August, 26th 2004
Dechy D Capriati 6-4, 7-5
Q. A couple questionable calls there. Might that have been distracting you
from the game?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I mean, you're going to have those calls. It just seemed
like they were pretty excessive going against me. You know, it was just kind
of the whole -- like the feeling of the match a little bit, things were not
really going for me. Combine that with let cords, it's just like the Gods
weren't on my side tonight. You know, what can you do?
Q. You played Nathalie six times. Ever see her play as solid or
consistent as you have tonight?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No. I truly have to say never, that she's played against
me or I've seen her play against anyone else. I think she definitely played
the match of her life tonight. You know, I give all credit to her really.
There wasn't much I could do. I mean, I was trying almost everything, just
trying to be more aggressive. She moved well, she counter-punched well, and
then she attacked me a lot - and she just didn't make any mistakes. I think
maybe her percentage must have been like 80% first serves, so...
Q. Do you feel you played well enough to win against a normal opponent on a
normal night? Didn't seem like you made a lot of errors.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No. I think I played a good match myself. It was really
close. You know, maybe just a couple points here and there, things I maybe
could have played more aggressive in a few points. But, you know, I think
overall it was a good match and I should not be disappointed, you know, down
on myself. I think it's a good match to have before The Open.
Q. From the stands I could hear people cheering you on. I was wondering
if you could feel the positive energy and how it affected your game.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, definitely, you can feel it. But, I mean, when you're
out there and you're fighting so hard, you're not really kind of noticing
what's going on in the crowd because you're just so focused on what you're
trying to do out there, what the opponent is doing. You know, I was just
trying to really figure out a way to win out there, you know, to break her
serve and just do something, you know, to take it to a third set at least.
So, you know, by that time you're just like -- I mean, you hear the crowd,
but you don't also, you know.
Q. Second set, you had four or five chances to break her. Did you feel
like that next game when she served, that might be your breakthrough time?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. I mean, it's a fine line because you don't want to
like, you know, if you go for it too much, you could play out of yourself
and then make the errors, but then you don't know if you should just make
her play, kind of wait for her to make an error or just wait for the right
time. I mean, really every breakpoint that I had, she played like an
unbelievable point. I don't think on any of them that it was like an easy
ball. You know, she just came back with either a great serve, a great second
shot off that or, you know, just a great point.
Q. With all the upsets going on in the tournament, is this just an example
of the parity in the game today?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's kind of the end of the
year, and maybe the top players maybe are a little bit tired at this point.
The US Open is coming up next week. I'm not saying that this tournament is
not important, but, you know, it's like you don't want to expend too much
energy, especially when it's been such a long season. But I also, you know,
have to give credit to other players to really take advantage of that. So,
you know, the potential is there.
Q. Did she change her strategy against you this time, do anything
different?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: The only thing I noticed was that she really, you know,
instead of trying to hit like big serves, she was just trying to place them
good. She came to net a lot more than usual. You know, obviously she was
playing on my backhand side a lot, just trying to open the court that way
and then come to net. So, you know, I think she tried to play that way
before, but she just never, you know, played as well, and just would always
make errors. The difference was that she, you know, played it perfectly tonight.
Q. Are you heading down to New York now right away or stay here for a
little bit?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I'll probably leave to get used to the conditions over
there and everything over there.
Q. You said the US Open is kind of wide open this year, given the
Williams sisters don't seem to be as dominant as they once were, Clijsters
is not in it. Obviously, you're a favorite, Davenport. Henin played well in Athens.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I mean, I think like that commercial for the US Open,
"The Usual Suspects." I think the 'usual suspects' are still there (laughter).
You know, I wouldn't say it was like wide open, but I think even if everyone
was still playing well, at the top of their game, I think it's just really
-- you don't know. I don't think you can make a prediction on who's going to
win or who's even going to be, you know, quarters, semis, in the later
rounds. You just don't know.
Q. How about this tournament now? If you had to pick a player that's left,
who would you go with?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I mean, I would have to go probably with the -- you know,
Dechy plays Lisa now. I think they're both obviously playing well. As far as
for the finals, I'd have to go with the more experienced players that have
been, obviously, I think in the finals, are higher ranked, Dementieva. I
would go with them. But I think at this point you don't know what's going to happen.
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