adidas International

January 16, 2004

Martin Verkerk

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

MARTIN VERKERK: Very dizzy, and I had some stomach problems before the match, actually. A half an hour before, I had diarrhea. But I thought I was gonna be okay. But also the first part of the match I felt like light in the head, dizzy, and like especially when I wanted to start serving and look down, I was really like dizzy. After long rallies, difficult to look and everything. So it was not safe for me to go on for my health. So, yeah, I'm very disappointed, of course.

MARTIN VERKERK: No, I was pretty good. Warm-up was pretty okay. Then, yeah, it suddenly hit me on the court already in the beginning of the match. So I don't know what it is.

MARTIN VERKERK: I don't know. I hope I'm clear in 24 hours then. But I let myself -- the doctor check me, and he said I cannot do a lot. Tomorrow I go to Melbourne and if I have the same, yeah, I let it check out, but... I hope it's a one-day thing. But to get that in the semis of Sydney, yeah, is really disappointing for me of course.

MARTIN VERKERK: I played good. You play against Hewitt, it can be a nice match. Maybe you lose, maybe you win, but at least compete and you can play. Now, I've got forced to give up, and that's, yeah, not nice.

MARTIN VERKERK: Yeah. I had a lot of lunch. I did everything like usually, so I cannot find a reason why it happens.

MARTIN VERKERK: Yes.

MARTIN VERKERK: No, at the beginning already - or beginning, third game, something like that. So, I don't know, maybe it's the heat that happen the days before. I arrived out of Hong Kong, of course. Played an exhibition there. Arrived on Sunday. It's warm here. Had a few days. Maybe the sun, I don't know. Was not hot today, but maybe from the days before it. I don't know.