24 agosto 2001
V. Williams D Capriati 6-4, 7-6(1)
Q. A penny for your thoughts on the match.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I'm pretty pleased with it. Some things I could have done
better, but I felt like I was pretty close. Definitely had my chances. You
know, I look at it as a good warm-up match before the Open. You know,
obviously that's where it counts. And this, you know, is, you know, still
gives me -- it doesn't change my attitude going into the Open at all.
Q. What do you think let you down tonight?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I mean if I would have served better in the first
set, you know. I had so many breaks, if I would have consolidated on them.
But, you know, it's just different conditions. Playing at night, you know,
is a little bit different. You know, in the second set I was right in there.
So a few things. Maybe I could have been a little more aggressive on some
shots. Basically, that's it, you know. There wasn't a lot of difference.
Q. Venus played a pretty tough match this afternoon. Did her freshness on
the court surprise you, or did you expect her to come out the way she did?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I think in the beginning though, yeah, she was
fresh. But I think the third set, if we would have gone to a third set, I
think she was starting to get a little fatigued out there. So, yeah. I mean,
it's -- I guess she played a long match, and she seemed fine out there in
the start.
Q. How about her overall performance? She played very well.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, I think she played well. Yeah, I mean really she
didn't make a lot of mistakes, and she was moving well. So, you know, I
think, you know, she definitely, you know -- this is one of her better
matches that I've seen her play in, you know, this week and, you know, and
in the past before, in the recent matches she's played. So...
Q. Would you say this is the most
prepared you've been going into an Open in a while?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. I mean, I don't think I can get any more prepared
than what I am now. So...
Q. Did you sort of take in the crowd and the size of it today?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, it was great preparation for the US Open. So, you
know, there's going to be a lot -- big crowd there and a lot of screaming
people and stuff and, you know, especially at, you know, the night matches.
I think it was really good to get the feel of it. And, I mean, it was, I
think, a full house out there; it looked like it. So... And that's pretty
exciting.
Q. What about the Open? What do you think? Is there a favorite or is it
pretty much wide open?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I mean, I think it's wide open. I mean, anybody has a
chance really. You know, I'm just going to go in there and take one match at
a time and really just, you know, try to play my best every match and think
every match is going to be tough. And, you know, it's a long ways to go
before the end, you know. It's two weeks. So, you know, I just have to get
in that mode that, you know, every match, you know, hopefully I'll get
better and better. And it's just leading up to hopefully, you know, the
second week, and as the tougher matches come. But I think every match is
going to be tough.
Q. Are you excited, or are you curious to see what the reaction will be to
you? You'll probably be one of the favorites down there.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah, no. I kind of expect that and that's fine. Really
I'm just trying to focus out there and, you know, not think about the crowd
and, you know, not think about any pressure, anything like that, you know,
the expectations. You know, I feel that as long as I just play my best
tennis, that will just take care of itself. And that's really all I can do,
you know...
Q.
I was curious, you hit a short lob, a low lob that you lost the point on.
Then you came back at a crucial point in the second set, put it over the net
and dropped it in. Did you have any qualms about that shot?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Did I have any what?
Q. Were you concerned about not passing her and going over her when you
didn't the first time?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: No. I mean, it was just a different point. And, I mean, I
was probably in better position to hit the one that I did make.
Q. An instinctive shot?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Huh?
Q. More of an instinctive shot?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Yeah. Well, I mean, she's pretty much in my side of the
court, so really the option is to lob, you know.
Q. Talk about the service game that you said you had -- you could have done
better tonight. Talk a little more about that. What needs to click for you
in your service game?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: I didn't -- well, I didn't sound like I served badly. I
just -- I mean, I didn't hit really like -- I wasn't hitting any bombs
tonight and winning a lot of free points on my serve. I just -- basically it
was getting them in and, you know, playing the points from there. And, you
know, she was just really aggressive. I think both of us probably returned
better tonight. I mean, there was a lot of breaks of serves, especially in
the first set. So, you know, maybe it's just -- what I was concentrating on
was trying to, you know, break her so much that, you know, I really lost
focus on my serve and, you know, wasn't as concentrated on that. You know,
it's something that I'm still working on that should just be automatic
anyways. You know, but it's -- it was, like I said, different conditions. I
mean, it was definitely weird out there at night, you know. Just the timing
was a little off. So, you know, we'll see. I think overall, though, it was
pretty good. I didn't serve like yesterday, but...
Q. Is there something about her game that makes it a little tough for you?
She's the kind of player you struggled against in the past, you've had a lot
of tiebreaks.
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Well, I mean she's a good player, you know. And, you know,
she has a long reach; she gets a lot of balls. And, you know, today I guess
she -- she didn't make very many errors. You know, she was mixing her serve
up a lot. So I really -- I didn't get much of a rhythm out there. But I mean,
she's definitely a tough player to play, and I mean she's good. So, you know,
I think it's always going to be tough matches.
Q. If you guys meet up in the semifinal, are there any things you'll take
from this match and do differently?
JENNIFER CAPRIATI: Probably. I'm not really going to say them. (Laughing).
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