U.S. OPEN

August 31, 1996

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I mean, they always help out here certainly, just their enthusiasm is important. Didn't quite put it away there at the end. It was nice to win that breaker.

ANDRE AGASSI: I gave one and I got one. I gave up the service game at 5-4, then I got -- got back into a good breaker there. Didn't feel it was necessarily a great breaker that I played, but I managed to win it. It's nice not to be out there playing a fourth set when you were in control of the match the whole time.

ANDRE AGASSI: He won? Always had some good matches. He's a big hitter, big serve and volleyer. Be quite similar to what you've seen me play the last few matches. I'll have to be moving well, returning well, working my serve pretty good.

ANDRE AGASSI: I'm very comfortable. I mean, certainly I couldn't hope for it to be much better right now. Leading up to the Olympics, like Brad and I talked about, the next six weeks can turn around the whole year. "We can get a win here, move into the Open, put together some great tennis, then the year turns out to be a great year." I'm pretty pleased with how it's managed to turn out so far this summer.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, every match in each year and each tournament, it really represents its own place really in time. I mean, there's nothing that can duplicate that run I had not being seeded, being ranked 20 in the world, really after wrist surgery nobody giving me the faith, including myself, wondering if I could make it back to the top. That certainly can't be duplicated. By the same token, I feel every year has something new to offer. You just have to kind of make it happen at times and other times let it happen. Right now I'm just going out there and getting these matches down one by one and setting myself up hopefully for another great Open.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't feel it's overwhelming. Certainly it gets tiring, the media attention off the court. The stuff I take on on a business level is all within my capabilities. I certainly don't burden myself down beyond what I'm capable of handling. The attention off the court certainly has its down sides.

ANDRE AGASSI: I didn't see Pete's yesterday. I obviously sat through Michael's today waiting to play. Turned out to be a great day for Michael, even though I don't think he was necessarily playing all that well. I thought Vince really played exceptionally well and showed that he has some game to compete with the top guys, if not beat them. I think it was good for tennis to see that kind of competitiveness out there.

ANDRE AGASSI: Five-set win?

ANDRE AGASSI: No. Guys can play. I'd be surprised if he lost in five sets.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, I could have possibly returned better. Sometimes your presence can do it. I mean, I got a few crucial double-faults. I hit well off the second ball, returned, then my next shot was pretty big today. I've returned better certainly. He has a tough serve to read. Half the match we had shadows there. He's twisting and turning, hitting sliders. He hits a serve up the middle, takes it into the ad court. It's a rough serve to read and really get onto.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think you're seeing less and less serve and volleyers, the "I'm coming forward" kind of game and that's it. I think even Stefan really started adding dimensions to his game beyond just the serve and volley. Quite honestly, I just think the game is getting better. You can't just do one thing well and expect to win. You have to do a lot of things well now. Just like you see Michael Chang serving bigger or you'll see me come in a little bit more, I mean, you've got to keep adding things to your game. If you just sound the horn, "I'm coming forward," it's tough to really compete with the best of them.