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WIMBLEDON


June 28, 2003


Jelena Dokic


WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND

Q. Were you surprised she played that well, or shocked even?

JELENA DOKIC: Well, a little bit. She played well. She took her chances when she had them. And, you know, I had a lot of opportunities which I didn't take. So I had a lot of breakpoints. If I took at least one of those, it would have made a complete different story. As much as she played well, you know, I didn't take my chances when I had them. She played the bigger points better.

Q. I thought what was quite interesting is that sort of four years ago, you upset in a similar way Martina Hingis. Do you go on a court differently because you're younger, there's not as much pressure?

JELENA DOKIC: No, I beat the No. 1 in the world. I beat one of the greatest in the game. That's a little bit different. You know, she didn't have that much pressure on her. Neither did I. I haven't been doing great, so I was happy to play the two matches that I played, which I played well in. And I didn't play that bad today. But mentally, I didn't play, like I said, the bigger points better. If I did, it would have made a completely different story. It would have been at least three sets. That makes a big difference, especially in the first set, you know. And, I mean, she just comes out and swings. I mean, she has nothing to lose, so she just comes out. I think a lot of players still don't know the way that she plays. When you come out on the court against her, you don't know what to expect. But it will be a different story in a year or two when people actually know how she plays.

Q. Do you think she's far enough advanced to win this tournament?

JELENA DOKIC: I think she has -- I haven't looked at the draw. I mean, I think she's playing well. Whether she can win the tournament, that's a different story. I think she has a long way to go still to win the tournament. She will have to maybe come up against someone like Serena, Venus, Kim, so on, Justine even first, I think. I think when it comes to a bigger match, just depends how she will play. You know, she's playing well right now. I mean, she's not a favorite to win the tournament. We know that. So you wouldn't put her -- I mean, I wouldn't think so, but you never know.

Q. Where do you go now? What's your plans for the next few weeks?

JELENA DOKIC: I have doubles here still. And then I will take a few days off, have some time off, and then I will just train for about three or four weeks before I go to America.

Q. I know you've been asked a few times about the Olympics. The ITF is saying that if you were to play the Olympics next year, you would have to make yourself available to play Fed Cup next month to be eligible for the Olympics. Are you thinking about that, or are you aware that the deadline is so close?

JELENA DOKIC: I don't know the rules. I haven't looked at that. It's not in my mind. I will say once again, Olympics are not my priority right now. It's not something I'm thinking about. If I decide to play the Olympics next year, and I cannot play because of Fed Cup, that's a different story. Fed Cup is not in my schedule right now. I mean, I would have to play next week now, which is -- I wouldn't do that no matter what. I played a lot of tournaments. I think everyone needs some time off. Fed Cup is in a really difficult time with all the Grand Slams and the tournaments. It's impossible to put in it my schedule right now. If that affects the Olympics, I cannot play the Olympics, that's fine. But also the Olympics are two weeks before the US Open next year. You know, it's unfortunate because I would love to go. It's a great event to play. If I cannot, they're making it very difficult. There are a lot of players that don't play Fed Cup, especially the top players. If that's the case, what can I do?

Q. Do you see Maria as a Top 10 talent?

JELENA DOKIC: I mean, we'll see. She would have to, I mean, get to Top 10 first and then try to stay there. We've seen a lot of players come and go. You know, the way that she played today, she plays well. Now, whether she can keep it up every tournament, we see. I think she has an age restriction still, so she can only play like 10 tournaments. Unless she wins them all, she won't be in the Top 10 for a year or two, at least. I think if she plays like this every match, she will definitely be there. Just depends what will happen next few years, how she will develop.

Q. There's a large crop of Russian players. You've played some of them, many of them. Where do you put her in that group?

JELENA DOKIC: I mean, they have a lot of players, none at the top right now. None in the Top 10 either. So, I mean, she's playing well. There's a lot of them. There's a big competition between them. They're all very good players. None of them have really stepped up and gone into the Top 5. So we'll see how far she can get. I mean, she's playing well, like I said. But she has a limited amount of tournaments. She will have to wait a little bit. Just depends how her game turns out to be in the next few years.

End of FastScripts….

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