May, 27th 2002
Capriati D Irvin 6-3, 6-4
Q. A victory, but were you surprised last night, the defending champion, to
be sent out so late in cold conditions when we've been worried about
injuries with players all the year?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Who?
Q. You were sent out very late last night.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Oh, yeah.
Q. It was cold, it was wet. We all talked about injuries this year. It seems
like not a sensible decision for a defending champion to be sent out in
those conditions.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I mean, I could have -- if I really didn't want to
play, I guess I had the choice to say I didn't really, you know, agree with
that. Kind of knew maybe it wasn't going to be able to get finished. But I
guess -- you know, I was really eager to just get out there and play, at
least, you know, get something in. You know, I just tried to warm up pretty
well. I felt pretty good. Nothing serious, you know, was really plaguing me
with that. I didn't think it was going to be a problem. I knew we wouldn't
be able to finish.
Q. Does that make it more of a mental task then, both last night and
today, to make sure that the first round was out of the way?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. I mean, definitely, it was a good match for me
mentally to get through. I think it's been tough for everybody with these
conditions. It's hard to establish a real rhythm. Especially, you know,
being the first match, to do it that way, it's not really the way you want
to do it. But I made it through, so I'm pretty happy about that.
Q. Where do you feel like your game is in general right now coming in?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I feel pretty good. I think I've been getting better with
each tournament, with each match. Obviously, I mean, I've been gearing up
for this. You know, I want to play my best tennis here. I think I've been
saving my best tennis for here. You know, hopefully it will come through and
I'll, you know, be able to peak here like, you know, I've been planning to.
Q. Do you feel sort of on par with the first couple days of the French Open
last year?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. I mean, it's difficult, different conditions. You
know, just a lot of waiting around. Basically, I mean, yeah, as far as the
tennis goes.
Q. And everything else sort of mentally?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm not real nervous coming in here.
I just know it's a tough tournament. There's a lot of potential winners. I'm
not, you know, putting too much pressure on myself. You know, I just want to
do well and take it match by match. That's it.
Q. You were in such a specific place last spring, coming off the
Australian Open, coming in and winning this tournament. Now that a year has
gone by, where do you sort of see yourself?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Oh, yeah, I mean, last year I was on a real high,
especially because of Australia being the first one. But that's the way it
went, it's kind of been going this year. Hopefully it will just -- you know,
I'm a little more experienced with it, a little more familiar with the whole
experience. I think I'm still motivated, just like last year. You know, I
can rely on the experience. I think it will help me get through.
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