Anna Kournikova Press Conference Interviews Archive ( Sports - Women's Tennis )

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USTA 1998 US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Monday, September 7, 1998
Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario defeated Anna Kournikova, 7-6(5), 6-3

An Interview With Anna Kournikova

Q. How disappointing is this result here for you? Is this something where you're building toward getting much deeper into a Grand Slam?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah. Well, you know, it was a good match. She played well. I didn't play the best match of my life, but she didn't make any mistakes, so it was kind of difficult for me. You know, hopefully I will get a good experience from this match.

Q. Many people are focusing their attention tomorrow on the Hingis-Seles match. You have a great deal of experience on the tour right now. Can you describe what your thoughts are about those two players and what might happen tomorrow?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, it's going to be an exciting match. I think Monica is playing well right now. You know, it could go either way.

Q. I hope you don't mind a non-tennis question. You have a lot of fans from the Philippines. I'm sure the young people there would like to know how you cope with your celebrity status. Do you feel you missed a lot of joys of normal teenage life?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: No, I think I'm enjoying myself a lot. I feel fine. I don't feel any different from anybody.

Q. It's been written that you probably would be a movie star if you were not into tennis. What kind of movie star would you probably have been, and who are your favorite movie actors?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: I haven't even thought about that. I'm just going to be playing tennis for a while.

Q. Are you going to play in Japan for next?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yes, I'm going to Japan a week after The Open.

Q. What did you think the difference was in the match?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, I think I made a little bit more mistakes than she did. It was a tough one. She didn't make any mistakes. I probably didn't use the right tactics to play.

Q. What should you have done differently?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: I think I should have attacked more, you know, and just played my game.

Q. Can you talk about how different Arantxa is from most of the other players these days on the tour? She's not an overpowering player, she mixes things up a lot.

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah. You know, she chases every ball down. She's a good athlete on the court. She just brings everything back so you have to be really concentrated to play against her.

Q. She next plays Venus Williams. How would you assess the pros and cons of that match?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Well, they play very different style games. So it's hard to say what's going to happen.

Q. What would you say is the difference, you were 3-0 against her coming in, the difference in the three matches before than today? Was it just that you missed a lot of your shots?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Yeah. Well, like I said, I don't think that I played my game today. That's the problem probably, because I should have played more aggressively.

Q. How did the delay affect you? Did that affect you at all?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Oh, not really. It was okay. We're used to that.

Q. What advice would you give to young people who would like to join the big leagues in tennis?

ANNA KOURNIKOVA: Work hard, you know, enjoy playing tennis.

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