An Interview With Anna Kournikova

Q: Anna, very competitive match. Were you surprised by the challenge from Dragomir?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: No. I knew that she was a good player. She's a whole-court player and it was very difficult to adjust in the first set. It was really windy, and she used the court well and I made a few mistakes, so I knew that she was a good player.

Q: I was keeping track of the radar speeds on your serve. You were staying around 85, 90 miles-an-hour range whereas other players are in the 110 miles-an-hour range. Do you have to get more speed into your serve?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, it's not how hard you serve. It's where you serve, so I was just trying to put as many as possible first serves in and play out the point. I wasn't concentrating on serving aces.

Q: Yesterday you lost to her in doubles. Was that a factor? Did it help in today's game against her? Was that in the back of your mind?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: No, not really. I didn't even think about that. It's totally separate things.

Q: But the fact you met her yesterday, did that help in your game against her today?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: No not really. Doubles is different from singles. You can't really tell the way a person plays by doubles.

Q: Did you feel the crowd was behind you?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, I think the crowd was for a good match, you know. So hopefully they enjoyed watching a good match.

Q: Obviously you are one of the younger girls compared to Steffi, for example. Do you feel that the change is happening right now or are you a little bit afraid of Steffi coming back maybe a little tough and she's still there?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, I think the change has been happening for already like two years the young players have been playing, started playing. But the tour is as competitive as ever, so you know, it's good that we have players like Steffi and the young players now at the same time.

Q: How do you like the people write about your private life and how beautiful you are in the newspapers and they regard you as one of the new Spice Girls in tennis. Does it affect your life or?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: I don't think. I can't say. Well, I don't really concentrate on that, and I don't pay any attention to that. I just concentrate on my tennis.

Q: Are you looking forward to your next match already?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yes. You know, I'm going to play against Martinez and I played her twice this year, so it's going to be an even match and I'm going to try to do my best.

Q: After falling back in the first game, what was the turning point for you to win?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: In the first game?

Q: Your whole match, your victory. What was the turning point in your victory? Can you pinpoint it to a certain thing?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: No. I think that in general I played good in general.

Q: Anna, after such a long break, did you expect yourself to play as well already at this tournament?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, you know, maybe it helped me a little bit. I worked out physically and I got a little bit of rest because I played a lot of tennis first six months, but I felt no pressure out there going and I was ready to play.

Q: Just wondering about your time in Montreal so far. Have you had a chance to explore the city at all? Have you found any good restaurants to recommend to any of us?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, I went to a Japanese restaurant so far, but I haven't been around the city. I played very late last night and everything it was late.

Q: What is your personal goal for the next week, couple of weeks, how do you think about what's going to happen? Do you think about it what's going to happen in '98?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: I'm going to have to wait and see what's going to happen. I'm just going to take it match at a time, day at a time and enjoy.