JELENA DOKIC

TOUR OFFICIAL: First question, please.


REPORTER: Jelena, was the problem knee or thigh?


JELENA DOKIC: Right hamstring strain.


REPORTER: When did you start to feel it?


JELENA DOKIC: I felt it yesterday. I have had problems with it throughout the whole week, with both of them. And, you know, I haven't had enough time to recover, and it got worse yesterday a little bit, and then today it got much worse in the match.


REPORTER: When did you start feeling it in the match, at what point?


JELENA DOKIC: Middle of the first set.


REPORTER: Did you kind of know it was inevitable?


JELENA DOKIC: You know, even if I think maybe even if I won the first set, it would be very hard for me to win in the condition that I was in because it kept on getting worse and worse. So, you know, I was hoping -- I was going out there -- it was feeling okay at the beginning. But, you know, the more I played the more I had to run and the worse it got. So, you know, I didn't think it would get that bad. So, you know, but I tried to play on and it got worse.


REPORTER: Is it the first time you have had that problem this season?


JELENA DOKIC: No. I didn't play at the beginning hardly at all because I was injured and it was the same problem.


REPORTER: You're one of the most active players on tour. You play singles and doubles. Do you just play too much?


JELENA DOKIC: Maybe. I think doubles this week was a mistake. You know, I played a lot and we had some tough matches and then I think the scheduling was a little bit -- it was always after my singles, and the first few days there was no break at all, you know. I should look into my singles schedules also, but doubles was, I think, the key. Maybe if I just played singles, I would have been all right. But, you know, still -- maybe I made a mistake before the U.S. Open.


REPORTER: Do you plan to rest before the U.S. Open?


JELENA DOKIC: I don't know. I'm entered next week, but just depends how -- I'm just going day by day depending how I feel. I would rather, you know, pull out next week than pull out of the U.S. Open. So, you know, right now it's 50/50. I don't know what is going to happen, how good I will be, but you know if I have to -- I will not hesitate to pull out, you know. I would rather be good for the U.S. Open.


REPORTER: Next Monday, you will be ranked number 4, your highest ranking. What are your thoughts on that?


JELENA DOKIC: It's good. I have had a very good year, last year and this year. I have had very good wins. So, I didn't expect to be number 4, but you know it's good. My aim was to be in the Top 5 next year. So, hopefully, I can stay in the Top 10 now for this year and I aim to stay in the Top 5 next year.


REPORTER: There was some tough calls in the eighth game of the first set. They looked like --


JELENA DOKIC: What can you do? It happens. I had a few close calls last night. You have it every day, every match. That's normal. Both sides get them; and, you know, that's the way it goes.


REPORTER: After you got down 3-5 and then came back with a couple of strong games, was it hard to keep your concentration after getting the tough calls and --


JELENA DOKIC: No, it doesn't affect me really. I was more worried about whether I can run or not, not about the calls so much. So, anyway I thought I would play one long point and then I wouldn't be able to play the next one. That was my main concern. You know, I just wasn't -- I couldn't stay in it. I couldn't run enough and I couldn't make her play enough.


REPORTER: Were you trying, then, to finish the points quickly?


JELENA DOKIC: I was. At some stage I was. At 6-5, when she was serving, I was trying to go for too much, and I was trying to finish the points too quickly, which I usually wouldn't do.


REPORTER: So this is the same injury you had before -- it was a thigh --


JELENA DOKIC: In Hamburg, yes, hamstring.


REPORTER: Where is that hamstring, left, right?


JELENA DOKIC: Right.


REPORTER: The stoppage in play, was that your idea or was it Jennifer who wanted to take a bathroom break?


JELENA DOKIC: No, it was me.


REPORTER: Jelena, it seems that the strongest opponents, you can beat the Hingeses and the Capriatis. Perhaps, but it's your own body that's your toughest obstacle.


JELENA DOKIC: I think so, right now. I was more worried about myself than my opponents right now. So, I think it's -- maybe I will look into how much I'm playing maybe, I think that might have a little bit to do with it and, you know, definitely cut down a lot next year for sure, maybe even the end of this year. You know, because if I play two or three tournaments in a row I feel good and I can play well, but as soon as it's a little bit more I have trouble, and I think a lot of players would have trouble. If you play a lot, you get injured so, you know, my first thing is to get over the injuries rather than my game.


REPORTER: Are you the one deciding about your schedule?


JELENA DOKIC: Yes.


REPORTER: Is there any reason why you play all these tournaments?


JELENA DOKIC: I didn't play Australia at the beginning, and then I was injured after that so I didn't play -- I missed seven or eight tournaments, so I tried to play a little bit more. I was injured and, you know, I was starting to feel good and I was playing well, and especially the hardcourts, so I thought maybe I should try to play more and get more matches in. Again, I think doubles maybe was a mistake. Maybe if I didn't play doubles it would have been okay, but maybe -- I don't think it was so much the whole year, how much I've played the whole year. I think it's the last few weeks that have done this. So I don't think it's how much I have played in the year. It was just since San Diego I have played so many matches and I haven't had time to recover.


TOUR OFFICIAL: Any more questions? Thank you.