L. Davenport - Day 1
Monday, June 20, 2005
Q. Was that as comfortable as you could have expected? Were you happy?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, not having played a match on grass and coming in
here at Wimbledon and Centre Court, you always want to start off really well.
You know, I played great. I'm really happy with the way I played. Hard to
read too much into it either way. But I served well, hit some -- hit the ball
cleanly and was able to get out of there pretty quickly.
Q. Are you happy with the shape you're in?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah. I feel like I'm feeling pretty strong. You know, on
grass it's most important to hopefully not get injured and, second, try and
get off the rally to a good start, whether serving well or returning well.
I've been concentrating on those things and I'm just going to keep trying to
do those well.
Q. Quite a turnaround for you from the last time you were here. What do you
think is behind that?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't know. After I left here, I seemed to get on a
great roll last summer. I've had a wonderful ride the last 12 months since
leaving here. Never would have expected exactly how things turned out. I
would never have dreamt that.
I'm still out here because I'm enjoying it. I feel like I'm playing well
enough. You know, obviously the ultimate goal is always to try to win another
Slam. I've been really close and haven't quite gotten through. But I still
feel like I'm knocking on the door of having that happen.
Hard to walk away when you feel like you could achieve the ultimate goal in
tennis. While I still feel like I have that ability, I'm going to stick
around.
Q. Obviously the last two years you've made it a point, certainly in the last
year, of talking about not being back. Just how shocked are you at being here?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Well, I would be -- I'm extremely shocked if I went back
12 months ago to this time. If you asked me about four or six months ago, not
as shocked. Really once the summer was over and went through the fall, you
know, I definitely made a commitment at the end of last year that I was going
to play again through this year. I've known for a while I would probably be
back.
But at the time I was sitting here a year ago, I just felt like I was losing
that little inner fire that you need to always be at the top. And I didn't
want to see my ranking just start kind of going down and start retiring at
like ranked 15 or 20, for reasons like that. I really take a lot of pride in
being successful and doing well.
After I left here, it got relit. You know, I don't know how else to describe
it. Came back and started playing really well again.
Q. Is it chicken or the egg? Did the fire come back or did you start playing
well?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It probably centers more around the tennis, for sure.
Success obviously makes you enjoy anything more. But I started to feel I
played at a level that I could contend and, like I said, have that chance to
win the ultimate prize. When you've done that and then you feel ?? I felt
like I was playing the two years prior, after coming back from the two
surgeries, just to play. I didn't really feel I could win for a couple years.
Then all of a sudden starting last summer, I felt like I could. It's the big
difference in your mental game when you feel like you can still do that.
Q. Do you think it all came down to that one match at Stanford, beating Venus
in the final, or is that too simplistic?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Probably too simplistic. But, you know, it definitely
helped all of a sudden winning all those tournaments in California and
starting off on the right foot in the first one. But that match definitely
kind of catapulted me with the confidence to kind of get through the rest of
the summer.
But I think as things started rolling, I think it was a combination of a
bunch of stuff. But winning that first tournament right after Wimbledon
definitely helped.
Q. Considering how close you were to going, you must look at all this as a
gift, right?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, it's been great. I was so excited to walk back here
a few days ago. I love playing here, I always have. You know, even to be
seeded 1 and get to play on Centre Court the first day is great. It's pretty
exciting even after I've played countless matches out there. I've had a
wonderful time here the last few days, really a lot of fun. I hope it keeps
going.
Q. Does that playing without pressure help you?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, I mean, there's always pressure that you put on
yourself, regardless of outside forces. But while enjoying it and while
excited to be back, I mean, there's still business to be done. I want to do
well, so there's still some pressure there.
Q. When you play a match like you did today, are very dominant, what does it
tell you about the state of your game? Do you learn information? Do you have
a better read on where you stand after that?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I don't try to read too much into particular
matches. I try to focus on each surface, what I need to do well to be
successful on that surface. So if I look back today, I'd say, "Okay. I was
aggressive with my shots and I served well. That's important on grass, so
that's great." But I know more than anybody that in 48 hours the exact
opposite can happen in this freaky sport.
I just try and keep sharp on those kind of things. I could go out the next
day and play great or not play so well, and you're still in the tournament
regardless. So you kind of have to learn to be immune to either thinking
you're playing so well or not playing so well.
