US Open 2000 after losing to Dementieva


Q. How good is she?

Anke Huber: Oh, she's a good player. She had a very good year already. I guess I should have won today. I had a lot of chances. Shouldn't have lost that match. But she's a very good player. She's tough, fighting, moving well, hitting the ball good. Like I said, she had a great year up to now.

Q. When you see the draw when it first comes out, do you see who your obstacles are, who you have to beat?

Anke Huber: No. I'm looking every round. I mean, if I win a match, I go to the next round. Maybe I look one round ahead, but not more.

Q. Who do you think will win between Venus and Hingis?

Anke Huber: That's a tough question. I don't know. I mean, I think it will be a very good match, a very close match. Martina is in very good shape. She played really good tennis up to now. I would bet on her this time, but you never know. With Venus, she didn't play yesterday that great. I think she can play better than that. I mean, you never know.

Q. Were you looking forward to playing Venus?

Anke Huber: Well, I didn't think about it that much. I was concentrating on the match today, so I didn't think about that. She has to beat Lindsay first also. It would have been nice, for sure. It was a good chance for me.

Q. Can you take anything positive from the past week?

Anke Huber: I had a good tournament. Like I said, it was a great chance to make the semis. I should have taken it. I had a lot of chances in the third set. I just didn't play as good as I wanted to.

Q. Since you've played her in Indian Wells, has she improved greatly? Did you have a different strategy going out for this match?

Anke Huber: No. I think she has the same game than there. She plays it very simple, but she doesn't make a lot of like stupid errors. I mean, she doesn't serve unbelievable. She just plays it simple. She moves very well. Nothing changed much since Indian Wells.

Q. With that type of simple game, can she compete with the heavy hitters in the next year or so?

Anke Huber: Why not? I think, like I said, she can also hit the ball hard. With her forehand, she has a good forehand. She moves very, very well. I think she can. I think maybe she has to improve her serve, a few other things. Otherwise she has a good game.

Q. Do you think that there's a tendency on people here to see Williams and Williams winning automatically, they don't see the other women has having a chance?

Anke Huber: Yeah, probably yes. That's the way it is at the moment. They won the last couple of tournaments, most of them. It's normal that the people talk like this. You also asked me if I would have liked to play Serena, and she first has to beat Lindsay. I guess there is a tendency.

Q. If it's natural for the people to think that way, do the tennis players think that way?

Anke Huber: No. I think it will be a very tough match tonight with Lindsay and Serena. I wouldn't bet on Serena. I don't think between the players it is always like that. I mean, they are both very strong at the moment. We don't expect them to lose first or second rounds. I think there are still some other players which are very tough.

Q. This has been very good preparation for Sydney. You must be confident heading into the Olympics.

Anke Huber: Yeah. I'm happy with the way I played the tournament. I'm looking forward to the Olympics. I mean, it wasn't preparation for me, this tournament, for the Olympics. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Is it the chance to represent your country or...

Anke Huber: It's always nice to play for your country. It's always special to play Olympics. It's different. It's just nice to be there and be with other sports persons. It's nice. It's my third one, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. Does she play like she's 18, Elena?

Anke Huber: Like she's 18?

Q. Does she play that way or is her game a little bit bigger than that? She hasn't had much experience.

Anke Huber: I mean, she played a lot of matches this year. I think she has already the experience she needs to play the big matches. She beat already good players. Like I said, she plays smart and simple, maybe not like the other 18-year-olds which are just hitting the balls. I don't know, it's hard to say. I mean, Serena or Venus, they were all 18. Martina is also very young. I think 18 years old, they can play like this.