Jelena Dokic bt Martina Hingis- WIMBLEDON 1999
INTERVIWER: Has it sunk in yet?
JELENA DOKIC: I don't know. I guess so. I guess I still can't believe I've beaten her. It's a big win for me, especially in the first round, coming from qualifying, but I thought I played quite well today, and I'm quite happy that I won.
INTERVIWER: I think "quite well" is the understatement of the tournament. Have you ever played that well before?
JELENA DOKIC: No, I don't think I have, no.
INTERVIWER: You've played her before. Did you sense something -- how much did you sense something lacking in her as well?
JELENA DOKIC: Well, I played her at the Aussie Open, and I thought it was quite a different match today. I played a lot better than I did at the Australian Open, and I just sort of went into the match having a game plan on what to do, and I knew what I had to play, and how to play, and altogether my game and the way I went into the match was different.
INTERVIWER: You must have been surprised at the ease with which you kind of just breezed past her.
JELENA DOKIC: Yes, I mean, even when I won that first set, I didn't think it was going to be easy, because one chance and she's going to take it, and I knew I had to keep on playing well and I did that the whole match.
INTERVIWER: Jelena, congratulations. Were you daunted at all going into the match against the world number 1 and your first time at Wimbledon?
JELENA DOKIC: I mean, I went through qualifying and I've been playing quite well in the last few weeks, and I mean, I knew it was going to be tough. She's the world number 1. But I thought, "I'll try and play my game as well as I can, and see what happens", and it was 1-1, 2-2, it was getting tight and I knew if I kept there anything can happen.
INTERVIWER: You've spent some time practising with her, haven't you? You went to a place in the Czech Republic and hit with her.
JELENA DOKIC: Switzerland. Yes, I practised with her a few times.
INTERVIWER: And in that time, did it impress upon you how important her Mum was to everything? Was her Mum always there when you were practising?
JELENA DOKIC: Yes, she was. I mean, it was just a few practice sessions, that's all it was, and I don't know, we just practised a few times, and I mean, I tried to learn a few things and get a few things out of it, and it was good practice for me.
INTERVIWER: Were you in turn surprised to see her Mum wasn't there today?
JELENA DOKIC: I didn't know her Mum wasn't there. I mean, I haven't seen her all week, and I never knew she went wasn't there and I didn't even look at the box. I didn't look at my own box, so it was crazy. And the crowd and everything, it's sort of tough to find people in the crowd. But I mean, I didn't know her Mum wasn't there, and I mean, I wasn't even concentrating on that. I was just trying to play tennis.
INTERVIWER: You talked about your game plan. What was your game plan going in?
JELENA DOKIC: Hit winners. I knew I had to keep it deep. I mean, once she got on top of you, it was hard to get back in the point. Keep it deep, and maybe play to her forehand a little bit. I mean, I had to see -- I mean, she's got all the shots in the book and she can do anything she wants to, and she can do anything. I mean, she's number 1 in the world, but once I got going, I mean, I played very well and everything went today, and everything worked today.
INTERVIWER: Do you feel pressure now to confirm these results in the next round?
JELENA DOKIC: Maybe a little bit but, I don't know, maybe a little bit of pressure, but I mean, just because I guess I beat Hingis doesn't mean I have to come out and win the tournament now. I mean, I'm going to try and do my best to win the next round and to go as far as I can, but there's no easy matches, especially in a Grand Slam, and everyone's tough to play.
INTERVIEWER: How do you bring yourself down from a win like this and concentrate on the next match?
JELENA DOKIC: It's going to be tough to come out and play again, and think -- I mean, come back and play -- I mean, I don't know who I'm playing next round. It's going to be tough to think "I've beaten Hingis first round", but I'm going to have to try to do that, and I'm just going to try and play well again and prepare.
INTERVIEWER: Can you compare Martina's performance here and in Melbourne?
JELENA DOKIC: Well, like I say, it was a different match. I thought I played really well today, a different story to the Australian Open, and I mean, I thought she played well too. She kept there. I mean, there were long points and it was tough to win every point.
INTERVIEWER: These things happen all the time, up to a point. The favourite loses the first set, and then the younger player and the player who's not -- gets to 3-0, as you did, sits down and thinks, "What in the world am I doing?" and then faints. How did you keep yourself going at that point?
JELENA DOKIC: It was -- I mean, I thought she could always maybe come back, and I knew if I gave her a chance that she would take it, and I tried to just think about each point as it comes, and tried to win each point, no matter if it's 15-0 or 30-30 or deuce. I mean, I tried to win every game, because the further ahead I got, the better it was for me, and you know, it's sort of a big difference when I'm up, like at 2-0 I tried to get the next game, because if it was 2-1 or 3-0, it's a big difference and I knew that she could maybe come back, and I tried to work for every game really hard to try and get it, and it was tough to concentrate, maybe playing well in the first set, it was hard to concentrate to keep the game -- to keep my game going as well.
