NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 24, 2002

Jennifer Capriati

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I don't think -- yeah, I had some double-faults, but I had some good serves also. And, you know, she was returning well and that was putting a little pressure. But, you know, I wasn't missing by much. It was just, you know, sort of like how my game was in the beginning, just kind of on everything. I was just missing by just a little bit. And I think it was just probably on the second serve didn't have a good rhythm on it. But I think overall, I mean, that shouldn't stand out. Because it was a great match, and I think I played pretty well.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I never think that. I never give up till the last point. I thought I'd been -- both of us had been returning better than serving. And I felt pretty confident still, that I would be able to break and just apply the pressure and, you know, I had been playing well. I thought I'd just go for it. And if she's going to beat me, she has to keep playing like she had been playing. I was just playing really well. She wasn't missing anything. I have to give full credit to her.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Last five games, well, I think I wasn't missing very much. Maybe I could sense that maybe she was getting a little bit tired also so she started missing a little bit more than what she had been. And I was just maybe a little more aggressive at that point.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: It's not only now that I'm No. 1, I mean it's always -- I've always kind of felt that before, that everyone sort of steps it up against me. I don't know, I sort of make them play better. You know, it's the first time I played her, so she's obviously a good player. And, you know, I guess maybe it's the consistency that she can play good matches and then have, you know -- play worse. I don't know her ranking, but I think she should be ranked a lot higher than she is. She's definitely a good player.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I was in New York, like, two days before that for the US Open. Everyone was there. So I just heard it, I was home.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I think maybe here, in home territory, the Americans are trying to come together a little bit more. But maybe not as much as you would think, because something like this happened.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, maybe it's just the kind of game I play. Like you just, you know, it kind of makes people play better against me because I, you know, if they can handle, like, a hard-hitting ball, it's like I give good rhythm, I think, to the other players. So it's like, just get into a good rhythm and get psyched up and I don't know... They just do (smiling).

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: They helped a little bit. But, you know, I was kind of trying to block everything out. Because in a way, too, you know, it's like every time I just missed a ball, I heard the moan from the crowd. You know, that's frustrating, too, to kind of hear that. So I just try to, like, block everything out, whether it be good or bad. And, you know, I just wanted to stay -- I had to be really concentrated today out there.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, well, hopefully I'm in good shape that I can just recover. It wasn't like it was just a really difficult match, so I think I should be okay. And, you know, just the court time. Just to get out there and, you know, definitely I feel like I have a good rhythm now and am used to the center court and being out there. So physically, I mean, I don't think it will bother me at all.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. So it's time to play some tennis now.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Uh-huh.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No, we've been hanging out a little. He's just a friend. Yeah, "Friend" (smiling).

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No. This is just the first one.

JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Okay. This is just the last question that I'm going to answer about that. He came and presented me the award, the Sports Illustrated award. So that's how I kind of -- I met him.