Doubles Final
Anna Kournikova/Martina Hingis beaten by Venus & Serena Williams
3:6, 7:6, 6:8
June 6, 1999
Q. How do you sleep yesterday night after that sort of match? What happened in the second set when you were down 5-1 today?
MARTINA HINGIS: I think we came out pretty good
in what we did. They were killing us like in the beginning. We had no like
rhythm, didn't know what to do out there. The rain probably helped us to somehow,
you know, keep hanging in there, just fight every point we had a chance to do
something. The match turned around a lot. We were like one point away from
losing it earlier, then winning it again. But I think it was still a great
comeback. We did great anyway in this tournament. It's the first time we lost,
and only one point away from winning it. It was good.
Q. What about sleep?
MARTINA HINGIS: How can you sleep if you lose this
match like that, so not much hope. But still, I mean, for the doubles today, it
was just normal rhythm, go practice. If you lose a match and you don't wake up
the next day and want to do something, that's not good. I knew with Anna playing,
that gave me the other motivation, playing the finals. If I probably would have
played with somebody else, I wouldn't go. But for Anna, yes.
Q. Today the crowd seemed to be for you. Did
that surprise you? How did that make you feel?
MARTINA HINGIS: You know, once you're at this stage,
you don't care anymore. You just go on into the match, play your game, don't
think about what's going around you.
Q. After having a bit of time to reflect on
the match yesterday, have you had any new thoughts about it, the second set,
third set, what happened?
MARTINA HINGIS: I rather don't want to think about
it anymore. It's behind me. It's been yesterday and there is future tomorrow.
Q. As far as today's match, anything that you
talked about after it was over or that you could reflect on now as to what you
could have done different, maybe have gotten them to be a little less pounding?
MARTINA HINGIS: I don't regret for anything what I did. That was the feeling what I
felt. That's me, how I am on court. Probably
not always everybody loves it, but that's the protection what I have. I was
bouncing it away by the things what I did on court. This is just protection for
myself, against everybody.
Q. I think perhaps you misunderstood. Today
what could you have done differently?
MARTINA HINGIS: In the match today?
Q. Yes.
MARTINA HINGIS: Oh, oh, okay. Well, finishing it
off, like I say.
Q. Anna, what about you?
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: I think that they started off
really well, and we were not really surprised, but they really had going for
them everything, the luck, the net cords, everything. Like Martina said, we
pulled it off good. We just didn't have that little edge at the end that we
could have finished it. I think we just should have been more aggressive and
played a little bit more our game, not letting them play too much.
Q. Do you think being more aggressive would
have given you that edge then?
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah, not aggressive, but like I said, playing our game, the way we play,
yeah.
MARTINA HINGIS: From the beginning on. We started a
little bit late.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Even though we started late, yeah,
we almost won the match.
Q. Today Medvedev was leading very clearly
against Agassi. Then the crowd start cheering a lot for Agassi, like for Steffi.
MARTINA HINGIS: I didn't see. I don't watch any tennis.
Q. Do you think that experience was so
important in that situation?
MARTINA HINGIS: It's not the first time the crowd
was against me. I lived it at this tournament a few times already. When I play
against Amelie, it's the way when I play Monica. It shouldn't affect you. It
didn't affect me until the end. I totally had a little bit breakdown, but only
after the match. I tried not to affect -- not let it go too deep into myself
during the match. I wasn't so far away.
Q. Before you match, what did you do to help
Martina get over her disappointment?
MARTINA HINGIS: She was there for me.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: That was the least I could do.
Well, nothing special. We just, you know, like she said, we were motivated today.
Even though she had a difficult match yesterday, I knew that I should help her,
of course. We had the warm-up. We had a good warm-up. But something different
happened when we went on the court. We started losing. Like she said, the rain
really helped us. We stopped and we thought about it a little bit. But it's
definitely a difficult situation for her. I mean, I wouldn't want to come back
out here after that day yesterday.
Q. I just wondered what it was that you
thought about to turn the game around, because it was quite incredible the way
you came back from 5-1 down, neck-and-neck in the third set.
MARTINA HINGIS: Well, sometimes you just are
totally loose.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah.
MARTINA HINGIS: Just go probably for more, take
more risk. The balls just went in on our side more.
It's like yesterday, I think like Steffi was pretty
much helpless in the second set. But she just totally, you know, relaxed herself,
hit some unbelievable shots. Sometimes that's the way you turn around matches if
you are champion. That's why she beat me yesterday. That's why we came back
today. But still, okay, in the third set it was very close. You are maybe a
little bit nervous. But there it was even. They were just the better at the end
won. In the beginning, if you look at it, we had no chance. You lose, just go
point-by-point. Also in a way because the Williams, especially Venus, she's not
very strong mentally. At that point, they gave us another chance, too. You know,
we were still breathing.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: They definitely had to close it,
and it's really difficult. For them it was really difficult to close it. We just
talked with Martina, said, "We have to give them a chance to close it. We
can't just give it away." That's what we did, we tried to give them a
chance, they didn't take it. Then at the end, all four of us, we were a little
bit shaky, but it was very close.
Q. Did both of you get whacked by Venus and
Serena with the ball? Was it Serena who hit both of you?
MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, but it happens in doubles.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: It happens all the time.
Q. Nothing different when they do it?
MARTINA HINGIS: Not when they do it. Maybe some
other players, when they do it.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: They just hit it a little bit harder.
MARTINA HINGIS: They're aggressive.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: That's their game.
MARTINA HINGIS: If somebody goes for you, but it's
their game. You have to be ready. If you're not, okay, you get hit. That's no
problem. I mean, you have a racquet to defend yourself. If you're not quick
enough, it's your problem.
ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah.
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