INTERVIEWER: How often have you played on grass before you went to Birmingham the other week?
JELENA DOKIC: That was the first tournament, this year, but I've played on grass before, and I won Nationals Australia on grass, and a few other junior tournaments.
INTERVIEWER: You're obviously delighted at winning, but do you feel any sympathy for Martina, because she's been through a pretty rough time of late?
JELENA DOKIC: Yes, I mean, I try not to think about that. I mean, if I can win, I'll try and win, especially against a player like that, and you know, she was number 1 at 16, so -- I mean, I don't know, I just feel -- I'm just thinking about myself and trying to win a game or a match for myself.
INTERVIEWER: On that subject, actually, Jelena, Martina has come here from Paris where everybody saw what happened in the final against Steffi. You have come down here, you've qualified from Roehampton and of course most people here know you, if they know you, from what happened with your Dad in Egbaston. So maybe you had felt a certain amount of pressure too, coming down?
JELENA DOKIC: Well, no, I actually don't look at it that way. I don't think I did, because for me it was good to qualify and to win those three matches, and I mean, it's a Grand Slam, it's tough to qualify, so it's quite a few matches there, and other players coming to the tournament, being fresh, and already played singles, doubles, and whatever else. But I don't think it was. I mean, I don't think anyone can expect me to beat the world number 1. It was always going to be tough to beat her, and there was no pressure on me. So, you know, even if I lost the match, if I played well it was sort of quite good for me to get close. I mean, I don't think there was any pressure at all, because she's the one that's supposed to win.
INTERVIEWER: Was your father here?
JELENA DOKIC: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: He was watching the match?
JELENA DOKIC: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: Do you think Martina will ever invite you again to practise in Switzerland?
JELENA DOKIC: I don't know. You'll have to ask her that.
INTERVIEWER: Can you tell us about the influence your Dad and Wally Masur have had on your career?
JELENA DOKIC: I worked with Wally a few times. I haven't worked with him lately, because I'm travelling quite a bit, and I work with my Dad and a few other people, hitting partners, but I think in the last couple of weeks I've played really well, and I've tried to work on everything and get my game together, and my Dad has helped me a lot in that. I owe him a lot, and having him watch my matches and be there and work on my game, he knows what I have to work on and what I have to face. He's been a big influence on me.
INTERVIEWER: Have you spoken your Dad since you've come off the court?
JELENA DOKIC: Five minutes, yes, I have.
INTERVIEWER: What did he have to say?
JELENA DOKIC: He was out of words. You know, I mean after winning a match like this, and I mean, I played I'd say quite well, you know, it's still hard to believe that I've beaten Martina, but I have to keep my feet on the ground because, you know, anything can happen in the next match, and just because I've beaten Martina doesn't mean I'll win the tournament, and I have to be careful what I do and how I play.
INTERVIEWER: What about mid-term, what are your mid-term goals, mid to long-term goals as a tennis player?
JELENA DOKIC: I mean, I've been asked this a lot and if I said, you know, end of the -- by the end of the year top 50, maybe, I'm trying not to think about that. But I'm top 50 already now, so it's hard to say. I'm just concentrating on playing well and, like I said, win matches and be in good form.
INTERVIEWER: How many tournaments are you allowed to play at the moment, Jelena, with the age restrictions?
JELENA DOKIC: Ten, plus four Grand Slams.
INTERVIEWER: What have you still got to play this year, besides the US?
JELENA DOKIC: I've got a few more tournaments. I haven't worked on my schedule that much. I don't know what I'll play.
INTERVIEWER: Do you still feel hemmed in or restricted by that? Do you think you could be a top 50 player now, if you were allowed to play the tournaments you wanted to play?
JELENA DOKIC: I am a top 50 player now, but if -- I've always said this, and you do feel restricted, because if there were a few more tournaments it would be a little bit better, but I guess they're trying to protect you, and I mean, I don't know, I just feel that you're competing with players that can play 30 tournaments a year if they want to, and I can play half as much as them. And I feel like I have to do really well in every tournament. Otherwise, you know, if I don't do well in one, it's a big difference, you know, it's a big -- every tournament is a big tournament for me. But hopefully next year I can play a few more, and it will be a bit better. But still, I do feel a little bit restricted, and I hope there would be a few more tournaments, but that's the way the rules are and I can't change them.
INTERVIEWER: Do you still have relatives in Serbia here supporting you? Would they have been watching you? Do you have grandparents there at all?
JELENA DOKIC: No.
INTERVIEWER: No relatives at all there?
JELENA DOKIC: No.
END OF INTERVIEW
