1998 Lipton Championships at Key Biscayne, Florida, on Sunday, March 22, 1998
Martina Hingis defeated Joannette Kruger, 6-0, 6-0

An Interview With MARTINA HINGIS:

Q. Talk a little bit about your shutout, 6-0, 6-0; how did it feel?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, I am pretty confident right now after winning Indian Wells. I just feel great right now. It is great being out there. And, you know, that if you really want to, at the important points you go out there and you make them. Especially I knew that -- I never played Kruger, actually, before. But after they said on the court that she is 21 in the world and she made pretty good results Indian Wells, she beat Coetzer. I knew she had a pretty good round right now. She is a player that could be really dangerous for me, so it was a good match.

Q. You say you are feeling very confident in how you are playing. It is a new confidence or the same confidence you have pretty much had the last year or so?

MARTINA HINGIS: Well, last year was different, because I kind of had no pressure on me and I just could play my own game. But now I am a year older. Since one year I am No. 1. I am probably a little bit stronger, also. My -- physically, and mentally, hopefully, also a little bit further than I was last year. If you want to stay on the top -- at the top for a while, so you kind of -- and you are No. 1 for one year, you have won so many tournaments, so you can be confident a little bit.

Q. This question may have been asked to you a couple of days ago. When you heard that Steffi Graf was injured again, do you have any reaction to that? Do you feel disappointed or does it not matter at all to you?

MARTINA HINGIS: Actually, it is really not my problem. But I think it is a little bit sad for her. A lot of people talk always about, now when finally I am going to play her. But I never really got the chance to do it. So it is a little disappointing for me that I never got to play her. Especially I am in pretty good shape right now. Lindsay played a great match against her. But I feel a little bit -- maybe she is a bit disappointed that she wants to come back. With her body and the health is the most important thing for a person. I guess if the body is not working the way she wants it to, a little bit sad for her. But not for me. Tennis has changed since last year a lot. There are so many great other players out there, and it is not -- when she stopped she was very dominating, and it is not the same anymore.