Q. The feeling you have right now, because of being No. 1, the roll you're
on, being here where you're having so much fun, how does it compare with
anything you've experienced in your career, or does it not compare with
anything?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Yeah, that's interesting. Probably doesn't really compare
because, I mean, like I said, I knew the last few months I'd be coming back
here. When you actually walk back through, and I remember last year crying a
little bit when I left thinking, "Oh I might not be playing here again." In
that regard, it's pretty fun to be back here and be playing well, being
seeded 1, and all of that. It's pretty special.
I would think it's kind of a different feeling. I feel like kind of on a
little bit of borrowed time because I didn't think it would necessarily
happen again.
Q. When you left here, did you make your own private farewells to Wimbledon
in your head?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No, no, no.
Q. You didn't say, "I won't be coming back"?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No. I just lost the mixed semis and was upset (laughter).
Just kidding.
No, no, it wasn't like that. It was just like, you know, take a deep breath
and be like, "Well, I wonder if this is it. Could be."
Q. When you came back this year for the first time, you think of last year,
crying a little bit, or did you think of when you won here?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: You know, I walked back here with Corina. We were just
kind of joking around . I'm like, "We're back." She was kinds of laughing,
too. It didn't get so philosophical as that. I mean, '99 seems like an
eternity ago. It's hard to conjure up any really clear memories of that time.
Maybe if I saw like a highlight on TV, but it's so far removed. So, no, I
guess it wouldn't have been that memory.
I think just coming back and seeing how beautiful it is, especially before
the tournament starts like on the Wednesday or Thursday before, seeing the
calmness of Wimbledon in the week before, that's kind of like the greatest
time to be here.
Q. Hasn't been done by the men in quite a long time, it has obviously more
recently among the women, that's winning the French Open and Wimbledon back
to back. Not something you've had a chance to do. Can you talk about how
tough that is?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: It's like one of the hardest things I think that people
expect in sports. I mean, to switch the most extreme surfaces in the small
amount of time we have -- I mean, I know the latest I've gone in the French
is the semis, but the finals of doubles which is still Sunday, it's not easy.
I've never kind of understood the timing of the two Slams and the extreme
opposites of the surfaces.
It takes a lot physically. I mean, after you win a Grand Slam, I mean,
mentally it's a pretty excited first few weeks afterwards. Then to get right
back, geared up for another Slam, it's pretty tough. We'll see. I don't know
how Borg did it, but we'll see who can kind of repeat that. It's going to be
tough.
Q. Word about your next-round opponent.
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I'm pretty sure I play Jackson. Yeah, she's a good young
player. It's nice to see some Americans kind of do well. I know she came
through the qualifying. Obviously she's been playing well on grass. I watched
a little of her play today on like the monitor.
But, I mean, I don't know tons about her. Anyone who's kind of fought their
way through Roehampton and through the first round must be playing well. For
me, like I said, serving well, going after shots and being aggressive is the
most important thing. I'll worry about that.
Q. What does that say about the challenge for Justine Henin-Hardenne, if she
is able to do well here, what does it say about her?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: She's remarkable in that regard. She's come back from some
situations that have been pretty dire, like the US Open. Great fighter. I
mean, if anyone can do it, she definitely it seems has the capacity to do it.
You know, I think she is by far the best clay courter in women's tennis. I
mean, she obviously proved that this whole clay court season. We'll see on
the grass. I think it gives the bigger hitters a little bit more of an
advantage than on the clay court against her. I know she's in kind of a tough
section with both Williams, who are obviously great grass courters. It will
be interesting to see. I really don't know because I haven't actually seen
her play on grass all that much.
We'll see how she does these next two weeks.
Q. Does it bother you at all that you're No. 1 and people don't talk about
you as much as they talk about people who are below you?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: No.
Q. Doesn't bother you at all?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: Huh-uh.
Q. Do you like it that way?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I don't mind it, no.
Q. I think it's the first time for two years that the top five women have
been either all in the same place at a Grand Slam because you're all fit and
healthy. Does this make Wimbledon a particularly hard test?
LINDSAY DAVENPORT: I think not only is it the top five rank, but it's been
the top five players for the last few years. Kim and Venus, even though
they're not ranked in the top five, we're on our way back to having all the
really great players playing at the same time and that's really what we've
been lacking the last few years.
It would be great if we could get everybody playing healthy and playing their
best and then seeing what happens. It's going to be, like the French, one of
the toughest Slams we've had in a couple of years for that reason.
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