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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Richard Pagliaro

Aired August 25, 2002 - 11:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Will it be another sister act final as the U.S. Open in New York kicks off this week? We're joined now by Richard Pagliaro, with "Tennis Week" magazine, and he's live from New York. Good to see you.
RICHARD PAGLIARO, "TENNIS WEEK" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Fredricka. Beautiful day in New York. I'm excited for the Open.

WHITFIELD: All right. And things kick off tomorrow. But let's start our talks on it today, if we could. When we talk about the sisters, the Williams sisters, they are the ones to beat, the competition knows it. and now we're looking at at least Lindsay Davenport; she's back from her knee surgery. Do you suppose that perhaps she and her rivalry with Venus Williams will take some spotlight?

PAGLIARO: Well, Lindsay's had good success against Venus over the course of her career. The problem with Lindsay is, she just came back to tournament tennis last month. She had knee surgery in January. She's not quite match-tough. Yesterday in the final in New Haven, Lindsay had a 5-3 lead in the first set, looked like she was going to take the first set against Venus, and she just kind of emotionally dissolved a little bit. Venus came back and won 10 straight games to close out the match.

I think long term, yes, Lindsay can contend. I just think it's asking a little bit too much of her right now, because she's just been back a month.

WHITFIELD: Now, how about Jennifer Capriati? She's always been looking good, particularly since she has got a few majors under her belt right now. Is she likely to be the force that stands between another final between Serena and Venus?

PAGLIARO: Fredricka, Jennifer's a fighter; Jennifer has only won four tournaments the last three years, but three of them have been Grand Slams. So Jennifer comes to play the big events. I think Jennifer will make the semifinals. I don't see her beating Venus. She's never beaten Venus in her career. She's lost to Serena five times in a row. I think the problem with Jennifer is her serve's a little bit sporadic, and I don't think she's quite as fit as she was last year. And really, to play the Williams sisters, you've got to be in tremendous shape because they're going to hit a lot of balls back. So I think Jennifer will contend. I think she will be deep into the second week; I just don't think she matches up well with Venus or Serena right now. WHITFIELD: Martina Hingis. She has been unable to play because of her injuries and her foot surgery. Now she's back in play action. I guess the same could be said about her, since Lindsay has had a tough time making her comeback. But do you see that Martina has what it takes to perhaps make the semifinal, even final rounds?

PAGLIARO: Fredricka, again, I think the fact that Martina's only been back less than a month, it's going to be difficult for her. I do think, you know, long term, Hingis is going to be a top five, top 10 player. I don't ever see her regaining number one.

You know, the problem with Martina, comparing her serve to the Williams sisters is like comparing the pony express to Federal Express, it's just two different levels, two different paces. She just doesn't quite have the power. You know, it's like putting a middleweight fighter in there against a heavyweight. She just gets overpowered.

But having said that, I think Martina's great for tennis, because she plays stylistically a little bit different. I think long term, she'll be back up there; I just don't think she matches up well with either Venus or Serena.

I wouldn't -- she's reached the U.S. Open semis six straight years; I don't see her doing it this year.

WHITFIELD: And Martina herself, though, recently has said, though, with her time off, given that she was trying to come back from her injury, she had a little bit more time to think more seriously about the game, and that her mental fitness might be far outreaching -- more outreaching than her physical fitness right now. Does that make a difference, in your view?

PAGLIARO: Yeah, exactly. I mean, this is a girl who has been playing tennis since she was 2 years old. So I think the time off was the best thing for her. It kind of reinvigorated her, inspired her. And I just think her serve is such a problem right now. And for someone as brilliant as Hingis, it's just incomprehensible to me that she hasn't addressed that area of her game, because it's the only significant flaw. She really needs to pick up the serve, and until she does that, she's not going to be able to challenge the Williams sisters.

WHITFIELD: Do you see the same kind of intimidation factor that is being compared in the Tiger Woods' arena, whenever anyone is teamed up to play with him, they just kind of crumble and melt. Are you seeing that that is a factor when it comes down to playing against the Williams sisters?

PAGLIARO: You know, I think you raise a valid point. I think the beauty of the Williams sisters is that there's two of them. Tiger Woods dominates solo. Imagine if Tiger Woods had a brother, how much more exciting it would be.

Yeah, I do think there's some validity to that. Jelena Dokic is the fourth ranked woman in the world. She made a comment last week that it's nearly impossible to beat the Williams sisters. Amelie Mauresmo, she's a top 10 French woman; she said she's basically playing for the number three spot in the rankings. A lot of players almost concede...

WHITFIELD: And she looks good.

PAGLIARO: She is a very tough player. She's very good. But you know, she got to the Wimbledon semis, and Serena destroyed her. So I mean, I think, yeah, there's validity to that, and Lindsay's a perfect example. You know, Lindsay's capable of hanging right in there and beating them, but I just think mentally and emotionally, she is a little bit psyched out against them.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Pagliaro, thank you very much, of "Tennis Week" magazine.

PAGLIARO: Thank you, Fredricka. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, well, play begins tomorrow in New York.

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