US OPEN

September 2, 1999

Lindsay Davenport

Q. 45 minutes, did you feel like you got enough out of that match? 45 minutes, did you get something out of that?

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I don't think at a Grand Slam you're trying to get too much out of matches. I think you're trying to win, you're trying to win as fast as you can and get off the court. It's two weeks. You know, with playing doubles and being at the courts, I don't think you want really tough matches necessarily. I had a three-set match with her last week. To get out of here as fast as I did, I'm very happy.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I'll tell you later. (Laughing.)

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, okay. I have this thing where I don't think coaches should be interviewed in the middle of a match. Robert's always known that, he's never done it. Then a couple weeks ago, someone goes, yeah, Robert was talking during your match. I'm like "what?" I go up to him, I said, "Did you do it." He's like, "Oh, it was on a changeover, it wasn't anything." I was looking up there, I saw Michael Barkan come down. I saw Robert. Robert was like, "No, I won't do it." It was kind of funny. We were joking around. Pretty funny actually.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I think the courts here are pretty fast. Last week we were playing on really slow courts which I think she's a better player on slower courts maybe. And today, you know, I didn't let my concentration wander at all. I was very focused and did the job, got out of there, played well, did everything that I needed to do, and I think the other week -- the other time I played her last week, it was just really slow and I had a hard time putting the balls away. Tonight with the quicker conditions it was much easier.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. Probably, probably you get a little bit more excited, a little bit more revved up to play, and you don't let your concentration wander at all during grand slams or you can't, I should say, and I haven't done that yet.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think it's sometimes tough to play the first match. Everyone's still settling in. The men's match is the showcase match at night. It's fun to play here. I love the court. It's a great court. I've played very well on it since it's been here the last few years. I enjoy playing there whether it's 11 a.m., 7:30, whatever time of day it is.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know what everyone's focusing on. I've been playing and practicing, you know, I don't really listen to what other people say about who's going to win.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It feels different. You know, last year, grand slams in the past maybe I was, you know, I'd get more nervous because I hadn't won one and I thought I needed to win one to prove to myself. Coming back here in a year, it's a much different feeling. It's more like, "God, I have to win this again, I really want this." I think I've learned even since Wimbledon how much more important the grand slams are, how much more exciting they are to play at, how much more they mean in the history of players and everything about tennis. So I was kind of looking forward to it all summer, kind of in the back of my mind always, I can't wait to get to New York. I can't wait to get back there. Once I got here Saturday night I felt really great about being here, really excited, really, you know, excited about playing and just going from match to match so far.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I thought I got a much bigger -- yeah. I think just the way people in the media covered it, and the way that more people knew about it, you know. And for some reason, like people that don't know tennis, "oh, she's the one that won Wimbledon." You hear people say that sometimes when you walk by. You never hear "that's the US Open" -- you hear "isn't that the tennis player, she's the one that won Wimbledon" or something. I felt it was a much bigger deal for everybody else. For me, you know, it's almost the same kind of, but it's treated differently.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't think they're necessarily faster than last year, but they're faster than the courts the women played on during the summer. Last year they were very fast also. I can't remember exactly, but they're pretty similar.

LINDSAY DAVENPORT: The faster, the better. (Laughing)