XXVI OLYMPIC GAMES

July 27, 1996

Andre Agassi

MaliVai Washington

ANDRE AGASSI: It feels good. It feels good. Get off my ass, all right? (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER.)

ANDRE AGASSI: They certainly helped tremendously. There is no doubt about it. Unfortunately, you know, my energy level, I think after kind of assessing it for a few minutes, I think I was kind of so pumped up to play, I am really starting to get my game together, believe it or not, with the way it started, I just went out there kind of like playing with the confidence that I have been playing the best tennis in the world, and you want to feel good, that that is the case. So you are stepping up to the plate and you are cracking shots well out of your normal groove range. I was shocked today to kind of hear from Brad that he felt that I was hitting orbit lunar groundstrokes. I mean, I was like, geez, I was hitting it 85%, the ball was taking off. He thought I was just hitting missiles. I felt like I backed down to 50%. He felt like I backed down to earth. So it is kind -- it is nice to know that. So the energy level, I guess, got me a little bit out of control, and the energy level kind of got me back into it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I had confidence in me being -- in me winning the match. When I got the break back in the second, you know, I felt like, you know, I was starting to work the point. I mean, the first set he hit four winners and beat me 6-2. That is not a positive stat on my behalf. So once I started working the point and it was quite apparent that I was going to go and win most of those, I felt pretty comfortable. But still you got to mentally stay on it and there is always room for things to change. So I stayed focused and felt pretty much in control of the match once I got back into the second set.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I really didn't hit the shots and expect them to be winners. I don't think his movement is his strong point, but he knew that if he just got there, there was a chance I was just going to flag the next one, because that is the way it was going. And usually if somebody stretches out like that against me, what happens to them is what happened at 5-1, game point, in the third, they run six more corners if they want to stretch out. You are going to stretch that way. Well, then I will make you stretch one more time and one more time, I'll let you stretch here all day long until you don't feel like running anymore. In the first set and a half when he would stretch for one, I would try to hit the cold clean winner on the next ball. I was making errors. I felt like I was dictating the course of the match throughout and was fortunate and to turn it around at 3-1 and not to give him the opportunity to close me out because then who knows what the momentum would have done for him.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I don't think it has really gotten to be a physical issue by any means. Actually, playing the doubles on the off-day, I think it is good for me. It wasn't too fatiguing. It is not nice to wait around here all day if the weather isn't cooperating, but the tennis part is good. It is good for my game. It is nice to work on my serve, my returns, and my volleys, those three key aspects in really any tennis match, singles or doubles.

ANDRE AGASSI: I got here second set tiebreaker of the first match Ferreira Woodbridge.

ANDRE AGASSI: There has been a second one?

ANDRE AGASSI: I think it is sick. I think they should hang the guy by the nuts and execute him publicly if they catch them him. I mean, it is sick for any human being to do that. You know, it forces me to deal with harsh reality that there are people like that out there, and I mean, I try not to, from my own security purposes, try to run away with it and start feeling like I have to live in a hole of some sort. That is the last thing you want to do is get yourself that concerned about it because then you miss out on what life is about, and it is not right. It is just unfortunate. It is just a tragedy.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I don't feel anything, but safe really. I mean, I certainly know there is a lot of attention on these games and that in itself makes you take, you know, just certain precautions, you know, everybody is looking for everybody around here, as far as the public goes and you never quite know when a stupid, sick person is going to try to get a little attention, so -- but overall, I think the security has been great and I think had we not been under such great care of security here that things could have been a lot worse.

ANDRE AGASSI: This morning.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah.