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AUSTRALIAN OPEN


January 24, 2005


Elena Dementieva


MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Elena, please.

Q. 4-Love in the second set, you seemed to have one foot in the quarterfinals. What happened?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I mean, what can I say? Such a bad luck today, you know. I was 4-Love, 30-Love. You know, I didn't take my chance. What I think there is always a very important game, very important point in a match. If you are not taking it, that can change the whole match. And that's what happened today, I didn't take my advantage. She just started to play well. I just -- I think I lost my rhythm. I thought it's over already. Just, I don't know how I did it (smiling).

Q. It was a very close match for two sets, but it was a very strange match. Enormous amount of break on serves. Seemed like neither you or Patty could get your own games going that well. Is it difficult to play in those matches, to get a sense of rhythm, where you're getting broken almost every game?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, it's always difficult to play against left-handed player like Patty Schnyder. You know, she has a good serve and good feeling. It's not easy to return. But I think I took her serve a lot of times but I couldn't hold my own. So it's been up and down all the time. But I think I was playing pretty good - just didn't finish on the right time.

Q. Were you feeling fully a hundred percent healthy out there today, not just with the foot but with the heat? Were you struggling a little bit?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, I was feeling okay. After Sydney, when I was playing at 39 on centre, I mean, it feels okay here.

Q. Do you think what happened in the first few days of the tournament affected you for the later stages? Were you drained by all the talk of the drug stuff?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: Uhm, it was very difficult to play my first match, you know, because I was thinking about it. It's really affect my game. But, you know, I just -- I mean, it's over for me. It didn't affect my game today. The story's over.

Q. Seemed to be a real toughness about Patty's game today. Do you see that she has the qualities to go on and be a serious contender at a Grand Slam?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: You know, she used to have good results in the Australian Open. She was in the semis last year. She's playing pretty good this time, as well. I still think that she's a good clay court player. But, I mean, I agree with Lleyton Hewitt that surface here is a little bit slower. So that's huge to her game. I mean, she definitely can take advantage of this. You know, it's difficult to say because there are some more, you know, more powerful player out there and it's going to be tough for her to play.

Q. How do you feel your serve is coming on? I know you've been working hard on it since the end of last season. How do you see it now?

ELENA DEMENTIEVA: I think my serve is okay. It's getting better. You know, I didn't lose the match because of my serve or something like that. I just feel it's okay.

End of FastScripts….

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