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2000 U.S. Open
Flushing Meadows,
New York
September 2, 2000
J. DOKIC/F.
Schiavone
7-6, 7-5
An interview with:
JELENA DOKIC
MODERATOR: At
Jelena's request, tennis questions
only, please.
Q. You had a lot
more unforced errors in this match
than the last match. Was it hard to
concentrate out there? Was the heat
bothering you? Was she just very
good?
JELENA DOKIC: She
went out there, had nothing to lose.
Obviously, the pressure was on me to
win the match. I was expected to
win. When you lose a few points and
get down a break, you get a bit
tight. That's what happened.
Overall, I stepped up the pace when
I needed to. I was down in both
sets. I just played well when I
needed to. Sometimes you're not
going to play great. What was
important for me was when I don't
play well and win a match, that's
what makes you stronger. I think it
was good for me to pull that off and
do it in two sets.
Q. How hard was it
to stage a comeback today?
JELENA DOKIC: I
couldn't hear you.
Q. How hard was it
to fight back today? You did very
well in fighting back in both those
sets.
JELENA DOKIC: You
know, especially in the first set,
she had a big lead. In the second
set, she served for it. They were
close games there. I think, again, I
played well when I needed to and
didn't make the errors, took my
chances. I just stayed concentrated
and focused, tried to get back into
it. You won't always be up. You're
going to have to make comebacks.
That's what I did well today.
Q. How confident in
your game are you right now as you
approach a probable match with
Serena Williams? How would you break
down what you have to do to be
successful against her?
JELENA DOKIC: Well,
I played Venus this year in Rome;
did well against her, I won that
match. It's probably going to be
pretty much the same - just
hard-hitting. You've just got to
hope they make a few errors. For me,
it's just important just to stay in
points and not make errors. I think
at the moment, I'm happy with how I
did here. No matter what happens in
the next match, you know, to have
two Grand Slams in a row, do very
well, finish in the Top 10, 15
players in a Grand Slam, play
consistently, is the most important
for me at the moment. I'm just going
to go out there Monday, I think it
is, you know, got nothing to lose,
just play the way I do and see what
happens.
Q. What sort of
breakthrough would it be for you if
you were able to beat Serena
Williams?
JELENA DOKIC: Oh, I
think it would be big for anybody to
beat Serena or Venus. They're
probably the two players at the
moment that are just -- they're
unbeatable. Again, if I was to win,
it will be great for me. You know,
I've beaten big players before. You
know, I've faced a lot of them
before. I know what to expect.
Q. On the TV feed
going back home, the commentators
were being a bit unfair in
criticizing the way you were
playing, saying if you continued to
play like that, there's no way
you'll beat Serena Williams. Do you
think they weren't taking the
conditions into account today?
JELENA DOKIC: Again,
like I said, what I'm happy with is
that I got through not playing very
well. I played well in the first two
matches. You won't always play
great. You know, she had nothing to
lose. You get a bit tight. That's
what happens. To not play as well as
I want to and still get through
matches, that's very important
because you can win matches not
playing well.
Q. What did you call
the trainer out on the court for
today?
JELENA DOKIC: It was
just really hot and humid, I felt a
little bit dizzy. It was okay,
actually. I got through it. If it
came to a third set, I would have
lasted.
Q. We saw you get
ice. Was there anything else that
you got?
JELENA DOKIC: No,
no.
Q. Were you getting
any treatment in the locker room
after the match?
JELENA DOKIC: No. I
just finished.
Q. You were down 4-1
in the first set. What was going
through your mind at that point?
What did you tell yourself to psych
yourself up?
JELENA DOKIC: I
think I had a really bad start,
especially on my serve. There was
only one break. I thought if I could
hold my serve at 4-1, I'll have a
chance at breaking her. She doesn't
have a huge serve. If I could stay
in points, I knew I could get a
break and come back. I knew that if
it did get to 4-3, I could probably,
you know, come back. I was in
situations like that before, so I
knew how to react to it.
Q. Can you tell us
how you prepared this morning? Did
you train with your father before?
JELENA DOKIC: No. I
just practiced with Rubin this
morning for about 45 minutes or so.
That's about it.
Q. During Wimbledon,
there was a lot of talk that by
Richard Williams making a lot of
headlines, it took pressure off his
daughters. Do you get the feeling
that when a father is in the
headlines a lot, it adds or
subtracts pressure on the daughter
when she plays?
JELENA DOKIC: It
could be both really. It just
depends which way you look at it. If
there is attention on something
else, then there's not so much
attention on you. That puts pressure
off you sometimes. Sometimes if you
think about it too much and worry
about it too much, it can get to
you. I think the main thing is to go
out there and not worry about what
happened outside, off the court.
Sometimes it's hard to do that, but
you've got to be able to because
it's going to distract your tennis
and you won't win matches like that.
Q. Do you feel as
though you're getting much better at
that?
JELENA DOKIC: Yeah,
I think so. I mean, I did well at
Wimbledon. I got through a lot of
matches. Here, as well. It's very
important. No matter what the
circumstances are, you know, I've
been getting through matches.
Q. When you are down
in a match, usually do you look
towards your coach? Do you look
towards your father for
encouragement? If he wasn't there
today, did you just focus inward?
JELENA DOKIC: I
think whether you're up or down, you
always look for support. If you are
down, you start believing that maybe
you can come back or that you can
win matches. I mean, you feel like
you're lonely out there, you've got
to try to get that from yourself,
inside. It's hard to do that
sometimes when you've got to really
believe in yourself and not a lot of
people can do that. Like I said, I
believed that I could come back in
both sets, and I played well when I
needed to.
Q. What did getting
to the semis of Wimbledon do for you
and your confidence?
JELENA DOKIC: Well,
I think when you string a lot of
matches together and win them, play
well, you sort of start believing,
"I can beat these players,
anything's possible." You know, it's
hard in Grand Slams, especially when
you're not seeded, you could play
anybody. For me to get through
matches in a Grand Slam, no matter
who it is, is important. That's what
I've done the last two Grand Slams,
the tournaments that I've played
lately. This year I've been quite
consistent, which is important.
Q. What do you like
most about playing tennis?
JELENA DOKIC: I
really enjoy the game. When I
started, I enjoyed just playing,
whether it's practice or matches.
You know, especially a match, the
thrill and the excitement of it.
When you are in situations where you
are 5-3 down or something like that,
she's serving for the matches, to
come back, you feel really good. To
get the crowd, whether they're with
you or not, experience that. That's
what's, you know, so great about
tennis and the lifestyle itself.
Q. And if you could
change one thing in your life, what
would you change?
JELENA DOKIC: At the
moment, I'm happy with the way
things are going. I've done what I
wanted to this year, considering the
circumstances, the amount of
tournaments I can play, which has
been really tough to pick them out.
You know, I've just enjoyed the
game, win or lose. That's what I'm
really proud of. I've just kept on
going. I have no regrets about the
tour.
End of
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