US OPEN

August 23, 1997

Martina Hingis

ANDRE CHRISTOPHER: Martina Hingis, No. 1 women's seed, youngest in the history of the tournament at 16 years, about ten months and I guess 25 days.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yes.

MARTINA HINGIS: I played like just the next weekend, I played Fed Cup, if I remember that well. We won there. Then I played three tournaments in California. Stanford, San Diego, LA. I've just been relaxing for two weeks at home. Now I'm ready for the big one here at the US Open.

MARTINA HINGIS: Living on my own? You asking me that as an American? I thought this country is very conservative; you live with your family (laughter). No, I think I don't want to live by my own, myself. We have a great relationship, my mom. We just bought a new house in Switzerland. It's more like becoming growing together, not apart.

MARTINA HINGIS: A tennis what?

MARTINA HINGIS: Yes. They're just starting to build it.

MARTINA HINGIS: Rebound Ace.

MARTINA HINGIS: That was I think at Madison Square Garden.

MARTINA HINGIS: That was the semis.

MARTINA HINGIS: Of course, I'm a different player. I'm No. 1 seeded player now.

MARTINA HINGIS: No, not at all. It's not the first time I'm seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament. Either I play at the French Open or Wimbledon. I won Wimbledon. That was one of the greatest moments in my life, especially in my tennis career, so. It's not the first time, so there's no pressure. I feel very healthy. I feel fit and ready for this tournament.

MARTINA HINGIS: How it feels? Just I always work for it, to get to the top. When you reach it, I'm sure you feel great. You just want to stay there for a while.

MARTINA HINGIS: I just think everybody's going a different way to get to the top. I went a different way with my mom than maybe Jennifer, with her father, Andrea, too. You just practice a different way. The life-style is different. I'm from Europe. They've been in America. There are many different ways always to get there, so I don't think about burning out or something like that when you are on the top. I don't think you would think the same way.

MARTINA HINGIS: I wasn't ready actually for this one. I knew it's going to be a press conference, I have to practice later on, but not that many press people, reporters going to be here. But it's kind of fun that you see the attention is on you. Everyone is expecting you having a great tournament. I like this attention. I think the last year, from this tournament especially, it started to be just, you know, going better and better. I haven't played worse than making a semifinals in 17 tournaments. So, I mean, that's not a bad start.

MARTINA HINGIS: Sorry?

MARTINA HINGIS: I know why I lost, what happened there, the reason. That's the most important thing that you always know why, what happened there. So I played a third tournament. She was just better. I was maybe already a little tired. I was playing singles and doubles also. She was actually a very good doubles partner. We had a lot of fun there in the first tournament. Next time I just try to beat her again.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah. I tried my best in that way. It just wasn't enough against Lindsay.

MARTINA HINGIS: I would do well here at this tournament, I would be even more like angry at myself that I didn't win the French Open Finals. But, you know, you never know what's going to happen in the future, so I'm just trying to go round by round; we'll see what's going to happen at this tournament later on.

MARTINA HINGIS: You always want to win, be ready for the Grand Slam tournaments. It doesn't matter what year or what time you win them. But you just want to be more like an all-around player, that you win on all four surfaces. Doesn't matter if it's clay, grass court or this one. But there's just another chance to win on hardcourt. You always want to have all four of them.

MARTINA HINGIS: Oh, I just came in, so I haven't seen that much so far. But I think it's going to be, I'm sure, a good -- The Tour director, or just the other people. You can learn a lot from this stadium. Just the biggest, nicest, nicest, most beautiful. Just everything is the greatest in America, you know. It's just another big stadium.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yes. Everything is clean and it's like new, you know (laughter). It's clean now, so far.

MARTINA HINGIS: Sorry?

MARTINA HINGIS: I don't know. I want to be very much like into -- tennis players aren't very clean people. I think one day, if everything is so nice here, this tournament, so everyone is like very happy that the players' lounge is big, just the locker rooms are very nice. It's so much space for each of the players, so you don't have to be like in the old stadium, like in the players' lounge, just one sitting to the next one. Here you've got such bigger place, you know.

MARTINA HINGIS: I've done it so much as never before. No, I had a new horse to try at home. I've been riding two horses now every day. I had a lot of fun there, yeah.

MARTINA HINGIS: No. I've been jumping as high as never before (laughter).

MARTINA HINGIS: Just 130.

MARTINA HINGIS: On the campus? No, I didn't know that. I just knew that he was practicing there at the campus, John McEnroe was there. I didn't know he had an accident. Better not think about that.

MARTINA HINGIS: I didn't have one and I won the tournament, so I was lucky.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I heard that the Hanson Brothers, they're not the best tennis players, I just show them how to hit the ball. Maybe they show me how to sing.

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah. I think she improved a lot because she hasn't been around for so long before. Now she's just coming back. For sure, she's the toughest player on The Tour right now to play against, because wherever I have been, I played her in the Finals or she won the tournament later on, so yes.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I think I just got older one year, that you're physical part of the body just grows. You become stronger just automatically. That's why my serve becomes stronger or my groundstrokes. It's just not that I have practiced too much, just it automatically goes that way. That's why I became also a better player on the court.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I was trying to hit the first serve in, not the second (laughter).

MARTINA HINGIS: Actually, in the Finals against Conchita, the first tournament, I was like 92 percent first serve, so you don't need the second serve.

MARTINA HINGIS: Sorry?

MARTINA HINGIS: I never had a really big choice. I just went to school. In Czech Republic, everyone was just playing tennis at my age. My mom was a professional before, so that's why she kind of wanted to have me a tennis player, too.

MARTINA HINGIS: You'll see on the court later on. I don't want to say that right now (laughter).

MARTINA HINGIS: Listen to music on the court?

MARTINA HINGIS: Of Hanson Brothers?

MARTINA HINGIS: (laughter).

MARTINA HINGIS: It reminds like a little bit of the Jackson 5, especially that one song when I saw it on TV. They're younger than me, so it's -- they're kind of the same in the music as I am right now maybe in the tennis court. I like that one song. It's very rhythmic. You can dance well with it.

MARTINA HINGIS: Winning.

MARTINA HINGIS: Oh, I don't go to school anymore, so I had a private teacher at home. In the tournaments, you don't really feel like you want to learn a lot.

MARTINA HINGIS: No, I don't think so. I always had a great childhood, especially there when I grew up in Czech Republic. I had a great life, so I never miss anything. I think I've got a much better life, so many would like to change with me.

MARTINA HINGIS: I don't know him. I was there when he already died, so I started playing. I think he was a great athlete, especially for tennis. He was also a black man, and he won Wimbledon. I think that gives motivation to many Americans, that you can achieve the same thing as he did. Also for kids' day and AIDS. But if I can help with things like this, I always try to do the best I can.