1997 Chase Championships at Madison Square Garden, New York, on Tuesday, November 18, 1997
Martina Hingis defeated Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, 7-6 (3), 5-2 retired

Q. Were you feeling well when you came out the first set?

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, I felt pretty okay, because I needed to just -- one of the last -- this is obviously the last tournament of the season, and I was pretty happy with the draw I have right now. And since I have never lost to Brenda before, so I was going very confident to the match.

Q. But you seemed like a little slower, she was serving cannonballs.

MARTINA HINGIS: Well --

Q. You were not smiling as much as you usually do.

MARTINA HINGIS: If you played Brenda, everything looks too slow on the other side, I guess. No, it was -- maybe I had a couple tough matches last week in Philadelphia. Everybody knows I had something there. I had a relaxing day yesterday, but still maybe not everything is a hundred percent.

Q. Brenda said she felt you were a little bit slower than usual today. Did you feel that?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, she told me that after the match. But it's hard -- if you're playing Brenda, she never gives you the timing of the game. Usually -- if you maybe saw the other match before, Iva and Anke, they just hit very flat, very hard balls, and if you play Brenda, you never know what comes out of that.

Q. You mentioned this is the last tournament of the season. Is it hard for you after all you've achieved this season to maintain the enthusiasm right through to the end?

MARTINA HINGIS: Yeah, definitely. It is a great tournament. After the Grand Slam, it's the biggest tournament in the world you can play, and it's just you want to end up the season that started. And, yeah, I'm looking forward to the next matches and I'm happy I had this one today.

Q. How much are you looking forward to a break now? You've had a tough last few weeks. Is it worse mentally or physically?

MARTINA HINGIS: I had this break three weeks after Zurich, and I just didn't last during the break. And I try to prepare for this tournament. And coming from Philly, that feels even better. You know, I'm looking forward to the break 'til January, 'til I'm going to play in Sydney. There may be some more exhibitions, like the one in Frankfurt.

Q. You just said on television you feel you're in better shape this year. Could you elaborate on that a little bit?

MARTINA HINGIS: I think many people remember last year the five set with Steffi, so I don't want to get into that trouble again.

Q. How are you going to avoid it if you should be in a five set with Steffi, what's different?

MARTINA HINGIS: I'm a year older. I hope I'm a year stronger. Maybe also more confidence. And I was, as they said on TV last year, sensational, this year's No. 1. So that goes a little different to a tournament.

Q. How do you feel about playing Mary Pierce in the next round?

MARTINA HINGIS: I have played her once in San Diego this year only. Yeah, I had a good win there. And I hope I can do the same thing as I did last time. And, also, yeah, the Finals at the Australian Open I played her, so...

Q. How concerned were you when you reached the tiebreaker?

MARTINA HINGIS: When I -- well, when I got broken in the third game and I was out two, I was hoping to break her back right away and then the tiebreaker. And I knew if I -- because I played couple good returns before, and I was just hoping that she can't hold up serving that well in the tiebreak. And, actually, it was one of the points on her serve, so...

Q. You were averaging about 80 miles per hour on your first serve -- (inaudible)?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, as I said last week, I had a tough tournament, so my legs are -- especially my left one is still a little bit sore. That's where you have to jump off on the serves. That wasn't quite easy for me all the time.

Q. Last year you said you liked to play with different partners each week in doubles instead of committing to one full-time. These things seem to be going for you well in the match up? Are you happy with the --

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, we maybe haven't done as well as we thought when we started playing together since Paris -- yes, it's Paris. We played three Grand Slams together and we had never done better than semifinals, so... It's also tough to play, especially in doors. As everybody knows, I'm going to play later on another doubles, so it's going to be pretty late. But it's just the way it is at this tournament, and you can't change it. But especially indoors, it's going to be tough to play -- continue to play doubles. So we'll see next year.

Q. Have you decided if you're going to play doubles next year and with whom?

MARTINA HINGIS: No, I haven't decided, no. So far I'm still playing with Arantxa. We'll see. It's hard at the Grand Slam, sometimes it's going, but at the other tournaments the draws are getting better and better, and it's just harder to go through in the singles, so we'll see.