September, 5th 2004
Capriati D Sugiyama 7-5, 6-2
Q. Can you just talk about what happened at 3-5 in the first set. You got down
and then you reel off four games in a row.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I wasn't happy with the game that I played to lose my
serve. I feel like I just didn't concentrate well and I just decided to try
to concentrate a little better and step it up. Kind of, you know, knew what
she was trying to do a little bit. You know, just tried to keep the ball
deep and really, you know, not let her -- give her a chance to come to net
and try to be aggressive on her part. I think I served well to get out of
it then. So I just played solid tennis, you know, and concentrated really well.
Q. Did that give you a lot of confidence going into the second set? It
seemed like you really picked it up after that.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I think between that and then also she started
missing a little bit more. I think maybe she lost a little bit of the juice
that she came out with. So that helped me, because she made a few more
mistakes. But I was, you know, I felt like I was playing good, I was moving
well, I was being aggressive so...
Q. What impression did you have of Ai's playing?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Ai, the way she plays?
Q. Yes.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: You know, every time I play her, it's always going to be
a difficult match. I mean, she plays -- she's very quick. You know, she just
plays with a lot of energy. She doesn't give too many points away. So really,
you can't have a bad day against her. So, you know, Ai is pretty much the
same player all the time, which is what makes her, you know, who she is, the
player she is.
Q. How do you feel now going up against Serena?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I feel great. I mean, I feel like I'm playing well and my
chances are very good.
Q. Can you get a sense of how she's playing just from these matches? It
seems she's had a year where you're not really sure what level she's at
right now.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I mean, I'm just gonna go out there and I expect
the best from her. We've played each other so many times. I've played her at
her best, I've played her at her worst. I've played her at my best, me at my
worst. So it's just kind of like I can just only worry about myself, really...
Q. Do you feel like you have enough confidence right now that you don't
really feel like, you know, doesn't matter who you're playing at this point,
you feel strong enough that...
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, absolutely.
Q. Do you ever dream about the match you played against Justine here last year?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No.
Q. You never think back on it, when you first stepped on the court here this
year, did you think back on how wonderful a match that was?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Uhm, I've thought about that before, yeah, but not -- I
mean, it's kind of, you know, history for me now. Right now, this is a new
time so it's, you know, I'm just trying to think about the present right now.
Q. But when you do think back, what do you think about?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I really -- I don't really think about it that much, you
know. I just think that, I mean, I had the match, I probably should have won,
but, you know, it was a great match for women's tennis and, you know, next
time just close it out and that's that.
Q. Serena is dealing with a knee injury. She says that doctors told her not
to play here, but she's playing because it's the Open, all that. Do you go
into the match, do you play her like you played her at Roland Garros, try to
wear her down, or are you concerned she might come out like she did at
Wimbledon, play quick, straight tennis and you'd be out of there pretty
fast?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I believe that from now on I don't believe what anybody
says, and I just believe (laughter)... I just expect them to be 100 percent
at their game. Because I really don't think anybody would be playing if they
really didn't feel 100 percent. And that goes for me, too. So I will just
expect the best. Really, like I just can only worry about myself, my game,
and just don't do a lot of things different.
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