AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 29, 2005

Kevin Ullyet

Q. Kevin, that last game was pretty dramatic.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Yeah, geez. I mean, it's always nice to break for the match. Especially, you know, there's all kinds of demons that can get into your head when you're serving for a Slam. It all depends how you start the game. Luckily enough, I made a couple first serves. Wayne buried a volley. Straight away when you're setting then up, it makes it a bit easier. Geez, that last game, I could have swore I saw a space on that last point. Celebrating and stuff. Geez, had to do it all over again but.

KEVIN ULLYETT: I left the ball. It was called out. The umpire overruled it. He said it was good. I don't know what it said on the TV, whether it was good. But the mark was there, there was a slight space there, I thought.

WAYNE BLACK: We couldn't hear. He overruled and we couldn't hear. The microphone wasn't that clear, so.

KEVIN ULLYETT: I just turned around, saw Wayne's arm. The umpire was waving behind him.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Geez, equal, I guess, huh?

WAYNE BLACK: Yeah.

KEVIN ULLYETT: They're both unreal. The first one was great, I think. But this one, we've backed it up with another one, feels really good to me.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Yeah. My dad passed away last year in October, towards the end of the year. And, yeah, so it's just a pity that he wasn't here to see us win another one.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Very much so. He used to get me out of bed from the age of five. He always gave me a big push. I know Wayne's dad was the same. Without them, would definitely not maybe have pursued tennis for sure.

KEVIN ULLYETT: He died of cancer, prostate cancer.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Rob. Robert.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Yeah, to the day.

WAYNE BLACK: Colon cancer.

WAYNE BLACK: Donald.

WAYNE BLACK: Yeah, it's fun. It's fun playing them. I mean, everybody's -- you know, we got to be at our best to play them. I think maybe they have to be as well. We just have some great battles. It's tight out there. You got to be on top of everything to beat them pretty much. They bring so much energy to the court and, you know, if we can just rival that energy with them, it makes for great encounters. So hopefully we'll be having a lot of bashes with them over the years. You know, they're definitely great for the game of doubles. You know, definitely the last couple of years I think they've actually taken doubles up a notch or two and everybody's had to try and catch them a little bit.

WAYNE BLACK: I think so. I think the more hype, the more we get into it and tell everybody about it, I think if the media gets into it a little bit more, definitely grows big-time on popularity. Our names get out there, people know who we are, they're definitely going to stay around and watch it. Once they stay around to watch it, then they'll see how quick points are and how different it is from singles, but also how we can have some unbelievable points out there and strategy.

WAYNE BLACK: I think so. I think lifting a little bit.

WAYNE BLACK: I don't know. Maybe just advertising more, I guess. You know what I mean? Maybe if the top tennis ATPs, WTAs, ITFs can get together, maybe try to build it up a little bit more, build up the individual players, maybe the Top 10 players. It's really just getting the guys' names out there so people know who you are and it's not just classed as a side-off event from the singles.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Yeah. Yeah, it's going to be interesting going back out there now, you know. Just got to try and be there for my partner, I guess, and see if I can come back tomorrow again. It will be tough, though, playing Martina and Max. But just at the match tiebreaker, you just got to get one good set, get a little bit lucky, and you can sneak a win out there.

KEVIN ULLYETT: Good. Just be playing on adrenaline for the next hour and a half, definitely.

WAYNE BLACK: TV in the pub (laughter).

KEVIN ULLYETT: I don't know. There's a big screen out there.