I said, I didn't feel like I had to play more shots. I don't know. It's a tough position to be in as the opponent, I understand that. All I know is I was trying to keep the points as short as possible towards the end. You know, finish line was obviously in sight. So it's easier in that regard for me to play.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I guess what it is is the muscles that hold the ankle. I have a little swelling down at the ankle, but most of the swelling is up above the ankle. Whatever that is, the muscle, was then strained, and it kept getting higher. The swelling is mostly on the side of my leg and down a little bit in the ankle.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, I haven't thought. My immediate concern is to get better. Obviously, if nothing is structurally wrong when I find out when I do the scan, you know, they can definitely -- the swelling can come down in 48 hours, there's no doubt. Hopefully it will get better each day that passes.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I've done it many, many times. I don't do it if you're masking it and can make something way worse. If by masking that pain, I could then like do real damage, I probably will not do that. I had some problems with my foot where I did it for a month straight. I don't know.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: "A jab"?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, no, no, no (smiling).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's funny. I was in the locker room right after with Mary Joe and Corina. I was like, "You know, train really hard, try to get everything that I normally injure better, and then I trip. Something happens like that on the court." It's a little frustrating. Obviously, I'm brought back down to earth by two of the most levelheaded, great friends anyone could have. They're like, "It's tennis. It happens. You'll be okay." There's a moment of two minutes where I'm like "I can't believe this now happens of all things." But, you know, gosh, I'm still in the tournament. I still have a chance to get it better. We'll see. I think it's just one of those things where you shake your head about it in disbelief.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, it would be nice. I've lost to her the last few times. We had a great match a number of years ago. Played maybe two years ago or three years ago. I remember being up a lot in the first set and losing. She's just a phenomenal player. I mean, from the difference from when I played here in the beginning of her career and how she's gotten better over the years is quite outstanding. I think she was in good form in Sydney. I really haven't seen her play here much. There's no question, no matter what her ranking is, she's always a very feared opponent. I'm going to have to play very well, hopefully be a hundred percent.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think she's gotten more aggressive against me. I think in the beginning of her career, her forehand was a bigger liability. Now I think she considers it more of a weapon now. She's obviously an extremely strong and physical player and has improved that over the years. But I think also with her, the more confidence that she developed, you know, in 2002, 2003, has helped her quite a lot.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I will. I will. I know that (smiling).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's supposed to cool down, which is probably a relief at this point. I think we've had enough of the 40-degree days. I think we're all ready to go back to business as usual.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, it's unfortunate, you know, that obviously this is going to overshadow everything. But I've been working really hard, working on a lot of things here, and was playing just great out there for a while. You know, obviously that doesn't go away, and all the hard work that I've done. I feel like I'm in a really good position, especially if I can up get my ankle better. Obviously, I'm not sure at this stage. Everything else seems to be -- it was clicking in finally in that match, doing some the things I've been working on. Hopefully I can rebound from this.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I don't know. I don't know. Certainly some players have the ability to look much more graceful than the rest of us. Obviously, Roger Federer comes to mind. Martina Hingis makes it look very easy and very fluid. I don't know. I mean, it's not easy to hit the ball well (laughter). I don't know. I would have to defer that question for now.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think I'm a much more tactical player than maybe people think or maybe give me credit for. But I definitely work on certain patterns against certain players and have game plans. I don't go out there just, "Oh, I'm just going to hit the ball hard and see where it goes." There definitely is a purpose behind most shots if I'm really focusing.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Trying to get back to that. Trying to come in a little bit more. Trying to, you know, be aggressive with some better margins, but looking to, you know, come in and put some balls away, you know, be aggressive.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I didn't know that, so no. No, that's great. It's not something that I think of. Wasn't an objective. But now maybe I'll make it one (smiling).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think this is the same color. We actually at dinner the other night were arguing over what color it was. I thought it was a mint green, he thought it was a lime green. I'm going with mint green still.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: He was pretty adamant it was lime green. I didn't agree.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I've been using the other locker room, so I haven't really been around the buzz. I don't know. I think I'm not actually very sure what the other players think. I watched her play yesterday for the first time. I actually got to see a significant amount of her match. I mean, she looks the same, which is at an extremely high level. I mean, she was making -- obviously her level has improved, but she was still making her opponent look uncomfortable, coming in, being aggressive, changing direction with the balls. You know, looked to me like I was watching her a few years ago playing like the same, which is at an extremely high level against high-level opponents. I think she's got a great opportunity on her part of the draw.