2003 US Open
Date: 2003-08-25
Harkleroad def. Douchevina 6-4, 6-2

Question What's with the elbow?
Answer That's why I didn't play this summer, was because I had a tear in my ligament. So now I'm just coming back. It's a lot better. I have no pain now.

Question How long were you out?
Answer I didn't play Stanford, San Diego, LA, Toronto. You know, just trying to rest it, get it better.

Question It was just rest and therapy, stuff like that?
Answer Pretty much. You know, I wasn't supposed to serve for a while. But the tape and the ice, I'm just continuing to try and let it continue to get better, save that.

Question Is it going to heal without surgery?
Answer Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's not a big deal. It's a little tear, tiny.

Question Can you talk about your match today, how it went for you.
Answer I was, you know, extremely happy with the way that I played. Being here at the US Open sometimes there's so much going on that it's kind of difficult for me to sometimes focus and just, you know, stay within myself. But today I think I have matured a lot since last year. I was very excited with the way I played today because of my injury and I've been out for the whole summer. I'm very excited about the way that I played.

Question What sort of schedule do you keep in a tournament like this with everything at your fingertips in New York?
Answer I usually just try and rest, not do so much. I'll practice once, maybe twice, work out a little bit with my trainer, then I'm back to the hotel as soon as possible, resting, watching movies and stuff.

Question Do you get out, go to shows?
Answer I will probably tonight maybe, since I don't play tomorrow. But usually I just want to rest as much as I can for my match the next day.

Question What are your memories from the first US Open you played?
Answer The first one, I think the memories were just of me in my nice little outfit, you know, just having a good time and playing.

Question The outfit made a splash. Seems you've gone a different route since then, a little more conservative, less about flash, more about substance. Is that fair?
Answer Not really. I really don't think about it that much. I like to wear, you know, cute outfits and stuff like that. I am just 18 years old. That's fun for me (smiling). You know, I just kind of wear whatever I feel comfortable in.

Question You've certainly taken off this year. What do you attribute that to, as far as your play improving?
Answer What's the question again?

Question You've gotten so much better this year. What have you done to improve?
Answer I just think a lot of it is maturing and growing into my game, having confidence. I have a great coach that's, you know, very caring. It's nice for me to be able to talk to him, you know, grow with my game. You know, like I said, I'm very thankful for, you know, the year that I've had so far. Hopefully can keep going.

Question Chanda Rubin went out this morning. The Williams are out. Do you think you can win the tournament?
Answer I just try and take it one match at a time, one point at a time. We don't look ahead of ourselves. I just go out there and play one point at a time.

Question For the players that are a little further down, do you not think about that a little bit?
Answer Well, I just think that anybody who knows anything about tennis will understand that you don't ever want to look ahead; you always want to stay, you know, in the match, in the moment that you're in. You just stay right there. You don't ever look forward. You definitely have the confidence to know that you can do, you know, what you can. And you have confidence in yourself. But you never want to look ahead.

Question I saw you in the paper yesterday listed among the babes of the US Open. What's your reaction to that sort of publicity?
Answer I guess I just take it as a compliment. I didn't see that. I don't really look at that. Right now it's just tennis that I focus on, take everything else as compliments that people, you know, like to say things like that, that's really nice.

Question When was the last time you were actually in Flintstone, Georgia?
Answer I was in Flintstone like two months ago, I think, after I got back from Europe. That was fun. I got to spend time with my family. I really enjoy it there.

Question You still have family up there?
Answer Yeah, everybody. Everybody lives there. Five minutes away from each other, all my family.