US OPEN

August 29, 2001

Lindsay Davenport

MODERATOR: Questions for Lindsay.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Not that I see (laughter).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: That's what I read. I never asked either one about them. That's what was printed up about that South American thing. Would have been funny, but... That's what I read about it.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think so. I think I'm going to go back to the city, maybe practice a little bit longer tomorrow. So far so good. That will probably be it for the day.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, that's a huge cover piece. Obviously, Time Magazine is not a sporting magazine. To be able to be on the cover, any athlete or any sport, is a huge accomplishment. That really shows how far I think women's tennis has come, how much more interesting it is than just hitting balls over the net. A lot of that is thanks to just a few players. Obviously, the Williamses have had a huge impact on the women's game, just in the amount of attention that's been brought to all the players. You know, who would have thought, I think it was Sports Illustrated wrote, "Is tennis dead?" That was a few years ago. Look at the difference now. What a difference just five or six years can make.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I feel like I'm a small part. I mean, there's a lot of players. I think the majority of the credit pretty much goes to the Williams sisters and probably Kournikova. I think those three have really made the biggest difference in the amount of publicity, the amount of popularity in the sport.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah (laughter).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's been a phenomenal impact. I don't think there's too many negative impacts that she has brought herself. I mean, she works extremely hard. She has turned into a great player. Obviously, what a disappointing year being out eight months. Brought so many more fans in. She's on the covers of fashion magazines and bringing just all sorts of different people to watch tennis. I think the media is tough on her for not winning a tournament yet. I don't read all her quotes, but she never came out and said, "I'm going to be the best player. I'm going to do this." I mean, she just tries her best. She hasn't won a tournament. People just get on her case for that. But she's a player. There's no doubt that she can play.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I mean, everyone is hoping that she comes back and plays. I've heard that her injury obviously is extremely serious. She's been out most of the year. So I think everyone right now is just crossing their fingers that she comes back healthy when that time is right. As far as what happens if she never wins a major, never win as tournament, I don't really know. At this point everyone is kind of just hoping she comes back in time for next year.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: That's her opinion.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I thought that was Nathalie Tauziat's opinion, maybe that she wants more attention. I mean, it really doesn't affect the players that she's probably talking about. Everyone has always asked me, I've always been very up front with my career, my feelings towards it. I'm very happy with everything that I've accomplished, the amount of attention that I do get. If other players are disappointed with that, that's their problem I feel.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Come out of nowhere? I was No. 2 in the world (laughter).

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Okay.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, when I won in '98, I had a lot of confidence. I'd won a number of tournaments in the summer leading up to it, felt like I could make my first Grand Slam victory here especially in the US. I think my whole career I've always been I don't think underrated by the other players. Maybe the media. Maybe I'm not as fascinating as some other players, but I've always felt since that time I've always been a contender at every major. I think if you look at my record, you know, since that US Open or maybe a little before then, I've always gotten to the latter rounds and felt like I'm right there and have a chance to win. That's really the most important thing to me, is that I'm giving myself those chances to win the majors and felt like I've done that the last three or four years of my career.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I feel great. I think I've had a great summer. Since I've come back from the knee injury in June, I've been really consistent with my play. I haven't felt like I've had any losses that have been bad or anybody that I shouldn't maybe have lost to on that day. I lost a couple finals that I wish maybe I could have turned around, maybe should have turned around, but didn't. But these courts are great. They're fast. You know, they're playing very quick. If you hit them deep, I think that helps my game, helps my serve. Like I said, you've just got to keep going, look forward, hopefully keep getting better.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think that is the result of the 32 seeds being seeded instead of 16. I think on the women's tour, that's definitely a result of that. I don't think you're going to see a Schett beating Venus anymore. I think Schett was ranked at the French 18, just not being seeded. That's the kind of bad draws or good draws that you would get if you're a top seed. You know, I wasn't for it when they suggested it. I thought it was very exciting having those first few round match-ups. I've been on the side of that. I think in Australia I played Dokic, who was 17 or 18. That's just the way it goes. The tournaments, Grand Slams, felt like they wanted the 32.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I thought the 16 was great. You know, I don't think it's the worst rule change that's ever been made. It used to be pretty exciting, those first few rounds, could the player get through them.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: The knee problem is totally gone. It was a bone bruise in my right knee, which was kind of a bizarre injury. A lot of doctors that I saw had said it was pretty uncommon and pretty rare. That's totally healed and shouldn't come back in my career - supposedly. The wrist, I've had problems with since '95. A lot of times just overplaying, I get tendonitis. It's in my left wrist, which only affects the backhand. When it flares up, I'm still able to practice, not just hit backhands. When it gets better, hopefully I'm ready to go. So far, I took the week off after LA. That really kind of calmed it down. It's been fine since.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's great. I mean, a few years ago if one of the marquee players had gone down in the women's game, the women's game would have been in big trouble, with fans maybe not attending and not as much interest in the media. That goes to show how strong women's tennis is. I don't think we've ever in history had, like I said, six players, seven players, whatever it is, that are extremely popular, that can sell tickets, that can win big tournaments, that can hold their own out there. I think that does say a lot with Anna out. I would say she's the most popular player. We haven't really lost anything this year. Hopefully when she comes back, it just gets stronger and stronger.