adidas International

January 10, 2001

Lindsay Davenport

THE MODERATOR: First question for Lindsay, please.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I feel really good. I feel like my body's holding together and has allowed me to practice pretty hard the last few weeks to prepare for this week and next week. It's always great coming to Australia. I think tennis players have such a short time off, but, you know, think it's okay to go to Australia because it's a nice time of year here, the people are very friendly, the courts are nice to play on. So I always look forward to coming to this part of the year. And I think that I felt like I rested enough; that mentally I feel like I'm ready to go again. And I'm glad I got off to a good start today with the wind, and I have doubles later. So I'm getting plenty of tennis in.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, every player is different in how they like to prepare for big tournaments. I like to play a few matches before going into a Grand Slam, particularly when I've had a few months off. But the Williamses have always done things a little differently, and it seems to suit them. Whereas I'm very happy to play here, maybe she's just fine without playing in a while. Everyone has their own preference.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Seven, no?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, I thought you just meant -- well, I don't look at it like all the matches in a row. When you go into a Grand Slam, I always think the magic number is seven. And here, you know, I had success here two years ago, won the title last year, lost in the final. Both years I've went on to do very well in Melbourne. So hopefully, I'll have all those matches left to play, but it's a long road. But if you can stay healthy physically -- and it's exciting once you get to Melbourne and get deep into the tournament.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Like I said, I felt great. The whole month of December, I think I let my body kind of recover and hopefully prepare for this season. And I was able to train hard when I started training again. And, hopefully, I'm ready to go. Now it's just a matter of playing matches, playing big points. That's why it will be exciting to play the doubles today and then get ready again for tomorrow.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: For me it seems like it's become a problem. It seems like I'm so delicate lately. But, I mean, I have to train hard to physically get in better shape, but at the same time have to make sure that you don't overdo it, especially in the beginning. A lot of times in matches you find yourself in awkward positions on the court or going for certain balls and just getting worn out as the match and tournament goes on, so a lot of times injuries happen then. But it's just one of those things you have to shrug your shoulders at when you're injured. But hopefully I just want to stay healthy down here in Australia, and I think that would really help if I could do that this year.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, everyone took different approaches the last few weeks. Obviously, Martina, I think, has played great in Hopman Cup, winning the title there and about to play her first match here. But other than that, it's so early to tell about who's playing well and who's not. For instance, Serena had a very difficult match the other day and probably didn't play that well. But we've got, you know, so many days until Melbourne to kind of turn it around. Can't really worry about the other players yet, just have to see how the couple weeks go.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Oh, no. I mean, you can tell by the fan interest that they've generated, and a lot more people probably come to tennis just to see them play, as well, I think, as Kournikova. And the level of, you know, interest that they've brought is tremendous, and I think they're very highly responsible for that. I don't find anything wrong with them saying that.